Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer hosts the weekly “Works For Me Wednesday” conglomeration of tips offered by scores of folks. She asked us to consider going back into our archives and posting a “classic” tip this week…..but since I have only been contributing for a few weeks, and therefore all of my posts would be within recent memory, and since I already had something else in mind, I’ll post my “new” one.

It took me seemingly ages (and a lot of frustration) to learn this, but it’s better to prevent clutter that to have to sort through it. One of the best ways to avoid clutter is the OHIO principle: Only Handle It Once (I first heard this from my former Home Economics teacher, Mrs. Karis Wickensimer. I don’t know it is is original with her). Most clutter comes from setting something out of place “just for now until I can get back to it ,” and by the time we get back to it, it has multiplied somehow.

Here’s one example from my early married years. We used to have a trunk in our bedroom, and at night when it was late and we were tired, we’d lay our clothes from the day across it. After several days I’d have to make time to sort through the pile. Anything that could have been worn again originally was now wrinkled and needed to be ironed or washed. Taking the few seconds to go ahead and hang clothes back up or put them in the hamper as soon as I took them off saved time and frustration and certainly made the room look a lot better. (Looking back, I can’t believe I ever used to do that. :oops:)

An example from current life: when my son brings home a permission slip for a field trip, if I set it on the counter or the desk, I’m likely to forget about it until the last minute, when it’s a mad scramble to try to find it on the day it’s needed. It’s much more efficient to go ahead and sign it, make note of the details on my kitchen calendar, get out the money for it, and have my son put it back in his bookbag right when he first gives it to me.

Using this principle not only prevents clutter but also saves time by not having to deal with the same paperwork or item again. And usually dealing with these things right away makes them a whole lot less complicated.

There are, of course, some household tasks for which this would not work well: clipping coupons, for instance, is usually best done as an assembly-line procedure with the Sunday paper insert rather than filing each individual coupon as you clip it.

And it is meant to be a general principle, not the law of the land with which you beat yourself (or anyone else). There will be times when it’s not possible. But when it is, it will save time, energy, and frustration and prevent clutter. And that works for me!

For other great tips, see this week’s WFMW posts here.