I’ve written several blogs now on maintaining a tidy home, including using baskets in each room to temporarily store items that are out of place. This allows you to quickly move items that don’t belong in a particular space, especially if you can’t tackle the mess right away. However, this blog is geared towards individuals who have already tackled the clutter in their home and are now looking to maintain their organised space.
At this point in your tidying journey, keeping your home tidy should be a fairly quick and easy process that requires a daily review of your living areas. Ideally just 5 to 10 minutes.
Room By Room
You can choose to do this room by room, starting with the lounge room and gathering all items that don’t belong there. Then, moving on to the dining room, kitchen, and every other space in your home. If there are others living with you who are on board with the tidying mission, it becomes even quicker!
Choose a Time That Works Best
Choose a time that best works for you to do these daily tidy ups. Some people prefer the morning, while others find that too much. If you get frustrated quickly with untidiness, a daily tidy-up routine or even tidying in the morning and evening might be best. If you’re not too fussed about some clutter, tie it into an existing routine like your weekend cleaning day.
Designate a Home for Everything
If you find yourself taking a long time to put things away or feeling like you’re not making progress, the items you’re collecting might not have a designated home. Take a moment to reassess these items and see if you can create a space that works for them. Once you have designated spots for all of your belongings, the next time you tidy up will become a much easier and manageable task.
The Hidden Mess: Cupboards, Pantries and Wardrobes
I’ve discussed the importance of keeping the visible areas of your home tidy, such as surfaces and floors. Now, let’s shift our focus to organising and maintaining the cleanliness of cupboards, pantries, and wardrobes. This aspect also requires a day-to-day approach.
One key strategy is to catch yourself or family members when you or they start resorting to the easy option of temporarily placing items in random spots. By catching these delayed decisions and taking a few extra seconds to put items in their designated homes or creating homes for them, you can save a significant amount of time in the future. If you realise in the moment that an item doesn’t have a home or you don’t have time to create one yet, you can utilise a designated spot like a basket to temporarily hold these items until you can address them during your maintenance session at the end of the day.
Alternatively, you might find that one of these areas no longer has enough room for items, so you might need to schedule a mini review session of that space, to create a bit more room. Usually this means you’ll need to let go of a few items that snuck in over time.
Incorporate Into Your Regular Routines
To keep cupboards, pantries, and wardrobes neat and tidy, you can incorporate tidying tasks into your regular routines. For example, straighten up the pantry and fridge every time you do groceries. When putting away clean laundry each week, take a moment to tidy up the wardrobe and ensure items are properly stored and organised. Integrating these tidying tasks with existing activities in the relevant spaces can help maintain a tidy home.
Additional Tips to Maintain a Tidy Home
Before delving into these tips, it’s important to mention that decluttering your belongings should be the first step in keeping your home tidy. The less you have, the less you’ll need to put away and tidy up. If you feel that you’ve already minimised your possessions to a manageable extent, here are some additional tips to help you stay in flow and maintain your tidy home:
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- Utilise vertical storage space: Maximise the use of shelves, hooks, and organisers to efficiently store items within your cupboards and wardrobes.
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- Group similar items together: Categorise items and group them accordingly, making it easier to locate and put away things in an organised way.
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- Regularly review and purge: Periodically go through your cupboards, pantries, and wardrobes to assess if any items are no longer needed or used. Remove these items to maintain a clutter-free space.
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- Label containers: Clearly label storage containers, especially in the pantry, to make it easier to identify and return items to their proper places.
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- Practice the “one in, one out” rule: Whenever you bring a new item into your home, consider removing a similar item to maintain balance and prevent excess accumulation.
I hope you find these tips useful and would love to hear your own ways of keeping your home tidy on my WellSorted Facebook Group!
