Are you a Bee?

Feb 23, 2011 | Kitchen, What ClutterBug Are You?

A Bee is someone who always has a new project on the go, often without finishing an old one first! Bees like to keep their tools, papers and supplies out until they are finished the job. This can quickly turn into clutter.  There are lots of different kinds of Bees, some have work projects which come with mounds of paperwork to deal with, others have many different hobbies which require mountains of supplies.  Some Bees have home-based businesses which can overrun the entire home with materials both necessary to keep and some that are not. Reading is a hobby too and if a Bees is an avid reader, chances are they are drowning in books, magazines or newspapers.  Bees almost always come with a lot of stuff. Whether it be exercise equipment,  scrapbooking supplies, photographs, art supplies, books, wood working materials, home improvement tools or any other supplies you use during your hobby, it can quickly take over your space.

Some suggestions for a Busy Bee? First, try to have no more then 3 projects on the go at once. If you have had an unfinished project for a long time, it may be time to get rid of it all together and open yourself and your space up to new projects that you are more passionate about. Do you have a lot of exercise equipment that hasn’t been used in years? As hard as it is, perhaps it is time to donate or sell that equipment and use the space for another hobby that you would actually enjoy, like a reading room or scrapbooking space.

Bees are the master of good intentions, but there are only so many hours in a day and only so much we can reasonably get done. Here are some tips just for Bees:

  • Make a Priority List for yourself and your home. Is having a clean kitchen a priority over finishing your scrapbook? Then make time for what is a priority to you and finish that task before you start a new one.
  • Learn to let go.  Bees tend to keep things “just in case” they may need it someday. If you don’t love it and you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it.
  • Schedule, schedule, schedule. Your time is precious to you so make the most of it. Create daily and weekly chore lists, a daily schedule and make sure you have a monthly calendar that you can reference easily.
  • Bees can benefit from lists more then any other bug! Make a list of all the things you want to do that day (make it reasonable) and work on those and only those. If you can’t get them all done, carry the left over items to the next days list.
  • Purge, purge, purge. Do you really need that many screwdrivers? Do you really use all those stamps? Bees collect things for their projects and often end up with too many unused materials.
  • Use project boxes. Have a box or basket with all the supplies you need for your current project. When you are done for the day, put the items back into the box until you can work on it again. This way your supplies are out of the way, but you don’t need to take everything out again to work on your project next time.

Check out my Printable section for some chore lists and schedules you can download and use or use for inspiration!