I was always very particular about having a clean and organized house. People could drop by any time of the day and the house was immaculate. It was easy. I had no children.
Things changed when my boys started walking and making a mess. Suddenly I had to spend the majority of my time looking after my children and the house was getting messy and disorganized.
I realized I couldn’t live like that. When I saw the mess I felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t concentrate and I kept thinking: “What if someone drops by?”
That is when I decided to put an end to the disorganized chaos and turn it into organized chaos.
I follow 7 Can’t-Miss Ways To Organized House:
- Clutter Baskets – make or buy a basket for each family member where they can put the miscellaneous stuff they usually spread around the house like keys, wallets, school crafts, pens, trinkets the kids find on the way home. Place the baskets on a shelf at the front door or inside the front closet. I have my kids to empty their baskets every night or so and either throw away stuff they no longer need or put it into the proper spot.
- Laundry Hampers – place a laundry hamper in every bedroom – my kids and my husband used to leave dirty clothes all over the house until I put a laundry hamper in every bedroom. Now there is no excuse to have a house with dirty clothes everywhere.
- Personalized Bathroom Baskets or Containers – our vanity and medicine cabinet was always a mess. Everybody used to look for their stuff that was mixed all together. Afterward, they just tossed it back or left it on the counter. Few new shelves behind the door and few personal baskets solved that issue. No more mess and clutter.
- Morning Sweep – every morning after kids are out of the house I walk around with a laundry basket and collect all clutter my family left behind from the living room, dining room and the kitchen. I place it in their baskets so they can put it away later.
Limit Toys and Games – place a limit on the items kids can have in their bedrooms or in designated areas of the house. Both of my children have a certain amount of shelves, baskets or bins in their rooms. Every couple of months they organize their rooms and toss away broken stuff or give away stuff they no longer need or want.- Clean Entry – there is nothing worse than to enter someones home and be greeted with a floor covered with coats, shoes, bags, mittens. Create a spot at the front door for each person to hang their coats and backpacks. Put away their shoes.
- Clutter Free Zone – there are certain spots in every house that clutter just gravitates towards like the dining room and kitchen tables, kitchen counters, coffee tables. Make these areas clutter-free zones. Every time I see someone putting something in the clutter-free zone and it doesn’t belong there I stop them and make them put it away.
