024: Home: Micro-zones

2 minute read

Topics

What is a microzone?
Best locations
Easy systems
Keep life in perspective

microzones

What is a microzone?

Last month we talked about zones which are a general area assigned to similar items.

Microzones are the smaller organized areas within a given zone.

Best locations

Items you use the most should be located at the easiest to reach spots. The less you use an item the higher up and out of reach it should go. Things that only get used maybe a few times a year, should go on the top shelf, and items used daily should go at eye level or easy to reach levels.

Use easy systems

Putting things away that only require one or two steps are more likely to be kept up than one with several steps. For example, putting small gardening tools away by just dropping them into an open container on the shelf is easy. Getting down a ladder to reach a box up high, taking off the lid and putting a binder away is not easy. Items that are used regularly should only require a few steps to put away.

Also if the storage area is packed so tight that it’s not easy to put something away, then most likely the item will not be put exaclty where it needs to go, and it will find a home somewhere else. Consider getting rid of some items you don’t use or have repeats of so items easily fit into the microzone they are assigned to.

Items tend to slip into disarray, so you may need to schedule regular times a year where you organize that zone back into place.

Keep perspective

Don’t get so focused on being organized that you miss out on more important things like time with family.

Be realistic and realize you can’t be organized all the time, things will slip and that’s okay. Just try to be consistent at teaching the family to put things away and put items away in the right spot the first time. That consistency will eliminate the need to completely organize zones so much.

Labeling helps family with consistency too.

Balancing quality time with those you love and time spent keeping the house cleaned and organized is an ongoing challenge.

Just try to find an easy sytem and be consistent with it.

Side Story

Dave and Amy had a spring yard cleaning party with their children. Amy made out invitations and invited all members of the family to this party. It was on a Saturday from 9-12:00 with pizza afterwards. They talked it up big all week, and then Saturday morning Amy had a list of all the little jobs that needed to be done. Then the kids chose what they wanted to do and got to it. It was a fun way to get a lot of work done, and Amy enjoyed the help and working with the whole family.

This week’s image is titled “Rubbermaid Homefree Series Closet Kit 3H11”, by Rubbermaid Products. It can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/rubbermaid/7203339630