Having a clean & organized home is a dream of mine, but one that I will never fully achieve.
My excuses for this are varied. On any given day it ranges from:
- but I’m a working mum, I don’t have time
- hubby is sleeping after working the night shift so I couldn’t possibly vacuum now
- yes that’s on my to-do list for Ron. As in – later on.
I’m at peace with the fact my home is not as clean and tidy as my Mom kept our home back in the day. In saying that though, I do keep a strict checklist for myself to make my home appear like it is clean and tidy, always.
Here are my top 5 tips to keep high traffic areas clean & clutter-free for appearances sake:
- Keep kitchen benches clear. Everything is put away or out of sight. Just remember to stand back when you open my pantry door in case something falls out onto your toes.
- Do a 10-minute tidy up of the kids’ toys before bed. I use the cubed-bookcase system so you can throw everything into a colored box and push it neatly back into place. What irks me no-end is that all the toys are messed up. Do all the superheroes sleep well when they’re not all in the same box? Pffft, they’ll sleep well enough I think, and so do I, knowing that at the very least our toy room is tidy, albeit disorganized.
- Leave cleaning supplies in the main bathroom. This allows me to do a quick wipe over every morning & night after the kids have finished. Should someone drop in during the day, I no longer have that awkward moment where I ask if I can check the bathroom before they enter!
- Make your bed. Ok, this might not be a high-traffic area for others, but your perception matters too! My husband thinks it’s pointless. Why do you bother, he asks? For me, it’s a reflection of how my day is going to be. Chaos or organized. I choose organized!
- Remove clutter from your dining table. I have a lovely scented candle sitting in the middle of our dining table. That is all. The family can read at the table, use computers, draw, play games etc. But once the activity is finished everything must be put away.
I look at it like this. I can’t control everything, so I will focus on those things that help me feel organized and in control. The simple act of making my bed every day formed a good habit for me. It’s now one less thing I think about, and it has empowered me to create other new habits that simply become part of my day. You never know, I may fully achieve my goal before I know it.
Well, 7 boxes of books to the Big Book Sale – add that to the 5 that went there in March, and 3 boxes to the Church library, and you would think we have no books left, BUT we can hardly notice the difference in the 9 book cases we still have! That is because some precious books we had in boxes in the garage are now on those shelves! Another clear out next March I think
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Great tips. I keep cleaning supplies in all my bathrooms. Years ago I came across an organizing system that helped me see how just a couple of minutes of putting things out of site, a quick wipe of the bathroom counter, etc. adds up to a big difference. Set a timer, and see what you can do in any area in 5 min. Your routine is a big thing. Regular small pick ups, keeps things from becoming bigger challenges. I’ve done the bed thing both ways. I like my bed made, it’s amazing what it does for my psyche. I used to have pillow shams and pretty pillows, now just a plain white bedspread. Very clean and simple. The effect, Wow! To me an unmade bed equals a lot of visual clutter.
Great tips. I keep cleaning supplies in all my bathrooms. Years ago I came across an organizing system that helped me see how just a couple of minutes of putting things out of site, a quick wipe of the bathroom counter, etc. adds up to a big difference. Set a timer, and see what you can do in any area in 5 min. Your routine is a big thing. Regular small pick ups, keeps things from becoming bigger challenges. I’ve done the bed thing both ways. I like my bed made, it’s amazing what it does for my psyche. I used to have pillow shams and pretty pillows, now just a plain white bedspread. Very clean and simple. The effect, Wow! To me an unmade bed equals a lot of visual clutter.
The complete idiot’s guide, to simplicity;-‘Don’t worry, be happy’-;#