Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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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11 comments:

  1. This is such a good list. I try to adhere to all of them but struggle, especially during the work week!

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  2. You sound like you love flylady...lol I love flylady too. I would add doing 1 load of laundry a day from washing to hanging...and also making sure dishes are washed and put away...having these two things alone done everyday makes it much less overwhelming to get the rest done

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    1. I was on a FlyLady kick last year. I didn't keep it all up for long but there were some really great habits and lessons that I've held on to for sure! I also like doing one load of laundry a day and going to bed with a clean kitchen. Those two things make such a difference!!

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  3. I have a "lazy day checklist" for when I'm sick or exhausted from a holiday or big event : 1.throw in a load of laundry 2.make food that doesn't dirty a lot of dishes(leftovers are perfect) 3.fold and hang up clothes, only takes a few minutes for one load 4. Wash all dishes before bed (have your Love help!) This list will allow you to wake up refreshed instead of overwhelmed the next day!

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    1. A lazy day checklist is a GREAT idea! I'll have to use that one for sure. Thanks for the added tip, I know everyone appreciates your input!

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  4. One more thought lol....the most benificial habit to learn is to live consciously. Which means to pay attention to what you are doing. If your making tea, pay attention to everything your doing. If you get out a box of tea bags then put them back. If your not living consciously then you will most likely forget to put the box up and it will sit on your counter all day, along with everything else you forgot to put up!

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    1. That is so true! Sometimes you just go on auto pilot and go through the motions. Those are the days where at the end you wonder, "What did I do all day??"

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  5. I like the "live consciously" tip. It's like an umbrella covering the "do it now" and "touch it once" rules. I struggle with those and find that the typical culprit is multi-tasking. That's a big FlyLady no no, but I'm super guilty of it. I used to think I was a good multi-tasked and was probably ok at it, but now that I have kids there are too many inerterruptions for me to keep track of all my tasks if I have them all going at once!

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    1. I like the life consciously tip too! I am the queen of multitasking (or rather, just getting distracted). If any sort of organizing task involves photographs of any kind, I'll get lost in them. Guaranteed. Not a chance that I'll finish that task once its started! Haha.

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  6. I'm loving your "make your life simple" series! Already looking forward to your next one :)
    -Bethany

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    1. Thank you so much! I so appreciate the feedback and encouragement. I needed it!

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