Clean homes are the foundation of an organized, stress free life. Cleaning your home may seem like a daily necessity, but it probably isn’t the kind of reality you’re interested in. Break these 17 habits and you’ll notice how much less of a mess there is around your home.
1. Leaving Your Bed Unmade
Your mother was right when she said that leaving your bed unmade makes your whole room look messy. Get in the habit of making up your bed everyday, your room will look more organized, and you will feel like you’re ready to begin your day.
2.Put Clothes Away
Instead of leaving your clothing wherever you took it off (like, the bathroom floor) make it a habit to put the clothes in the laundry hamper. Maybe you’ll lose less socks this way!
3.Don’t Own Extras of Anything
This may not be the most feasible tip on this list, but get rid of anything you may have an extra of. Instead of having eight pairs of scissors, donate the ones you don’t need. You will be amazed at the amount of room little things like this take up!
4.Keep Mail Organized
Mail strewn all over your kitchen counter tops will create a look of a cluttered household. Here is a great tutorial to a darling mail holder that will keep your counter tops looking clean!
5. Forgetting to Wipe Things Down
If you missed the sink this morning while brushing your teeth, you probably forgot to wipe it up. You likely told yourself that you didn’t have time to wipe it up, and that you’d do it later. But you never did. Get in the habit of wiping down surfaces after every use. Keep Clorox wipes on hand for quick cleaning, and you will notice how much nicer everything looks when it isn’t covered in bread crumbs or toothpaste residue.
6. Hoarding Every Blanket You’ve Ever Owned
And then some! Keep a reasonable amount of blankets and pillows around your home. They aren’t exactly easy to store, and a large majority of them are never used. Donate unused items to a thrift store, animal shelter, or a homeless shelter.
7. Leaving Shoes By the Door
Blame your kids or whoever you want for this bad habit, but regardless of who is responsible, it still looks terrible! If you must keep shoes by the door, try storing them in a similar device (DIY tutorial here).
8. Hanging Coats on Chairs
A chair is not a coat hanger, no matter how often you try to convince yourself otherwise. Invest in a coat hanger (or make one!) and notice how much nicer your home looks without coats on every sitting surface. Coat hanger from Cuded.
9. Leaving Dishes in The Sink
Or leaving dishes anywhere, for that matter. Instead of leaving dishes at the table or in the sink, make a point of putting the dishes directly into the dishwasher. This is a lot more sanitary and it really looks a lot better. Don’t scare your dinner guests out of eating when they see that huge pile!
10. Not Putting Things Away When You’re Done
Go ahead, try and blame your kids again, but we all know that you are probably guilty of this as well. Put items away as soon as you are done using them, and create a storage system so this is easy to do. If you need help creating a storage system, click here for tips.
11. Not Vacuuming
It may be unrealistic to vacuum daily, but it is a good idea to vacuum once or twice a week. More so if you have pets. Freshly vacuumed carpet looks fresher and can help prevent dust and pollen allergies from acting up.
12. Throwing Everything In a Junk Drawer
Junk drawers may seem like something that would help us stay more organized, but this is exactly the opposite of what it does. Junk drawers allow you to hoard useless items. Get rid of junk drawers all together.
13. Never Doing Laundry
Instead of waiting until you have no underwear to throw in a load, get in the habit of doing laundry regularly throughout the week. This prevents laundry buildup, and it is easier to handle when it’s only a few loads at a time!
14. Never Cleaning Out The Fridge
Okay, that’s just wrong. But really, clean out your fridge at least two times a month and get rid of any questionable looking food. Set up an organization system in your fridge so you always remember where to put things!
15. Allowing Paper to Pile Up
Piles of mail probably aren’t the only piles of mail you have laying around. Finally recycle all of those magazines from last year, and create an area where kids can display their artwork. Instructions for this can be found at Milk and Cuddles.
Hi,
We always leave our shoes at the door. It’s a habit. I lived in Hawaii where your shoes stay at the door. However, if you’re talking about shoes you wear once in a while, like to church, then…YES…, put them back. However, our everyday shoes stay at the door.
And we don’t wear our shoes in the house.