Are you ready to set some ground rules for your home so you can finally maintain an orderly one?
If that’s a “yes”, then you are not alone. Everyone likes having a neat and clean home environment because it helps keeps us healthy and it creates a much happier and streamlined life.
However, cleaning a messy home can make almost anyone feel exhausted and overwhelmed, especially if they don’t have a set of fantastic house rules to abide by.
And these house rules are the best approach to help keep your home clean, so you can keep it that way.
Here are 8 cleaning & organizing home rules that’ll help streamline your home into a very orderly and tidy one.
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8 Home Organizing Rules Everyone Needs to Follow
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1. Pick up After Yourself.
When it comes to maintaining a clean and organized home we have so many excuses when it comes to doing the things that we don’t want to do and one of those things could be picking up after ourselves.
For some reason putting our clothes away, or taking a dish back seems like so much effort, but sticking to this home rule is really going to be an important rule if you wish to create more order in the home.
When we put things back to their rightful place, especially when it comes to our clothes, for example, it will make it so much easier to find the items that you always love to wear rather than sorting through a large unorganized pile that’s at the bottom of your closet.
So, whatever excuses you have, banish them because, at the end of the day, you’ll be really surprised how clean your space stays if you start picking up after yourself on a daily basis.
Similar: Step by Step Guide to Thinning Out Your Closet
2. Create a “drop zone” for Your Most Important Things.
It’s extremely important that you have a place for all of your important things so that you can remain tidy when you enter the home.
You know the stuff that is important to you, things like your keys, your cell phone, wallet, make-up, sunglasses, basically anything that you will need for the day or the go-to items that you can’t live without.
By creating a designated area or ‘drop off zone’ for these items (and any other necessities that you may need from time-to-time), you’ll never have to search for that forgotten item again — making this home rule one that will never fail you!
3. Honor What You Have, Decide What to Keep & release the old rule.
Are you saving onto your old first date movie stubs, dried up flowers, Or maybe “Memorable” paper that is outdated and just doesn’t serve a purpose anymore?
It might be time to rethink what you are holding onto and what you can genuinely let go of, without feeling regret. It’s okay to pay homage to your memories but don’t let them pile up in your home.
Your home is your place to hold your treasured memories but if you have them piling up, maybe it’s time to honor what you can keep and release the old that’s weighing you down.
4. Start Home Planning at the Beginning of the Day.
Expert organizers say that the key to staying very organized is to begin from the second you wake up by creating an intention to actually clean and organize what you’ve been meaning to do for months.
This may sound silly at first, but when you set your day up with house chores and decluttering ‘in mind’ and seek to accomplish them, your home will reflect all your efforts and hard work.
Start each day by writing down your three most important home chores that you would like to complete for the day. It could be as simple as cleaning out your junk drawer, all the way down to reorganizing your storage area.
Similar: 8 Laundry Room Organization Items to Make Your Life Easier
5. Follow the “Just One Thing” House Rule.
Pro organizers have a lot to say, to those messy people, that just can’t seem to get away from their clutter — and it’s to follow the “just one thing” home rule.
This rule is kind of like picking up after yourself but with a little more emphasis. It will help you find that ‘just one thing’ that you can easily put away, in between, when you are doing or walking from one room to the next.
And if you get into the habit of grabbing at least one thing when you see it, your home will turn into a very clean and tidy space, very quickly.
6. Keep All the Surfaces Clear in your home.
When it comes to maintaining a clean and orderly home, the clear surface rule is always going to be echoed time-and-time again and that’s because it really is one of the most important home rules that one can implement.
Therefore, when it comes to keeping your home clutter-free and tidy, think about all the surfaces in your home like tables, desks, floors, and counters (they are all surfaces), and since they gather up so much clutter from almost everyone who uses them, try to keep them as clear as you can.
7. Purge Every Three Months.
Through time, we can gather so many unnecessary things that we do not need, and that makes our homes look all the messier.
That’s why purging every three months is a fantastic home rule, because it can help you stay in control of what you decide to keep and what you decide to let go of.
To put this rule into action, decide what you’d like to donate, trash, or sell every three months. You’ll be doing this four times a year if you do, and it will be a lot easier to manage your home because you will have a lot less stuff to clean up.
Here are some handy things to remember when it comes to purging your household items:
- Begin by listing each room in your house that you want to organize and number them in an orderly sequence from most important to least important. That way you can complete the process of decluttering or purging from most necessary to get done, to least.
- Define your decluttering goals and decide if you are ready to accept a more minimalist lifestyle. Sometimes we dream of having an organized home, but we just love stuff, so define how you want your home to look and determine what goals you are realistically able to carry through with.
- Invest in tools! Get some boxes, bags, or baskets for sorting items. Having empty Tupper wear containers will really give you that extra boost you’ll need come organizing day.
- Inspect each item carefully and really make a conscious choice on whether it serves a true purpose being in your space. Marie Kondo is queen for organizing this way and you can learn all about how she does it in this organizing post here.
- Sort everything into four piles; trash, recycle, sell, donate. Once you have everything in uniform, you’ll be surprised how easy this becomes every three months.
8. Store your permanent home items accordingly.
When it comes to maintaining a home that stays tidy, you must store your belongings accordingly.
For example, cookbooks, novels, and textbooks are all books that should be sub-categorized and stored in their perfect place in a cohesive way. Another example could be things like nail polish with nail polish removers, scarves with mitts, and whatever seems like they should go together, make sure to store them accordingly.
Pro organizers always store similar items with other similar items, because they know it will do the trick in helping maintain a tidy home. Plus if you like stuff and a lot of it, then having a home for it will help you streamline the mess.
This is also one of Marie Kondo’s go-to rules in the KonMari approach so it’s best to follow suit because it works to create order.
There you have it. Isn’t it nice to know that you don’t have to spend multiple hours cleaning if you repeatedly follow some of these existing home rules to stay tidy?
Pick one house rule and see how it helps you keep your home clean. Focus all week on making that one rule stick, then you can start the next rule and go on from there!
If you would like to take your decluttering one step further?! Check out 10 Habits Of People With Homes That Are Always Organized Next!
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Author: Rebecca
Hi, my name is Rebecca and I am the face behind Everything Abode! I am a lifestyle and wellness writer based out of Vancouver Island. When I’m not writing or exploring mountains and beaches with my furry rescue, I love spending time learning creative ways to manifest a healthy home. Thanks for stopping by!
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