My mom used to steam roll the wrinkles out of my 90s “Eat, Sleep, Swim” girl power t-shirts while watching General Hospital. Yes, she hand pressed almost everything but our underwear. But that’s not the point. She was exercising what Noom calls, “temptation bundling.”

What is temptation bundling? 

According to Noom, “temptation bundling is pairing something that gives us instant gratification with something we ‘should’ be doing that’s less fun.” Think taking a hot bath while reading your 3” thick Chemistry textbook. Or going to get a pumpkin spice latte (no whip) but making yourself walk to Starbucks to get your steps in. 

How does it relate to organizing?

While I find ordering things from A to Z and ROYGBIV-rainbow-magic-order 🌈a blast, not everyone spent their childhoods organizing the toy closet rather than playing with the actual toys. If organizing doesn’t come naturally to you, and you’d rather do just about anything but rearrange your junk drawer, fold laundry or deal with that messy stack of papers, then this trick might work for you. 

Three ways to you can use temptation building to declutter and get organized (why ironing in front of the TV works): 

🎧 Listen to your favorite true-crime podcast while you declutter a drawer. 

💌 Catch up on new-old episodes of your favorite fast talking mother-daughter duo (or your favorite Gilmore Girls-esque show 📺), but only while you sort that stack of mail piling up on your kitchen counter.

👚 That new floral printed middi dress from Madewell you've been eyeing? Yours, but you have to fill one trash bag full of clothes for donation first.

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📲 Freely scroll social media but only after you tidy the kitchen at the end of the day (or better ➡️ catch up on your favorite pod while you do the dishes)

🧺Watch an episode of F-R-I-E-N-D-S and fold your laundry. Now thats a true PIVOT on a boring task!

In short, press together that decluttering task you’ve been dreading with something you enjoy for a freshly-steamed-dress-shirt kind of success in organizing.

Want more jedi-mind organizing tips on the regular?