Foolproof Tips For A Clean and Organized House
My kids say I’m a weirdo. Unfortunately, I know this to be true. (sigh) Why am I a weirdo, you ask? Well, because I actually enjoy housework. I love a clean, organized and tidy house. I always have…you can ask my Mom. I do understand that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for this sort of activity, and that’s certainly ok. I have a system of sorts that helps me keep my sanity and my house in check. They are foolproof tips for a clean and organized house. If you do these little task daily, it makes cleaning day a breeze. Furthermore, they only take a tiny bit of extra time that will save you tons of time later on. These are really just habits that would be beneficial to you.
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Good Habits Are Life Changing…Really!
I used to tell my clients, when I was personal training, that it takes three weeks to form a habit. This is not only true when exercising, but in every aspect of your life. It’s especially true with housekeeping and the benefits are huge!
Think about it. Wouldn’t you love to be able to invite unannounced guest in without having to apologize for the way your house looks? I remember those days. Toys, clutter, you name it. That was before I got a system going. Once I decided that I was tired of living that way, my life changed. I figured out that a little pre planning and a little bit of effort was all it took. Let me tell you….It changed my life!
So here’s my system. I hope it’ll work for you, too!
Foolproof Tips For A Clean and Organized House
Make Your Bed Everyday
Wait!! Before you roll your eyes on this one and say “I’m just going get back in it tonight!”, let me explain. It takes literally about one to two minutes to do this. That actually depends on how many decorative pillows you put on it. It’s two minutes if you want it to look like a magazine. It’s only one minute, if you keep it simple.
Making your bed give some sort order to your bedroom. Even it is messy, when your bed is made, some how the room looks…well, CLEAN!
Something To Think About…
I listened to a speech, given by US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven. He returned to his alma mater, the University of Texas, in 2014, and gave an awesome speech to the graduating class. In his speech, he recollected his Basic SEAL training. One of the task that they had to do every day was make their beds and be inspected.
A Sense of Accomplishment
He stated “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It 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. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”
I absolutely love this! But what’s more, I’ve always made my bed, everyday. Even when I was a kid. It was a habit that I formed, early on.
Time it takes – 2 – 3 minutes.
Take Care of Mail As It Comes In
By doing this one task everyday, you will be able to tame the paper clutter monster. Instead of adding it to the pile on your kitchen counter, sort through it, immediately. Junk mail goes in the trash, bills get opened, dated and put in the bill paying drawer and then what ever is left, deal with it immediately.
We invested in a shredder and it has made this task a lot easier. When those unwanted credit card offers come in, I open and head straight to the shredding machine. No thank you!!
Time it takes – 2 minutes.
AmazonBasics Paper and Credit Card Shredder
Clean Off Bathroom Counters Everyday
This is really no big deal. When everything has a home, it’s easy to do this. Every morning, I use a blow dryer and a curling iron. When they’re not in use, they have their own drawer. When I’m done with them, back into the drawer they go.
I keep my makeup in a zippered makeup bag. Same thing here. When I’m through using it, it goes back under the sink.
After my morning ritual is complete and everything is put away, I take a disinfecting wipe (that I buy from the Dollar Tree) and wipe off the counter, the sink and the faucet.
Viola!! Bathroom is clean!
(tip-When you change out your hand towel, put a little water on it and wipe the water spots off your mirror.)
Time it takes – 2 minutes.
Put Clothes Away
This is a no brainer. If your clothes are dirty, don’t put them on the floor or across a chair. Put them directly into the dirty clothes hamper.
If they’re clean, hang them up or fold them and put them into your closet or a drawer, immediately. This is one of the monsters that can quickly get out of hand, but if you address it immediately, you’ll be able to contain it, quite easily.
Time it takes – less than 2 minutes.
Closet Organizer Kit by Closet Maid
Simple Houseware 5 Shelves Hanging Closet Organizer, Bronze
Empty Your Dishwasher
Do this, preferably in the morning, so its ready to go for the evening meal. It makes cleaning the kitchen up in the evening, so much easier.
