A clean and well-organised home is an environment we can all feel happy and content in. If you’re a naturally messy and disorganised person, read this post first for advice on changing your destructive habits. Adopting these five everyday habits will help you maintain a clean, tidy, and clutter-free home, which in turn will reduce the stress and disorganisation that comes from living in a messy, dirty environment.
Habit #1 | Have A Place For Everything
We tend to leave things lying around on countertops and coffee tables for convenience because finding somewhere to put it when it’s place in the home isn’t clear is a chore all to itself. Organising your belongings is key to maintaining a tidy and clutter-free environment. If everything has a place in the home you know exactly where to find it and where to put it back after use. If you know where an item belongs you’ll be more likely to put it back there when you’re finished using it.
Habit #2 | Put Things Away After Use
If everything you own has a place and you put it back after use it follows you’ll end up with a relatively tidy, clutter-free space for longer. Nurture the habit of putting things away immediately after use to prevent items lingering around on surfaces and cluttering up your space. Make your bed as soon as you leave it; rehang clothes when you take them off; rinse the shower after use; hang up bathrobes and towels; wipe down the kitchen sides while waiting for dinner to cook. If it takes less than 2 minutes commit to doing the task straight away.
Habit #3 | One Major Chore Per Day
One easy habit to adopt is committing to one major chore (or room if you live in a small space) per day. If you have a place for everything and put everything back into its place after use, you’ll be able to maintain a good level of tidiness in your home without much effort at all. All that will be left to do will be the major cleaning chores such as laundry, hoovering, deep cleaning, etc. If you develop a schedule tackling one major chore or room per day you’ll maintain a tidy and clean home all week long.
Habit #4 | 10-Minute Tidy Before Bed
Develop a habit for sweeping each room before bed to fix throws and pillows, replace books onto shelves, put away the dishes or clothes that have been drying, and generally straighten up each room. Little tasks like cleaning your desk, putting away the dishes, taking the bin out, and hanging coats up that have been thrown over the back of chairs make a huge difference with minimal effort. It shouldn’t take longer than ten minutes for a brisk tidy making sure everything is returned back to its place. This useful little habit prevents clutter from creeping in and your living space will stay tidier for longer.
Habit #5 | Recycle and Donate Regularly
We’ve all got a box or a bag stuffed with items we don’t want to keep but we don’t want to throw away either. That box or bag is destined for a thrift store or recycling bin when we finally get around to dealing with it. Having these items scattered around our homes, squeezed into the backs of cupboards or hidden in wardrobes, only results in a cluttered, untidy appearance. Develop a habit for tackling those unwanted items as efficiently as possible. If you’re in the process of decluttering and downsizing and have a lot of things to get rid of, dedicate a little time each week to dealing with those boxes and bags crammed with unwanted belongings. Get rid of them to prevent them from cluttering up your home.