How to Change a Bad Habit to a Functional System

Do you have a bad habit in your home you wish you’d change? In our house, we have a dumping ground right by our fridge. Everyone tends to put items there and it becomes a mess. My husband puts his keys and wallet there when he gets home, I put everything that I don’t want on the main counter there to try to clear that space, and the kids are constantly putting things on the counters when I tell them to clean up (our rule is items need to be up off the floor).

When I notice this happening in our house, I like to think through ideas to create a system that works with the bad habit. What I mean by that is create a system that’s easy for my family to follow. If I try to move too far away from what they’re doing, it doesn’t work. As much as I’d wish it were different, my husband will not put his keys and wallet anywhere else!

I’m going to walk you through my process when I want to create a new system and get my family on board.

1. Identify the Problem

Our problem is the space by our fridge. It becomes a dumping ground. It’s a small space that I tend to place items so they’re not on the main counter. However, I don’t deal with the items as often as I should.

So, it becomes a dumping ground. Items pile up there until it drives me nuts and I use the worst timing to clear it off, like while I’m cooking dinner with hungry children running around. 

And rather than resist my inclination to dump items there, I want to work with that but create a system so the side counter doesn’t become a mess.

So the main problems are the dumping ground and the lack of maintenance of the dumping ground.

2. What Would You Like the Space to Look Like?

Whether it’s a dumping ground or just a playroom that you wish were cleaned more often, think through how you’d like it to look. When you have an ideal in your head, you can come up with creative solutions.

For our dumping ground, I would like it to look more clear. It doesn’t have to be perfectly clear, but I would like the clutter to be contained and not all over the counter. For things I need to address, I would like them to be either to the side or hidden in a cabinet or drawer. My husband would not like that. He forgets things when they’re put away. So his items need to stay out so he doesn’t forget his wallet when he heads to work.

When you’re invisioning the space, consider your ideal as well as other members in your family. If I hid my husband’s items, he would not be happy. So I need to find a solution where his items are out.

3. How Can You Solve the Problem?

For my solution, I found a bin for the items that tend to end up on the counter. When I’m first organizing an area, I like to use a bin or container I have, make sure the system works, and then buy something new that I like. If you start with the container, you may end up buying the wrong thing. As an organizer, of course I have a few ideas of what would work well, since I know the product, but I want to make sure I use the container how I think I will first!

The second part of my problem is a habit problem. When looking at spaces in your home, to change how they look, you need to change your habits as well. So I created a new habit, going through the bin each evening and putting items back where they belong. Changing this small habit makes the task less daunting. When you do something more often, it takes less time. When you wait until it’s a large problem, it takes longer (just like organizing!). 

4. Implement the Solution

So great, just create a new habit. No big deal, right? Wrong.

Creating a new habit is hard. You have to stay on top of it until it becomes a habit. I create a reminder in my calendar each evening. That way, after the kids go to bed, if I haven’t gone through the bin, I am reminded to. 

Once I start doing it more often, I tend to see the results. That gives me the motivation to keep going!

Do you have a bad habit you’d like to correct? Having trouble finding the solution? That would be a great topic for a virtual organizing session! Not only do I help you find physical organizing solutions, we talk through habits on how to make your home more functional for you and your family!