Simple Tricks to Keep a Tidy House

It feels so nice to have a clean and tidy house after a good cleaning day but inevitably the family comes home and within seconds its gone!

When my kids were little, I would spend all day on Saturday deep cleaning and organizing their rooms and the living room to tidy the house. While they were with dad visiting grandma, I was working up a sweat to corral all of the toys and make our home seem less like the total disaster that it was. Five seconds after coming home, the kids had shoes and jackets dropped by the door. They are pulling out all the toys to find "that one" they wanted to play with. My husband was leaving crumbs all around the kitchen counter while making a sandwich that then got carried to the living room where my pillows got tossed aside and plates eventually landed on the coffee table. Ugh! Why did I even bother?

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What makes your home look dirty vs a tidy house?

A perfectly clean house can look like a complete mess anytime things are out of place. All of this chaos clouds our judgement and makes the space feel dirty and as a result you feel less relaxed and more stressed.

Why does this clutter happen?

Clutter happens, to be brutally honest, from people (including me and you) not taking the two minutes to put things away. Simply put, we are all innately lazy to some degree. The problem is that very few of us are taught the simple tricks to keep it all from adding up to complete chaos.

Clutter is the pile of papers on the counter or kitchen table, the shoes kicked off by the couch or door, and food or plates scattered around. It can also be stacks of anything that don't seem to have any kind of organization. Each individual thing out of place would have only taken a minute to fix in the moment, but by leaving them out they grow.

Have you ever noticed that once you clean up your closet, you will keep it straight for a few days or maybe even a week. It is due to the fact that we LIKE things to be clean and organized.

However, you oversleep one morning and toss a shirt across the chair and it will multiply faster that rabbits! The next time you look, there will be a huge stack of clothes there that need to be put away. At least, this is the cycle in my house.

I will search the entire house over looking for my favorite shirt and swear my daughter is stealing my stuff only to find it at the very bottom of my secret pile growing in my closet or across the chair in my bedroom. How many of you do the same?

10 Hacks to Keep it a Clean House

Sometimes it is the simple things that make all of the difference for a tidy house. Let's see how many you are doing!

Tip 1: Touch It Once

If you pick it up (usually to move it out of the way) immediately deal with it! Basically, it takes almost the same amount of time to DO the thing ie. put it away as it does to MOVE the thing. Living in a tidy house takes no extra time, just not procrastinating on things that need attention.

This is a rule the entire family needs to learn. That, however, may take time. Kids and even hubby's may need to be trained to put things away immediately. Set the example by putting things away immediately and then reminding them to do the same. A clean house is a team effort.

Personal Tip: Reminding them is not code for yelling or nagging at them. Be creative but not overly critical. When I see the kids are finishing their popsicles, I just remind them to take the sticks to the trash and not lay them down. Waiting til they are literally taking the last bite works best for my kiddos so it is less likely forgotten 5 minutes later.

Tip 2: Don't Go Empty Handed

When you get up to go into any other room in the house, scan to see if you can take something back with you. This is super helpful when you have stairs. I hate running laundry upstairs but when I need to go up I always grab it and save myself the extra trip. Keeping a small basket near the stairs also helps me to corral smaller items (usually kids stuff) that needs to return to their rooms! This core thought will definitely tidy things up around the house without adding stress.

We are bad about snacking in the living room but I grab the bowls, bags, or trash and deal with it when heading to the bathroom or to get a drink. This really helps keep things from piling up during family time!

Tip 3: Keep the Sink Cleared

Dirty dishes are by far my biggest pet peeve. They look nasty and smell even worse! No home looks clean or tidy if the sink is full of dishes. The trick is to deal with things regularly.

I have found while starting the FlyLady Cleaning System years ago that tackling this one thing INSTANTLY made our home seem cleaner (everyone noticed).

• Start Dishwasher (clean out the sink) every night

• Put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher every morning

• Throughout the day dirty dishes go straight into the dishwasher

• Repeat daily for a tidy house!

