Who has got the scissors?

How many times have you heard this shouted in your house? When I was growing up it was always the scissors that went missing so this cry would echo through our house. I am not sure why it was the scissors but that was definitely the shout I remember drifting up the stairs; and this was in a house where we definitely had a place for everything. I even remember as a young adult staying at my brothers and joking that maybe we needed a white line around everything so we knew exactly where to put things (this was after my brother knew I had been in his tool box because I had put the screwdriver back on the right shelf, but not in the right place on that shelf!). As an adult I now appreciate how frustrating it is; especially when you are busy and have a million and one things to do. So how do you stop it from happening?

Make sure everything has a place.

The first thing is just to make sure everything has a place in your home; and a place that makes sense. Think about where you use items; not just in which room but where in each room. Once you have done that try to locate whatever it is as close to where you need it. If you are sharing your home with others get them involved with the conversation on the best place; you are far more likely to get the buy in and help you need to keep it there.

Always return it.

This seems an obvious thing to say, but it is so easy to leave something out as you are going to use it later (this is definitely a defense that gets used a lot in our house, even if the later is the next day or week!). You may get caught up in something and so later never comes, and in the meantime someone else has taken it and started using it and leaves it somewhere else (for later!). So make sure you always return it when you have finished using it in that moment, I can promise you those few seconds you take to do it then will save you a lot of time looking for it later. Then all you need to do is encourage the rest of your household to do the same; I appreciate this is where the challenge comes in, but if you are consistent soon everyone sees the benefits, when they can find the scissors first time. All the clients I work with find this the most surprising aspect of our work, once there is a place everyone seems to respect it.

So why don't you just start with the scissors? Find a place for those, communicate it to everyone, always return it and see if they stay there. Good luck and if you need any inspiration on getting things organised and finding a place for them then follow me on Instagram or Facebook for Well Organised Wednesdays #WOWednesday.