- Take 5 minutes everyday to pick up items in the most highly trafficked areas (kitchen, living room etc) to return them to where they belong. You’ll be surprised how easy it can be to stay on top of things this way. The best time to do this is before going to bed when the house is settled and no one is going to come behind you and re-clutter. When you leave one room look around to see if there is something you can bring with you to your next destination, pick up as you go
- Newspapers, flyers, coupons, magazines etc should be tossed out or put in the recycling box daily
- When something new arrives in the home, get rid of something old. Toss, donate or sell!
- Break it up into smaller jobs. Do one book shelf, one fridge shelf, one cabinet at a time.
- If you don’t use it, if it’s old, if it smells, if it looks weird, if it’s covered in inches of dust…toss it!
- Donate! Don’t keep what you never use anymore, keep a special box for items with sentimental value but there is no need to keep books, jewelry, scarves, purses, clothing, belts, shoes, CDs, DVDs, games, cookware, dishware, electronics, home décor etc that you are storing but will never have use for again.
- The less you keep on top of your dresser and nightstand the tidier your bedroom will look, and the easier it will be to clean when dusting day comes by!
- Magazine racks and baskets are perfect for organizing reading material and paperwork by the bed or computer, and can be purchased for next to nothing at your local dollar store.
- Roll your dish towels instead of folding them and you may be able to fit twice as many in the drawer as you had before
- Winter blankets can be folded lengthwise and stored right between the mattress and box spring during the summer months
- Annoyed with rooting around the fridge and/or cleaning up spills? Use a cookie sheets that is the same width as the shelf, place items on the sheet and slide that out instead when looking for items. Easier to clean than a fridge shelf!