8 Ways to Have a Tidy, Decluttered Home

“Keep my home tidy and decluttered.”  This phrase seems to be on everyone’s New Year’s resolutions list.  I get it.  I’m a self professed neat freak.  I can’t stand clutter, it makes me nervous.  So over the years I’ve come up with a few ways to keep our house tidy and clutter free (for the most part).  There are eight quick and easy things I do everyday to keep our home tidy and decluttered.

Make your bed.  The first thing I do when I get up each morning is make my bed.  We go to the trouble and expense of buying beautiful linens, bedspreads, throws and pillows, so why not show them off  instead of having them piled up on the floor?  Plus I don’t like getting into an unmade bed at night (my hubby and I disagree on this).  To me, there’s nothing more comfortable than a tidy, fresh bed to hop into at the end of a long day.  By making your bed and tidying your bedroom, you’re off to a good start towards keeping your home tidy and decluttered.

Tidy up the dinner dishes.  To me there’s nothing worse than getting up in the morning to a sink full of dirty dishes left over from dinner the night before.  I feel like I’m already behind for the day.  That’s why each night after dinner, no matter how tired I am, I clean up the kitchen.  I actually try to put away as much as I can while I’m making dinner, sort of clean as I go.  Enlist the help of your family so that you’re not stuck doing the cooking and the cleaning.

Tidy up the family room.  This is another quick night time chore you can do (and get the kids to help with).  Make sure all toys, books, newspapers, etc.  are put away.  Your mornings will be much less stressful if there isn’t clutter lying about.

Start a family Chore Chart.  If you find keeping your home tidy and decluttered challenging, then a chore chart may be just the thing you need.  You can use it for yourself and your family to remind everyone what chores they are responsible for and when they need to be completed.  Make it fun for the kids by adding cute stickers beside their names when their chores are complete.  I found this fun template in Microsoft Word.

Stay on top of your laundry and ironing.  Dirty laundry and ironing waiting to be done can really make your home appear untidy and cluttered.  If you’re like me, ironing isn’t one of your favorite jobs so I’m of the opinion it’s best to get the worst job out of the way first, then it’s finished.  I try to iron as soon as the laundry is dry.  That way it’s not lying around and I don’t have to think about it (well at least not until the next laundry day!)

Throw out unwanted newspapers and magazines on a regular basis.  Once a newspaper or magazine has been read and enjoyed it’s time to get rid of it.  Now I know there are some magazines that you’ll want to keep.  I can’t imagine throwing out my Magnolia magazines!  If there are publications that you’d like to keep, put them in a pretty basket or other type of container (and don’t let them spill out over the top).  Stacks of old newspapers and unwanted magazines will definitely keep you from reaching your goal of having a tidy and decluttered home.

Open the mail as it comes in.  Whether it be on a daily basis or twice a week like ours, open your mail and deal with it each time it comes in.  Stacks of unopened mail can make your home look very cluttered.  Plus if you stay on top of it you won’t have to spend tons of time opening a huge stack of mail!

Keep bills and household document filing up to date.  This is something I struggle with sometimes.  I try to file my  bills as soon as I pay them, but often I run out of time and they go into the “to be filed” basket which can rapidly fill up!  So in order to keep my home office tidy and decluttered, I try my best to do the filing as I go.  This practice will also keep you more organized.  If you need to go back and look at a document, you’ll know it’s been filed and you can find it more easily.

Be sure and check out my other posts on getting organized, Even the Most Organized Need to De-clutter From Time to Time and Declutter and Get Organized Before the Christmas Rush .  So if your New Year’s resolution is to keep your house tidy and decluttered, hopefully these tips will help.  What tips and tricks do you have for keeping your home tidy and decluttered?  I’d love to hear!