17 Tips to Help Keep Your House Organized
Keeping your house clean can seem like a never ending chore. This can be especially true if you have a large family. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be!
Implementing some common sense strategies and a few daily commitments can make the task of keeping an organized home much more pleasant and doable.
So if you’re interested in making it easier to keep your house more organized, keep reading. These 17 tips of home organization can drastically help reduce the stress involved in keeping a tidy home.
Here are some helpful tips to keeping your home organized:
1. Commit to 20 minutes a day, every day
It’s not necessary to spend 20 hours in a day on getting things organized. It only takes 20 minutes, if you keep it consistent.
Concentrate on clearing clutter from one single room. Even if you only declutter a drawer or shelf at a time, it will make you feel accomplished by the end of the day. And you will be amazed at how much clutter you can get rid of in just one week.
2. Use the ‘One Minute’ rule
When you save small tasks to be done all at once, they add up fast. If a particular task only takes a few minutes to finish, then do it right away. You will be happy you did and you won’t wind up with a mountain of small things to do later.
Place the cup in the dishwasher instead of the sink.
After unpacking your Amazon purchase, you can recycle the box.
Want to be reminded of just how much you can accomplish in one minute? The next time your coffee gets cold, put it in the micro for a minute and stand still. The whole minute. It’s probably a lot longer than you realize.
3. Do a load of laundry before you leave for work
While getting ready for the day, throw the laundry in the washing machine. You’ll feel ahead of the game when you arrive home. All that’s left is to dry and fold them that evening.
And speaking of cleaning, remember that a linty dryer vent can cause a fire if you run the dryer when you are out. That’s why getting your dryer vent cleaned regularly is so crucial.
4. Always leave a room with something in hand
You’ll find that in any room, there is a T-shirt, a blanket, a mug, or a toy that needs to go back where it belongs.
You’re walking into other rooms all the time. Why not pick up one or two of those out-of-place items and take them with you?
It won’t take you any extra time and you’ll soon be able to control clutter by scanning a room every time you leave it.
5. Take care of your mail every time you bring it in
This is definitely one that I have been guilty of in the past.
You do the responsible thing and grab the mail on your way inside. You intend to go through it quickly as soon as you get settled in.
Of course by that time you have either completely forgotten about it or you tell yourself, “I’ll do it later.” Later never comes and you wind up with a stack of mail that grows more daunting as it grows in size.
Sort your mail immediately, removing the junk and placing the important items in their designated spot. Then you never have to worry about it “later.”
6. Scan and trash weekly
It’s not necessary to keep a hard copy of every receipt and important piece of mail. Clear out all receipts and important documents such as insurance documents, invitations and other paperwork at least once per week.
Every weekend, take a few moments to scan everything that you think you may need in the futre and save it. Then throw the hard copy in the recycle bin.
This way you reduce clutter and have access to your important papers everywhere you go through your smartphone. Apps, such as Genius Scan, make this process super easy for anyone.
7. Keep things tidy during downtime
You can clean the counters and appliances in the same five minutes that it takes to microwave your lunch. You will be amazed at how much order can be restored to your home in the time you would normally waste waiting for something.
8. Make your bed as soon as you wake up
There’s a reason the Marines start the day with this simple task — also known as “wake and make.”
According to retired Navy Adm. William H. McRaven, author of “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life . . . and Maybe the World,” making your bed immediately “will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”
That really kind of says it all. Such a simple and easy task can help make your day just a little bit brighter.
9. Do chores in the same order
Regardless if you clean on a Wednesday or a Saturday, you will be able to move faster from task to task when you do the chores in the same order every time.
You will get into the habit of doing things the same way and will therefore be able to complete these cleaning tasks more quickly and more efficiently over time.
A throwback playlist and headphones are recommended but not necessary.
10. Clean bathrooms every night
Bathroom funk multiplies as quickly as clutter.
We recommend stocking every bathroom with Lysol Wipes or your favorite cleaner. You can easily and quickly clean the toilet and countertop when you are brushing your teeth or helping the children get ready for bed.
As you wipe, you will naturally remove the hair ties, floss and other debris in your path.
11. Stop dirt and clutter at the door
Set a rule in your home that all shoes, bags and jackets as well as “pocket items”, such sunglasses, wallets and phones, are to be deposited at the front door.
You can make this easier to enforce if you assign one hook and an open shelf to each member of your family. You may want to double the number of shelves for people with lots of extracurriculars.
12. Clean out the fridge weekly
Do not let moldy leftovers clutter your shelves and your mind.
Clean out the shelves inside the refrigerator and remove anything that is unlikely to be eaten. This will help you better see your options for food and make room to store ingredients that you’ll need in the next week.
13. Empty your dishwasher each morning
When you have a mountainous pile of dishes to store, the satisfaction of having a home-cooked meal is short-lived.
You’ll be ahead of the game if you empty your dishwasher every morning. You’ll also be less likely to run out of certain dishware throughout the day.
14. Do a nightly tidy-up
Take a laundry bag around your home every night and collect anything out of place. You don’t need to put everything away right now.You can do that on Saturday, if you like. It won’t take long.
Separate the clutter of each day into baskets that you can assign to family members.
With this routine you will wake up in a decluttered living room and a clean kitchen, and start your day feeling fresh.
15. Keep a schedule for cleaning out your storage areas
Just because it’s behind a cabinet door doesn’t mean it’s not clutter.
Set up a monthly schedule to get rid of the dead weight in certain storage spaces. For example, if you have expired food in your pantry, excess kitchen gadgets in the drawer or a cupboard full of dish towels that date back to the tiny studio apartment where you lived in college. It’s time for them to go.
16. Get everyone involved
If one person leaves their dish in the sink it can be a slippery slope that others will follow.
You can have a “Brady Bunch” style family meeting to ensure that everyone knows their roles and responsibilities for maintaining order at home. Serve brownies and the kids are guaranteed to want to be there.
17. Keep a home organization to-do list
You’re busy. I get it. You can’t keep your house spotless every day. You will have things come up, even if your intentions are good.
A home organization list can help. The home to-do list is a list of tasks that you may not be able to complete right away, but do not want to forget. When you have some time to spare, you can continue where you left off.
This is definitely a huge life hack. This one task alone could help prevent any and all clutter in your home, if you commit to doing it right.
Conclusion on keeping your house organized
A fast, simple route to an orderly living space and a prosperous family life is what every family needs. This collection of seventeen tips for keeping your family organized is a great place to start, so take each one to heart and make it work for you and your loved ones.
So there you have it, the complete guide to organizing your house. Now go, and live in clutter-free and stress-free homes! (Ok, well maybe not stress-free)
