5 Tips To Make Your Life Simple {good habits for a tidy house}

Ever since I quit my job and started staying  home, I have been looking for the magic formula for that "always tidy house" that every other mother always seems to have.  Now, I know that nobody actually keeps a tidy house all the time but that doesn't mean that we can't strive for it.  While daydreaming about these days, I pictured myself as having all of this time to devote to housekeeping, exercise and lots of planned, intentional activities for our babies. In reality, I make time for all of these things, but each one comes in waves.  I rarely have time to accomplish all of the above on the same day.  In my quest for the magic formula, I have compiled some tips I've found that, if made habits, can really keep your house tidy most of the time!  And if the house is already tidy, you have more time to devote to your other priorities.

1) A place for everything and everything in its place.  This is a very important one.  Every. Little.  Thing.  that lives in your house with you needs to have a home of its own.  From your sneakers to an extra keychain.  EVERYTHING.  I would even go so far as to label said homes so there isn't any confusion amongst the family.  If you have a place to put it, you will most likely put it there.  Also try to be sure that the place is convenient to where the item will be most used and is easily accessible.

2) Do it now. If you think about it, most tasks will take 5 minutes or less {hanging your coat in the coat closet instead of over the back of a kitchen chair for instance}; but for some reason we don't put forth that little bit of extra effort.  Before we know it we have all kinds of things strewn about and what seemed an innocent lazy moment turns into a messy house that we have to spend a day putting back in order.  If you adopt a "do it now mentality" and put forth that little bit of extra effort, most things will end up back in their place.

3) Touch it once. Though this habit can work for many things, it is especially useful for paper clutter.  When you go get the mail sort it right then and there.  Recycle the junk, put the bills and magazines in their "place," go ahead and respond to RSVP cards, post reminder cards on the fridge, etc. etc.  If you put it all in an "I'll get to it later pile," chances are, it will pile up and become an overwhelming, counter hogging mess before you know it.  {This habit can also apply to email.  I struggle pretty badly with applying it there myself...}

4) Back to ready. This one is so easy and made SUCH a huge difference when we started implementing it!!  When we are ready to leave a room, we take a couple minutes to put it "back to ready."  This simply means that we take the time to clean up any toys, put dishes in the sink/dishwasher, or whatever else needs to be done to get the room back in order.  When we first started implementing this habit we were pleasantly surprised that, no matter how big the mess, it usually took less than 2 minutes to clean up.  Yup, you read that right.  TWO.  Blew my mind.  Turns out, when you stay on top of it, any mess that gets made stays pretty manageable!

5) Clear Clutter Magnets. We all have them.  Those areas in our homes that seem to be clutter magnets, no matter how hard we try (FlyLady would call them "hot spots").  The solution here is to work time into your evening routine to take care of business.  Adopt that "do it now" mentality and put your keys back in their place on the entry table, touch that junk mail a second time and actually put it in the recycling, put the scissors back in the junk drawer, you get the picture.  You'll go to bed knowing you are waking up to a clean slate without any clutter waiting for you.

There you have it!  Five habits to make your life a little more simple and your house a little more tidy. I have days where I just walk in circles and forget all about these gems.  On the days I do remember them, though, things run SOOO smoothly and I feel so great about myself by the end of the day.  They really are so simple, it's just getting into the right mindset and actually getting started that is the tricky part.  I hope you can work them into your days and that you find them as useful as I do!!

Here I am almost 2 years later to add a 6th tip!  Never leave the room empty handed.  Whenever you leave a room, look around for something that belongs in the room to which you are going.  Grab it, take it with you and put it away!  :)

Do you have any simple habits that help keep your house tidy?  Please share in the comments below!

~Sarah

Click here for more posts from the "Make Your Life Simple" series!

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