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Drop Zone – where you put keys, receipts, phone,etc
The drop zone is the area when you come home and you drop your keys, handbag, shopping, phone etc. However typically now that you have dropped items here throughout the day it continues to become a drop zone with paperwork, junk mail, toys and all other bits and pieces you don’t have time to put in its proper home, soon enough it’s a mess.
Todays task is to tidy up this drop zone and consider how to continue to keep this area tidy. Here are a few ways I organise some of the drop zone items.
I made a charging station from a breadbox – this breadbox tidily stores and charges all our phones, iPad and iPods. If my phone isn’t still in my handbag, it’s usually sitting in the charging station.
I hang my handbag in our school bag nook – when I come home I hang my handbag onto the hook, I don’t like putting handbags on the kitchen bench or the floor, read these reasons why. You could also use this type of area to hang scarves and jackets.
After hanging up my handbag, I drop all my shopping (groceries of course go to the kitchen) on my bed. So then when I am pottering around through the rest of the day I can put the shopping away, which I make sure is done before I go to bed.
Once I unpack my shopping I put all my receipts into my receipts box
All extra change is placed into our money tin
For keys, phones and the blokes wallet, you could create a little basket specifically for these items, the basket will keep the ‘stuff’ confined and tidy.
Junk Mail is another item that can easily clutter a dumping zone. This picture below is a few years old now, I have changed my pantry around, but the recycling bin has stayed put. Read further about how I deal with Mt Junk Mail.
What items have you found in your drop zone?
Please join the Declutter Challenge, I truly hope that together we can make a difference in your home
27 comments
Ah yes, the little basket for the bloke stuff – that accumulates all manner of other crap because, despite endless cries of “where’s my…”, the ONLY time the bloke’s stuff ends up in the basket is when I put it there!
Of course, I am blessed with being naturally perfect {ahem} and always hang my keys and handbag on their respective hooks when I walk in the door so I don’t waste hours of my life searching for keys (except when aforementioned blokes ‘borrow’ my keys to look in the shed for all their stuff).
Now, my reading glasses are another thing all together! yes, they DO SO live in the fruit bowl.
Oh – HAD to laugh about the reading glasses – don’t know HOW many times I’ve run around looking for them only to discover they’re perched on my head !
Isn’t that always the way?! 🙂
I am always trying new ways to organise the ‘drop zone’. I fear that I am fighting a losing battle. HOW DO YOU GET YOUR HUSBAND TO GO ALONG WITH IT?! 😉
Perhaps you could give him his very own basket to drop all his things in? At least then all his things are together in one spot?
I think you’re onto something. Maybe I can find a way to make his “drop zone” really cool and blokey.
We receive advice from our Neighbour hood watch service that at night keys to cars and handbags etc should be hidden so that if you do happen to have a break in they can’t steal your car. I always worry about the drop zone as it would make it so easy for a burglar to just grab everything. I am probably paranoid but wonder if anyone else feels like this or has any great hiding places for keys and bags at night?
I’d prefer the thief to steal my insured car than come into my bedroom searching for the keys. If someone is brave enough to brake in to a house with me in it I wonder what else they are brave enough to do?? A car is not as important as our safety.
I think you would need to do a mini cost benefit analysis and weigh up the definite benefit of having things where you can find them against the relatively low risk of a break in while you and the car are at home – and if you lock the front door while you’re at home, the risk is even lower. It might be easier to remember to snib the security door and make sure the accessible windows aren’t open at night than remember to hide everything and get it all out in the mornings.
Hi, we had a break-in at about 4 am on Christmas morning, while we were asleep for a few hours between Church services. The thieves very obviously knew where people customarily place valuables as they come home. We had been smart enough not to keep things in 3 of the 5 spots searched, unfortunately some precious items were in the remaining 2 spots. And our doors were locked, one window just hadn’t latched properly. It has changed my thinking about these matters.
Just so you know, here are the 5 places obviously searched:
1. Just inside the front door.
2. Bottom drawer of filing cabinet in office
3. Desk drawer in office
4. Top of the fridge
5. The shelf just inside the kitchen door.
Our our drop zone is a dressing table inside the front door, but.. I have a system so this doesn’t get too cluttered. Keys either stay in the car or go straight into the basket on the bench, as do phones. Shopping goes to respective bedrooms, and tags removed and binned. It’s become a routine now, even hubby is in on it most of the time. The quicker things like this are done, the easier it is to keep the entry tidy and have less tripping hazards. I have a bookcase in the dining room/kitchen where I keep my handbag so I know where it is.
Good on you! Once it’s become a habit, you’re set!
Hi, sounds like you are super organised, just wanted to let you know up here in North QLD we are having huge problems with car thefts, some are the standard unlocked car but the theives also easily jimmy open roller doors and if the keys are still swinging in the ignition bingo! Off they go with your car keys and whatever else you keep on the keychain.
Police encourage us to lock our cars in our locked garage and hide our keys and handbags as there is a lot of break and enter grab and run thefts. Not trying to scare you but make you aware, hopefully you live in a nice suburb where this isn’t a problem
My biggest problem is my receipt box and finding the time to enter the information into my budget. Does anyone know of a good app that is multiuser across various platforms where users can enter spending straight in. This would save me heaps of time and reduce clutter as important receipts could be filed straight away.
I use Quicken. I see the major advantage as a way of reconciling with bank statements online.
We have track my spend, not sure if it is the kind of thing you are after though. Its put out by money smart (by government). Hubby has it on his phone (iphone) i have it on mine (android) and we can access it on the desktop as well.
My husband and I use bank that is integrated with our Bank http://www.anzmoneymanager.com.au, I’m pretty sure it works with all banks, and it’s great because I just need to go back in and change the categories and it has a budget and everything. We don’t use all the functionality, but it’s great for what we want.
I like the breadbox charging station. I think the idea has merit with older children too – you can make it a family rule that all phones go in the box, on silent, at bedtime.
Yes, exactly! And also good to make sure us adults wind down away from the screens too 🙂
I love that idea too! So tidy. We have a USB multibox type thing which is really handy for all the phones, ipods etc. I would love to convince the kids (teens) to leave them in there overnight. Maybe moving to the hallway and then we all have to move in the mornings when the alarms all go off!!
I love all these decultter ideas! I just bought some old lockers of gumtree to keep bags, shoes, keys, shopping bags and other things in. Its a bank of four, one each for the family. The industrial style doesn’t necessarily suit everyones decor, but man, it’s handy and tidy!
Whatever works for your family is best!
My kids bags are driving me insane and they’ve only bene back to school a few days. I love the idea of jooks, pin up boards butt he challenge is finding a suitable place to locate it. I was thinking of trying to find a “locker” style cupbaord where everyone has their own pigeon hole for bags, etc. I’ve got me thinking and inspired to up date my most hated area.
That’s great you’ve started brainstorming! If you don’t mind the open shelves, the Ikea Expedit can be good to use for kids – and it works horizontally or vertically!
I have just converted our old change table to a drop zone inside our entrance hall along with a hat stand for hats, coats amd bags. Top shelf bowl for keys, toast rack for mail to read sort and file, bowl for change plus a pen and paper.five boxes (repurposed cardboard boxes from a4 paper reams from work… covered in matching contact and labelled … recycle, return, donate, repair, library books) sit on the shelves below creating homes for previously homeless items … have saved a tonne of time since creating the zone mostly from not having to hunt for keys (our previous place for keys was too out of the way for everytime I walked in the door, arms laden, sleeping kid in arms, busting to go to the loo etc.)
This is a really cool idea 🙂
Thankyou