Jan 23, 20153 min read

Ask Maeve: Contain Your Day in the Drop Zone

Maeve helps a busy professional create a #dropzone to catch loose ends.

I’m a busy professional. When I come home at night I am tired and I dump stuff. It ends up all over my home. Can you help? - Tom, New Jersey

Dear Tom,

I hear this a lot. I’ve seen many clients who come home from work tired, only to turn around and leave again the next day, so they tend to drop things around the home.

I can relate! I dump stuff at home from time to time too. But I do so without fear as I have a system in place that I’m going to recommend to you here.

Drop Zone

It's time to create a Drop Zone. It’s a spot nearby the front door where you can quickly and easily dump bags, coats, hats, groceries, you name it, whatever needs to get out of your hands as soon as you enter your home. A Drop Zone can be a table, a chair, a strong shelf, a hook or a piece of furniture. What it is matters less than where you place it, and if it’s large enough to hold all the things you need to put down. #dropzone

It works like this: when you enter your home give yourself permission to dump whatever you want in your Drop Zone. In fact, make it your new habit. Once you’ve had a chance to settle in at home – like start dinner or change your clothes – you can go then go back and put things away more orderly in where they belong. Putting this in place will keep you from trailing things into all the rooms of your home.

The front hall 'Drop Zone' in Maeve's NYC apartment.

The best way to figure out what type of Drop Zone works best is to take a test run. The next time you come home tired, stop yourself the moment you enter your door. Observe your habits. Note what you do, what you carry, and most importantly, what you normally put down in other parts of your home. This will inform what type of Drop Zone you need to introduce.

So, for example, if you tend to drop your coat because you don't like opening the closet door, then place a chair, wall hook or coat rack nearby the front door.

If you tend to drop the mail or packages, which then stay piled up and ignored for days, then add a basket for mail, or a tray to collect packages. You still may not review right away, but the container will help to formalize the experience. So, you are no longer dropping things willy-nilly, but rather dropping them in their temporary home, which you can address later. #evertythinghasahome #systems #routines

I love this system, and I’ve used it for years. The photo above is of my own Drop Zone, enhanced with a bowl for dropping small items, like my keys and wallet, a basket for dropping mail, and a space between for dropping any small bags I have on hand. And when things stop working, I make a change. For example, in winter when I tend to have more bags, I add an extra low table to ensure that bags stay off the floor.

Give this system a try, and if you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!