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Is your house starting to look like it was hit by a truck? Are you looking for sustainable ways and ideas to organize your home? Stick with me. There are rituals and practices that, if done consistently, can not only help tidy up your home – but can actually keep your home mess-free in the long run.
There are many reasons why you should organize your home. But do you really need me to tell you those? I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the dopamine rush that hits you after you’ve tidied up your living room and lit your favorite candle. That sense of achievement and calm you feel after you organize your cutlery drawer. You know the feeling, right? Studies have now shown a direct correlation between our state of mind and the state of our environment. So the question then is? How do you keep a home organized, and more importantly, keep it that way?
Here’s the bummer. Homes will always continue to get messy. You can’t stop that. But in my experience what you can do is greatly reduce the mess that can pile up everyday. I’ve found that by establishing a few simple rituals in my life, I’ve been able to keep my home tidy and calm – for way longer.
Rituals and routines as well as certain tools can really go a long way to keep your home free of clutter and give you greater peace of mind everyday. Here are a few routines and ideas that can help you organize your home and keep it mess-free:
Have a Daily Use Zone for Every Room
Everyday Skincare Bin
The idea is to have frequently used stuff, separate and easily accessible.
This makes sure you don’t end up sifting through and pulling out other stuff and creating a mess.
It could be a shelf in the kitchen that houses your everyday coffee mugs and dishes, hooks installed in your entryway that house your car keys, umbrella, everyday coat, or even this cute clear caddy just for your basic daily skincare.
Follow the Morning 10 minute Flat Surface Rule
My husband and I recently started doing this and it has completely changed our morning mood.
We take 10 to just clear up the kitchen island, the dining table, the coffee table – any flat surface in a high-traffic room.
This just immediately reduces the glaring visual clutter and gives the overall feeling of a sense of calm and order.
Do a Monthly Purge for Every Room/Zone
Now this doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
You don’t have to go around clearing out every room, all at once. Start small and achievable. Do one zone or room at a time.
The timeframe isn’t so important – so adjust according to what’s realistic for you. The idea is just to estable a consistent ritual – so everything doesn’t pile up and you don’t end up too overwhelmed.
In order to make this process easy and less overwhelming, I’ve designed a room-by-room declutter checklist.
If you’re short on time, I have a declutter sweep method, that can clear UNBELIEVABLE amounts of clutter from your entire home in just 20 minutes. You can download the step-by-step guide, absolutely free, just sign up below:
Add Catch-alls
This is one of the simplest ideas to organize your home.
Just add Cute trays, hooks, desk organizers to high-traffic – anything you can drop stuff into that you can’t seem to house right away.
I’ll be honest, there have been days I’d come back from work without even the energy of putting my jewelry inside. I’d just take my earrings off and plonk them on my nightstand. 3 days later, I’d have a jumble of random jewelry lying about on my nightstand.
I added this ceramic catch-all tray. Now even if I drop stuff into it lazily, it doesn’t look as messy – even cute! And I always know where to look when I want to properly store/wear my jewelry.
Add a Pegboard
Cute and nifty.
Pegboards can be installed on the wall to organize any space – the entryway, kitchen or your home office.
Add pegs, hang stuff you frequently use – kind of becomes a design piece in itself.
Add Hooks
Behind doors, inside closets, on walls – you can never have enough hooks.
Add some vintage hooks to your bedroom to finally release the “not dirty enough laundry chair” from its heavy burden. Just hang the clothes instead.
Use Clear Organizers
Clear Organizers save you time. And lord knows you never have enough time.
One glance and you know what’s inside – and with these stackable clear bins everything looks rather tidy too.
Have An Ongoing Donate Zone/Bin
Ever since I started regularly decluttering,I’ve kept a zone in my utilities room full of donate boxes/bags.
Clothes, excess storage containers, old supplies – everything I don’t need and is in decent condition, goes in there.
That way I just call the charity once every few months – and I already have my donate pile ready to be given. Helps to keep the home free of unneeded clutter.
Have a Coffee/Tea Station
I truly believe starting the day with mess can literally mess up your mood.
Keep your morning ritual simple, keep it organized. That’s where a coffee and tea station comes in. A simple dedicated space that has all your supplies, accessories, tools and appliances.
You don’t need a whole kitchen island for this. It could be a small shelf or a cabinet that you just dedicate to this. This tiered rack from Amazon also doubles up as an accent piece on your counter.
Create a Mobile Cleaning Caddy
A simple caddy with a handle that houses your most-used cleaning supplies. This can include microfiber towels, cleaning sprays, detergents, brushes ot any other cleaning tools.
So when you need to, let’s say, speed-clean your bathroom mirror, you can just quickly pick up that caddy and carry it to you washroom. Saves time, looks tidy.
Create a Space for Electronics
The reality is we all have electronic items that may not be of immediate use. Sometimes, these can be floating randomly – adding to clutter and chaos.
Rarely used chargers, hard drives, batteries, spare parts, extra wires – all can go in one bin.
You can store them in wicker boxes and keep them as a display piece.
If needed you can further segregate with smaller boxes or bins inside the larger one.
But keep everything together – so you know where all your electronics are.
Adopt the Filing System to Avoid Mess
I kid you not. The clothes filing system has changed my life. When stored properly, with the right slotted organizers, this can prevent so much future mess in your closet.
Unlike piles that can topple, the file system is designed to not disrupt the way the rest of your clothes are stored.
Now that you’re armed with ideas to organize your home, you might need some help actually getting down to action.
I have a step-by-step guide to declutter your home in one weekend, where I simply break down the process day-wise. You can read that right here.
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