How to use the ‘circle’ method to keep your home clean

It was his method for finding parking or a location, and whenever he got lost or our family got frustrated in a busy parking lot, he’d calmly say, “I’m just going to move in ever-widening circles, and I’ll find it.” When you zoom out on this advice, it might mean that you should broaden your scope when trying to solve a problem. Methodically and in an orderly fashion, work through your problem from the smallest detail to the most general.

A tidy routine

I apply this idea whenever I tidy my home. I start in the living room, and as I find things that belong in the bedrooms or office, I don’t ping-pong between the locations. I make piles while still in the living room and then put things away starting with the closest location. As I widen, I may notice other areas that need tidying, but I keep my epicenter static until the entire living room is dealt with.

Then I move to another room. For instance, I could move into my son’s room and start at the bed. Moving in ever-widening circles, I’ll toss Legos into bins and gather lone dirty socks for the hamper. Then, I’ll go to the next space. This method helps me not get overwhelmed by the enormity of the task and allows me to focus on one area of the house at a time.

Locating the lost

I can also apply “move in ever-widening circles” to finding lost objects. As an individual, I’m great at remembering where I put my things like keys or phone. But living in a home with two busy kids means objects move. If I can’t find something, I don’t look around chaotically, running from room to room.

I start where the object is meant to be. From there, I move in ever-widening circles, looking around furniture, the floors, shelves, etc. If it’s not in that room, I move on to the next space and widen my search. This way, there’s no stone unturned, and I start with the most logical place first, maintaining efficiency.

Moving out in this spiral motion helps me remember that, yes, I did go from the laundry room to the living room. By reversing the spiral, I hit the location where the object resides.

I've noticed that by repeating my dad's phrase to myself as I go, I stay focused on the goal. If I get to the edge of where the object might be, I spiral back to the center and then start over, making sure I make a thorough sweep.

While it may seem more efficient to go directly to the various locations where a lost object might be or, when tidying, where an object is supposed to go, this method means I thoroughly hit all the possibilities and don’t end up looking in the same place twice.