Once you’ve got things organized in your home the way you like them, it’s important to get everyone involved on board with your system. This includes your housekeeper, who may well be used to your old system — or their own — and might have a tendency to put things away where you can’t find them. To avoid having “cleaning day” become “disorganization day,” try out these tips
- Go with your housekeeper and show how you like things to be done. People often have personal preferences for folding bath towels, for instance, or putting together matched socks.
- Use photos and labels as reminders. Take pictures of the items in your cabinets, and attach them to the back of the cabinet doors. Labels on the top of a drawer are usually invisible when the drawer is closed, and immensely helpful when it’s opened. In some cases, it’s helpful to label in multiple languages, or to use images.
- Make a checklist summarizing what’s important to you. If necessary, you could make a checklist for each room, or even smaller areas, depending on the level of detail you’re concerned with.
Remember: if someone is only in your home once or twice a month, you need to be patient. Keep in mind that they could be working at forty other houses each month in addition to yours — and every one of those homeowners might have different ways of doing things. Demonstrate your methods, leave reminders at specific locations, and provide checklists to help keep things running smoothly.