Time it takes – 10 minutes
Clean Up the Kitchen Every Night
I know…I know…Once you’ve cooked dinner, sometimes your just too tired to do any more, other than go to bed. But, this simple task is so worth it. I mean, who likes waking up to a dirty kitchen. It can be depressing.
When you wake up to a clean kitchen, it’s uplifting. It makes you ready to face what ever the day has in store for you.
Load your dishwasher and wipe your counters and stove down.
Time it takes – 15 minutes.
Do At Least One Load of Laundry Everyday
This is another monster that can be hard to tame. The more people you have in the family, the harder it is. That’s why it is even more important to stay on top of the laundry.
Try doing at least one load, every day. That means washing, drying, folding AND putting it away. Nothing makes your house look more messy than laundry laying around, whether it’s clean or dirty.
The great thing about doing laundry is that it only takes a minute or two to load a washing machine and the same for the dryer…unless you hang your laundry out. Still, that only takes a few minutes as well.
While the machines are doing the work, you are freed up to do other things.
Time it takes – 10-15 minutes.
Do A Quick Pick Up Every Night
This is huge, especially if you have children. Sometimes the “stuff” can overtake a house. The toys, clothes, shoes and just everyday things can be overwhelming if you don’t take care of it every single day.
When my kids were younger, this was a bed time ritual. We would go through the house and pick up each room. Every item should have a home. If it doesn’t, we don’t need it.
Also, who wants to step on Legos or toy cars on their way to the bathroom in the middle of the night!? I mean…that can be painful!
Time it takes – 5-10 minutes.
ClosetMaid 15-Unit Shoe Organizer
Sweep or Vacuum High Traffic Areas
This is something I have to do every day. I have two indoor pups that go out to potty, multiple times a day. Its amazing how much sand and grass that they bring in. Not to mention the hair that they shed.
I either sweep or bring my Aposen cordless vacuum cleaner out and do a very quick sweep of the most trafficked areas, at the end of the day. This gets me through until my actual cleaning day.
Time it takes – 10 to 15 minutes.
Empty Trashcans
Nothing can make a room messier (or stinkier) than an overflowing trashcan. Simple rule of thumb is if its full, someone needs to empty it and take it out. My kids use to do the balancing act on our trashcan. It was almost a contest to see how much garbage they could pile on top before it fell over!
If no one wants to take it out, it might be worth it to assign this task to someone on a weekly or bi weekly schedule.
Time it takes – 5 minutes
Plan for Tomorrow
At the end of the day, I like to do a brain dump. What that means is I like to do a little pre planning for the next day, by writing down what I need to do. Even if it’s the most mundane task, I write it down. I do this so I won’t forget it and there’s a sense of accomplishment as I go down the list, checking off what has been done.
It also helps me to sleep better by getting it out of my head and down onto paper. Otherwise, I’m constantly thinking about it until it gets done.
Another thing that it does, is that the days task have kinda been recorded. There’s been several occasions where I either can’t remember doing something or I’m just not sure which day I did it. Recording the task has helped solve this little dilemma more than once.
All of these task added together takes approximately an hour and 15 -30 minutes a day to complete. If you have help, that’s even less. There’s certainly nothing wrong with delegating.
That’s not too much time for keeping your house clean and organized.
I use to tell my children this, constantly. I was trying to instill habits in them.
If you: Turn it on, turn it off, if you open it, close it, if you dropped it, pick it up, if you dirty it, clean it, if you get it out, put it back.
So simple, yet sometimes, so hard.
Sometimes it’s hard motivating yourself to do this, but the benefits are huge! No one says you have to “enjoy” doing these little, necessary task, but by making them a habit, you’ll have a home that you won’t mind inviting friends and family into.
What are some chores that you have gotten into the habit of doing everyday for keeping your house clean and organized?
Do you have any tips for a clean and organized house that you would like to share?
Need help organizing your finances? Check out my post 8 Simple Steps for Setting Up a Budget
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