5 Good Habits to Get Organized and Eliminate Mess

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In the chaos of daily living, it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed by the constant battle against clutter and disarray in our homes. As we navigate through piles of paperwork, search for misplaced belongings, and struggle to find a sense of calm amidst the mess, we yearn for a more organized living space. It’s time to unveil the keys to reclaim your space, discover the joy of tidiness, and bid farewell to chaos. Here are 5 good habits to get organized and eliminate the mess!

1. Give Everything a Home

Every item that you own should have a place where it belongs. For example, dirty clothes belong in the hamper, keys belong on the key rack or in your purse, shoes are stored in the closet, etc. Once you’ve established where each item belongs, the next step is to commit to putting things back in their proper place when you aren’t using them. 

Establish in your mind that you will put things back where they belong no matter how tired or busy you are. This means makeup doesn’t stay on the counter just because you’re running late for work. Dirty dishes don’t stay piled in the sink because you’re exhausted. Once you get in the habit of taking just a couple moments to put things where they belong it will become second nature and you won’t have to think twice about it. You can even begin to factor in a couple of extra minutes to put things where they belong before moving on to the next task.

After you’ve mastered this habit, you can teach those in your household to do the same thing. This one tip alone will instantly help you eliminate the appearance of clutter in your home. Say goodbye to misplaced shoes, piles of mail, and lost keys!

2. Declutter Hotspots Regularly

When talking about organizing the home, the concept of decluttering often comes up. Decluttering is important because it is the act of removing unnecessary items from an untidy place. In order to declutter effectively and see results, you’ll want to declutter regularly. This is a good habit to get organized and eliminate mess.

 The reality is we collect junk and odds and ends regularly- sometimes even daily. This means we should be decluttering just as often.

In order to declutter without the overwhelm, practice decluttering daily. Focus on your hotspots. Hotspots are the main areas of your house that get cluttered quickly. For example, your living room may be a hotspot that gets cluttered daily with cups, toys, blankets, magazines, etc.

 If this is true for you, set aside 5 minutes every night to tidy this space. Another example may be your kitchen counters with leftover food, dirty dishes, crumbs, or dishtowels from the day. Take a few minutes before bed to tidy this area.

Other hotspots that need regular decluttering are the laundry room, home office, bathroom counter, kids’ rooms, etc. As you become more comfortable with the habit of daily decluttering hotspots, you may even decide to do it periodically throughout the day when possible. This will make your nightly decluttering session very brief and hardly noticeable.

3. Schedule a Giveaway Day to Eliminate Mess

There are various ways you can do this so choose what works best for you and your home. A giveaway day is simply a day where you get rid of things. You can give things away to friends and family, donate things to Salvation Army, have a garage sale, or simply throw things away. The idea is to get rid of items that you do not need.

Depending on how quickly you and your family accumulate items, you can plan a day on the calendar weekly, monthly, or quarterly to be your giveaway day. You can establish this as a routine in your home by giving everyone a “donate” box or bag. 

Encourage them to put items in their box/bag as they notice items they don’t need or use anymore. Schedule a day to give your donations to a place like Salvation Army or Goodwill. This way, once your scheduled day arrives, everyone’s box/bag should have items and be ready to give away.

Make note that not everything we have is in good enough condition to donate to someone else. For example, that worn pair of jeans from 20 years ago maybe just a little too worn to give. Instead, plan to throw overused items in the trash or recycling bin. This is something that you can explain to your family as well. 

Between giving and trashing items regularly your home can remain clutter-free.

4. Implement Systems

The fourth good habit is to develop a system for organizing your belongings. You can sort items by category, utilize storage bins and labels, or invest in shelves and cabinets. Find a method that works for you and your family’s lifestyle and preferences. An organized system will save you time and energy in locating things and prevent the clutter from reemerging.

Here are some areas where you can implement systems:

• Recipes
• Organizing Spices
• Incoming Paperwork
• Car Organization
• Laundry System
• Family Schedule
• Meal Planning
• Seasonal Item Organization

For more information about creating simple systems, read 5 Ways to Stay Organized with Tasks that Need to Be Done.

5. Maintain a Cleaning Routine

Lastly, in order to eliminate mess, you’ll want to maintain a cleaning routine. A simple cleaning routine can take as little as minutes a day, but can really help you keep a clean and tidy home with less effort. Instead of spending hours of one day cleaning the entire house, consider breaking the job up into several small tasks that you can sprinkle throughout the week.

Designate a small task to complete each day. For example, you may want to tackle one load of laundry on Mondays and Tuesdays. Wednesdays may be for changing bedding or washing towels. Vacuum on Thursdays. Maybe you mop the floors on Fridays and clean out the fridge on Saturdays. These tasks may take you 5-20 minutes and leave you feeling like you didn’t do much at all, yet your home is always clean and tidy. 

Another thing to consider is to have some daily tasks. Quickly cleaning the toilet and wiping the sinks in your bathroom can be a daily task that takes 5 minutes a day and leaves you with a clean bathroom each day. 

Hopefully, you’ve learned some tips and you are ready to implement good habits to get organized and eliminate mess. The great thing about is that you can work smarter, not harder, and still maintain a clean and tidy home with less effort than you anticipated. It’s all about establishing solid habits and routines! Happy Cleaning!