6 Tips For Keeping Your Home Clean And Clutter-Free All The Time
Keeping a clean home in your daily life can be quite exhausting. Even to those who are stay-at-home parents or work from home, cleaning can be low on the priority list. However, in order to maintain a balanced lifestyle both in and out of the home, it's essential. You don't have to deep clean everyday, instead choose small steps each day to make the burden lighter. These six practices are simple enough that you can put them to use right now.
1. Pick Up As You Go
This is key when it come to keeping your home clutter-free. Yes, it can be irritating (especially when you feel like you're constantly nagging others to do it!) but its a great way to keep everyone responsible. Use this method throughout the day so that by nighttime your work is practically complete.
2. Use A Chore Chart
Whether you purchase a pre-made chart or create your own, utilizing one is a handy way to keep yourself and everyone else informed about chores around the house. Assign names to each chore or order them based on priority; daily, weekly, monthly. Either way, you'll create a routine for housekeeping that will make it easier, more efficient, and less stressful.
3. Designate Areas For Specific Functions
Has that dresser in your front hallway become a messy catch-all and the OCD in you just can't stand it? Try this: put a bowl there and embrace what its already become. Does your mail always end up cluttering the dining room table? Then put a basket there and name it just that: the mail box! By giving in to seemingly negative tendencies, you can transform them into an opportunity for cleanliness and organization.
4. Keep The Number Of Items In Sight To A Minimum
This may sound like an obvious tip, but I assure you that it not only creates a more welcoming home environment, it also gives you mental peace. Of course items that are functional and necessary should be displayed and used. But other items such as unused toys or books, seasonal items, holiday decor, etc. should be kept in storage (in whatever form that may be). Ask yourself, "does this have a use in my daily life?" Limiting the number of items in the open forces your to separate what is extra from what is necessary.
5. Rearrange Rooms
Your couch isn't screwed to the floor, so don't be afraid of rearranging the setup every now and then. You may discover an arrangement you like better. My husband and I rearrange our living room and dining room every few months and each time we think, "why didn't we have it set up like this before?". Plus it's an opportunity to minimize and create new white space. You may also find long lost items that you either don't want or items that you love and want to display.
6. Donate Often
Donating clothing and other items is a great way to give while decluttering your own space. Through donating, you may be creating more jobs, giving to those who cannot afford. How often and what you donate will vary, but some realistic goals would be once a month, during spring cleaning, or clothing drives at a local church. You can donate items that are no longer useful, clothes or accessories no longer consistent with your style, or anything that fails to make you happy.
May these tips inspire and motivate you to keep a clean and stress-free home always. Remember, it's all about the mindset: when you stop thinking of cleaning as another thing to do on your life and start embracing it as a value, it becomes a natural extension of your daily life. And don't forget the whole family, household, apartment, or dorm is involved.
