Do things right away

I have a new neighbor whose yard always looks clean. He works hard at keeping it looking nice, but I've noticed he does things right away to keep it looking good.

For example, a few days ago we had two days of very strong winds. That brought down a lot of branches, mostly small ones, but some large enough to need a trimmer to cut them up for the trash. I was out picking up my branches the next day. Our trash container was starting to overflow. My neighbor came over and said he had room in his if I needed extra room. The trash haulers were coming that day so I wanted to get as many picked up as I could. So I took him up on the offer. Then he mentioned that he had picked his up the evening before.

The wind had hardly stopped blowing at that point. He was out immediately picking up his branches, keeping his yard looking nice. That my not seem like a big deal, but his yard sure looks nice compared so some of the others in the neighborhood.

When they gave us a tour of their house one day, I noticed everything is well organized. His garage has a place for every tool and each piece of his garden equipment. The house was neat and organized. I expect they put things away immediately inside as well as outside. That makes a big difference.

Doing things right away is a big step in getting and staying organized. When you use something, put it away as soon as you are done. If you see something you forgot to put away, do it as soon as you notice it. If you see something out of place, put it where it belongs right away. This one little "right away" practice will take you a long ways toward being organized.