Tip 4: Corral Paperwork

Deal with paperwork as it comes in. Since I started doing this, my kitchen counter by the door stays relatively clear of the piles of mail and kids papers. Each day when the mail comes in or kids come home, I spend 5 minutes going through it all. All junk mail is immediately tossed in the trash. Bills go into the "To Be Paid" bin and all other things that need to be kept are filed immediately.

I never wish I had kept old paperwork. I keep finding recipes (as I declutter) I printed off of Pinterest years ago and NEVER even made them. The papers got put into a random box to be dealt with later and got out of hand. Now that I am intentional with immediately dealing with things, that never happens. I also recognize that I rarely use recipes these days from a paper. I just grab my phone and google them, easy peasy! If you love the recipes, make a binder for them or recipe box but you have to organize it and not pile it up.

Tip 5: Decide on a Place for Everything

I would be willing to bet that the reason for all of the piles clutter the house is because you don't know what to do with it. Let's think for a second. First, if it is needed then whatever it is need to be assigned a place.

I have cute boxes and bins for things all around the house. As already mentioned, there is the "to be paid" bin, the bin for lost socks, a box for crafting supplies...you name it and I am going to organize it. This eliminates the need for random piles. All crafting supplies is organized and then placed in a practical location for that activity. The bills are kept in the office. Lost socks bin is kept in the laundry room by the dryer so I can quickly find the matches in the next load (hopefully).

Tip 6: Limit the Number of Like Items

If you are like me, a love of pillows and throw blankets can quickly get out of hand. The 27,000 pillows on the couch or bed may look cute in a perfect world where no one moves them but in my house they end up tossed on the floor!

When I limited how much stuff I had, it became significantly easier to keep a clean house. 2-3 pillows may not get tossed around as much as the ton that I had.

Tip 7: Finish the Laundry

My friends and I compared notes on the laundry situation and here is what I've noticed. Either you wash it all but hate folding so you have a pile of "clean" laundry sitting somewhere OR you never started and you have a pile of dirty hiding in the bathroom or bedroom. Either way you have a pile.

In general, piles are a signal that things are not tidy. So, the reality is 1 load finished per day and put away will stop the piles. Now, start to finish this takes a bit. But...start it and go to work, flip it when you get home, fold it after dinner while watching tv, everyone puts theirs away as they head to bed. Done!

Tip 8: Invest in Things to Help Clean the House Easier

Not everyone can hire a maid to do it for you, but sometimes saving up for an item that will save you time is a good investment. One of my favorite gifts was my Roomba! I still have to deep clean my floors but it keeps the crumbs up by running every day while I am working on other things! Winning.

Tip 9: Make the Bed

Your momma was right on this one! Making the bed instantly makes your room look cleaner. If you don't have a lot of time, consider simplifying the process by taking off the "fluff". Grab your sheet and comforter and pull them up evenly on each side. Put pillows back neatly. Done.

Tip 10: Lock the Family Out

Since obviously THEY are the problem, lock the doors and enjoy a clean house. Just kidding, guys! Give yourself and your family some grace as you start making changes. It didn't get to be a wreck overnight and it won't magically be fixed overnight.

As you are consistent with cleaning, it gets easier and faster.

Tip 11: Set a Timer

One of the very best tools to get started with is to use a timer. I have ADHD which means I completely shift gears in the middle of projects. By setting a timer for 2 minutes or 5 minutes, I hyper focus for a short time on one task and surprisingly I can usually get finished before the timer goes off!

I also use the tv to get the kids motivated. Yes, I said it.

So, when we are having family time watching tv I will make everyone do a chore during the commercials. It ends up turning into a race which is funny in itself. Kids become competitive about getting back to the couch first. As long as the chore gets done, I am good with that. Even quick cleaning can bless the family!

Conclusion

Keeping the house clean is a constant battle but you can come out on top by doing these simple tasks every day. Skipping days is a surefire way to lose against the clutter. Focus on key areas like keeping the sink clear, beds made, and living room straight are good places to start!

If you would like even more motivation to tackle cleaning and organization, you can check out my YouTube channel where I post weekly videos and bring you into my home to inspire and encourage. As always, I pray that we can use the time that we have to do the things that are needed to bless the people that we love!