7 Tips on How to Get Organized at Home and Stay Organized
1. Take 5. Take five minutes every morning before you leave your home to get things in order. Remove the cereal bowls from the countertop, put the dishes in the dishwasher, put shoes where they belong, hang up towels. You know, all of those things that when you arrive back home, you don’t want to see? Coming home to a house that’s picked up can make a big difference in mood that will be set for the remainder of the night.
2. Take 10, too. Before you go to bed, do the same things as I listed above. Empty the kitchen sink, wipe the countertops, make coffee so it’s ready to go for the morning. Taking ten minutes to do all of these things will make the morning a lot more pleasant.
See my article on 16 Inexpensive Organizer Ideas for Homes
3. Pick up as you go. It’s amazing how those piles can add up in a hurry. If you pick them up and put them where they belong as you go, you’re not at as much of a risk of letting them pile up.
4. Share the effort. If you have family under your roof too, there’s no reason to go it alone. Share the duties where everyone takes a piece of the puzzle. Afterall, they want to be proud of their home, too, right?
5. Get organized. There should be a place for everything in your home And, if there’s not a place for something and it’s important to you, make a place for it. Or, reevaluate why you have it.
6. Use a cleaning calendar. In our home I use a very simple cleaning calendar. You could even use one like this that’s premade. Each day there are no more than two things for me to clean. I know that taking 15 minutes out of my day for six days a week isn’t a big deal. But, taking two hours out of one day is. So, by using a cleaning calendar, I know that everything has gotten done. And, if I miss a day, that’s ok, I can make it up on the next day.
7. Give yourself a break. Hey, we’re all human, right? Cut yourself some slack every once in awhile and let things slide. It’s ok, there’s always tomorrow.
See other articles that I’ve written on home organization: