Destination De-clutter: 10 Tidy Tips to Get Your House in Order
Did you know people living in a cluttered home are more depressed, fatigued, and have higher levels of stress hormone cortisol than those in a tidy home?
It’s no wonder that many people with a cluttered home are looking for tips to tidy up and not feel overwhelmed.
If your home is a cluttered mess, it’s important to know it doesn’t have to be that way.
Read on for ten tidy tips to get started.
Destination De-clutter: 10 Tidy Tips to Get Your House in Order
The tidy tips below are to help with making your home feel tidy every day. Keep in mind that every person has a different clutter tolerance. Some people need a little bit of a “mess” in order to activate their creative side and get their work done.
Do what works best for you and makes you happy.
1. Make Your Bed
Many people feel that making the bed is a waste of time but this one thing makes a difference in how the room looks. This less than five-minute task every day will make a difference when you walk back into your room.
Usually, the bed is the largest thing in the room, and if it’s not done, it will make the whole room look like a mess.
If making your bed takes too long then you might want to look into different sheets or fewer pillows. Simpler bedding will make this task feel like a breeze.
2. Discard First, Organize Later
The point is to not put things away to get to them later as Marie Kondo teaches. Later tends to never happen and become a long lost memory until you move homes or you’re searching for something. Get rid of everything that you truly don’t need or love and then organize the items you are left with.
3. Easy Stuff First
Don’t start with sorting through memorabilia. Love letters and photo albums are the most difficult things to throw away. Unless you are attached to your clothing start by discarding clothes you don’t wear and then organize what you are left with.
After your clothing, move on to books, DVDs, and CDs if you have any. Then move on to paperwork or kitchen items and last but not least all of your sentimental items. By the time you reach your items of sentimental value, it will be a little easier since you have tackled everything else already.
4. Say Goodbye to Everything You Don’t Love
This will make assure you that what you are keeping are items you truly love. Hold the item you are contemplating of saying goodbye to and ask yourself if you truly love this item and if it brings you joy. If the item truly makes you feel joy, you’ll feel it right away and if it doesn’t it’s time to say goodbye.
Sometimes going for a contemporary feel and look will make this step a little easier.
5. Tackle One Load of Laundry Every Day
This can vary if it’s only you in your home then doing a load of laundry per day won’t make much sense. If you have a family, then this tip will make a huge difference.
Instead of having one laundry day where all you seem to be doing is an endless cycle of wash, dry, fold and put away you can tackle it one load every day and make it feel much easier and less daunting.
6. Prioritize
Make a list of all of the rooms in your home and put them in order from most important to least important. Start by tidying and organizing the room highest on your list. Some people choose their favorite room, others choose the easiest one to feel accomplished faster and others choose the hardest one first.
Again there is no right or wrong way the point is to tackle room by room.
7. Make It a Family Affair
Yes everyone should be involved in keeping the home tidy and organized. Sometimes it might feel easier to do it all yourself so that you don’t have to say how to do it and to make sure it meets your standards.
If you have kids teaching them age-appropriate tasks will be great for them in the long run and will eventually make it easier for you in the long run too. In the beginning, it will take a bit more time because of the constant reminders kids need but eventually, they will get the hang of their tasks to contribute to keeping the home tidy.
8. Ditch the Paperwork
Throw away elaborate filing systems you have because you are holding on to paperwork that is garbage. The easiest way to throw away what you don’t need is dividing paperwork into two groups.
- Papers to be saved
- Papers to be dealt with
Nowadays so much can be found online there is no need to keep paper bills, and manuals. Avoid piles of paper getting too big.
9. Let the Keepsakes Go with Love
This one can be very liberating if you have been holding on to that hideous keepsake from your Great Aunt’s Cousin Mimi. Trust us; it’s ok to say goodbye. As you are getting rid of your keepsake quietly thank the person who gave it to you.
Ask yourself why you’re keeping this keepsake and it’s bringing you joy. If you can say you feel happier having it then keep it if not let it go but with love.
10. Clean as You Go
This is an easy tip that can often not be done. Putting things away as you go don’t take much time but it will make a difference when keeping your home tidy.
When you take your clothes off, hang them up or put them right in the laundry. As soon as you come in the door, put your shoes and jacket away. These sound pretty simple, right? You will save yourself time running around doing all these extras and your home will always look tidier.
Having a clean home is critical to providing an environment that is stress-free.
Welcome to Your Tidy Stress-Free Home
After reading the tidy tips above don’t forget that your tolerance to clutter might be different from your friends. What makes a cluttered home feel stressful in your own perception of what clutter is. Design your home in a way that works best for you and most importantly that you love.
Looking for more inspiration or tips for your home? Check out our house and home section in our blog for more helpful posts.