053 | Junk Drawer No More
Before
After
How many times have you been asked “where is...?” Are there certain things you’re always looking for? Those seemingly trivial questions and searches actually have a significant impact on our mental load.
In our house, we’ve noticed a pattern of a few things we’re always looking for:
The good hairbrush to brush Miss T’s hair before school (Any one else remember Larry the Cucumber from VeggieTales singing 🎵Oh where is my hairbrush?🎶 If you do, you’re welcome for lodging that song in your brain.)
A charger for our tech tools.
These “where is” questions often happen in the kitchen. The solution? Convert the junk drawer with its “you might need it some day, even though you haven’t in the last six years” vibe into a “here are the things you actually use here” drawer.
This is a simple example of how the way we set up and use our spaces can have a profound impact on our mental load. Over time, giving the things we use regularly a clearly identifiable home reduces the volume of “where is?” questions and the number of decisions to be made while tidying up, which conserves our mental and emotional energy for other things. This is one way of cultivating sanctuary.
What question are you answering (or asking) over and over? What problem do you have to solve again and again?
What change could you make in your physical space to reduce the number of times you need to answer that question or solve that problem?
