Let’s face it: Between work, school, kids’ activities, your activities, trying to stay social, trying to exercise and eat right, and on and on, life can be very busy and chaotic. That means sometimes things like organizing and keeping your home organized can get pushed aside until the clutter builds up and overwhelms you. HouseLogic.com, a website from the National Association of Realtors with information on buying, selling, and maintaining homes, put together some simple daily habits that can help you get organized and stay that way.
1. Dedicate 20 Minutes Per Day to Organizing
If you can spend more time, obviously, go for it, but dedicating just 20 minutes each day to organizing your home can pay big dividends over time. Start by tackling clutter in one room – think about what room/area is giving you the most anxiety or frustrations and start there. The 20 minutes may be spent on just cleaning out and organizing a single drawer or you may be able to tackle a larger area. Either way, you’ll feel better about doing something vs. nothing at all, and the 20 minutes per day will add up to where you will see progress even in just a week.
2. Follow the One-Minute Rule
A sink full of dishes started with single dishes that got piled there to do “later.” Simple tasks, like putting the cups or plates into the dishwasher as soon as you are finished drinking or eating, can make a big impact on the overall cleanliness and organization in your home. HouseLogic.com recommends that if a task can be accomplished in one minute or less, do it right away. Load that dish you just used in the dishwasher, break down and throw away the box from the delivery you just opened, open the mail you just brought in from the mailbox … there are a lot of little tasks that can be done quickly and not pile up into a much larger project down the road.
3. Always Leave a Room with Something in Your Hand
No matter where you are in your home, odds are there is something in the room you are about to leave that doesn’t belong there. Before you leave a room, look around and see if there is something you can take to the room you are heading to or one along the way. As you drop off items in other rooms, keep an eye out for other items that need to be relocated to the room you are going to or ones along the way. Picking things up as you go will help control clutter.
4. Tidy Up During Downtime
Microwaving lunch for a few minutes? Instead of watching the food go round and round in the microwave or mindlessly scrolling on your phone, do some quick tidying up. Whether its loading or unloading the dishwasher, wiping down your countertops or appliances, or doing a quick sweep of the floor, you may be surprised at what you can accomplish while waiting for food to cook.
5. Make Your Bed as Soon as You Get Up
Making your bed is a quick and easy way to start your day on the right note. Not only will it give you a sense of accomplishment right away, but according to experts, it often spurs people to keep going with other little tasks that add up throughout the day.
6. Do Chores in the Same Order
When you get into a routine, your body gets into a rhythm, and you can accomplish things much faster. So, create a routine to follow when you are cleaning your home and follow it each time. You’ll find it easier to keep your home tidy.
7. Spot-Clean Bathrooms Nightly
Bathrooms are one of the more challenging rooms to keep clean simply because they are used all the time. To keep the room from getting super dirty and requiring extensive cleaning, spend a little time each night wiping things down. Keep Clorox or Lysol wipes in each bathroom, then use them to wipe down the countertop and toilet each night. That quick wipe-down will also help keep clutter at bay as you will remove any items left out and in the way as you go.
8. Clean Out Your Fridge Weekly
Fridge space can become sparse as you add groceries and leftovers, so why waste space on moldy or expired items? The night before your garbage day, go through the fridge and throw out anything that is expired, moldy, or you realistically don’t think will get eaten. This will also help avoid food waste because you will be able to easier see what you already have and what you may need. Also wipe down shelves as you go to keep the fridge cleaner for longer.
9. Do a Nightly Tidy-Up
Before going to bed, grab a laundry basket or box and walk through your home looking for items that aren’t where they belong. You don’t have to immediately put them all away but corralling them in the basket or box will make it easier to do that when the time comes. Make sure you have some time set aside during the week – weekends are typically great options – to put things away. And, if you want to make it a family project, give each family member a basket or box of their own, and each person’s items in their basket/box to put away on the designated day.
10. Set Up a Clean-Out Schedule for Storage Areas
When cleaning and organizing, it may be tempting to just throw things in a cabinet, closet, or other storage area and forget about it. However, over time you are going to lose space to store items, and there’s a good chance you’ll lose items you may need. Set up a regular schedule to go through various storage areas in your home: pantry, cabinets, drawers, closets, etc. Get rid of items that are no longer good, that you no longer use or need, or that you have way too many of. Doing this monthly is usually good, but you’ll need to schedule based on your home and needs.
Looking for your dream home? Liberty Homes has been building new homes in Utah for nearly 30 years. We take pride in our trade, crafting each home as if it were our own. Our quality, affordable homes are energy smart and thoughtfully personalized for your active Utah lifestyle. We currently have townhomes available in Salt Lake County, single-family homes in Heber City, and 55-plus single-family homes in West Jordan. Contact us today to find your dream home.
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