I love a clean and organized house, I love having only as much stuff as I need around me..
but somehow, especially in January, I always find myself amids a messy and dusty house
filled with all sorts of stuff that is only cluttering up my space.
So, January again..time to get cracking and clean that house!
My problem is that I find Pinterest, DevianArt, Facebook..you name it..
a lot more interesting then cleaning up all the mess around me.
To give myself a bit of a guidance where to start tackling the mess I made a printable chart
of which room to clean on what day, a weekly cleaning chart so to say.
That way, if you slack off for a while, you can just pick right up again
and have a clean(ish) house again in a week.
Feel free to print out my chart and use it to your advantage in the war against dust and clutter!
I will add some useful links and ideas that I come across that will be helpful on the road to getting super-organized ect..one has to have dreams no? :)
Good luck!
Your road map to get organized:
1. Be realistic!
Don’t try to get it all done in one day, 30 minutes every day will get the job done too.
Don't beat yourself up because you haven't been cleaning or decluttering, it's never to late to start.
You are researching how to be the boss over the mess right now, so be proud of yourself!
2. Do it for yourself.
Don't try to impress anyone but you. Not the neighbors, not the family - you.
Don't mind living in a mess? Just give it a try and see if you feel differently about yourself.
I have found for myself that a clean surrounding gives me inner peace, the more organized
my surrounding is the more organized and balanced do I feel myself.
That's just me though, give it a shot and see if you feel any different about yourself too.
If not don't worry, clutter and mess is like a boomerang, it will be back soon enough again 8D
3. Don’t procrastinate - just do it, now!
Start with 15 minutes today and then be proud of yourself that you made a start!
4. Create a starter zone!
Clean one area of any clutter and mess - your desk, your table, the kitchen counter
or your couch area in the living room. Start small, just this zone!
There is one rule: nothing can be placed here that doesn't belong in this zone!
If you use the table, de-mess it afterwards right away! If you place a coffee mug on your desk,
clean it away when you leave the area!
Keep this zone tidy and decluttered and celebrate this zone! :))
5. Three Boxes and a bag!
Get yourself three boxes, plastic or cardboard, it doesn't matter, but big enough to hold some stuff, and a trash bag.
If you don't have boxes don't put it off until you have some! (don´t procrastinate, remember? )
Just get bags instead.
Take the boxes and the trash bag to the area you want to declutter.
The boxes are for the following:
Box 1: Stays in this room
Box 2: belongs in another room
Box 3: Sell/Give away
The trash bag is for everything that is broken, that is obvious trash
or that you think no one will want.
Now start working in you declutter zone - pick up and item and make a decision!
The first question you should ask yourself is: do I really need this?
For a lot of people this is an easy question but I personally know people who have a real problem with this. Parting with things can be a real problem, especially if something isn´t obviously broken or useless. But remember: these are only things, they don´t define who you are! Things never fulfill, they can be nice to have and make you somewhat content, they can be darn useful and fun, but they will never change the real you,
change your persona or lift up your self-worth.
change your persona or lift up your self-worth.
Even more, they can become your enemy if you let them take over your house/life.
So ask yourself: do I really need this?
If yes:
does it stay in this room? -> Box 1does it belong in another room? -> Box 2
is it too nice to throw away but I don't really need it? ->Box 3
If no:
put it in the trash bag
Clean one area like this and then throw the trash away and try to clean out the boxes -
the sell/give away box might stay around for a while but try your best to get rid of the things in box three! Try to stick to items that people really would still like to have too,
those knitting magazines from the 80ies are probably not really useful to anyone anymore so bye bye 80ies!
6. Everything needs a home!
Give everything in your house a "home", a fixed place where it should go, where you store it, where it can live a happy life. If you catch it somewhere else return it to its home! End homelessness in your house!
7. Never go empty handed!
If you have to go somewhere in the house - from the living room to the kitchen, from the bedroom to the bathroom, from the kitchen to the study - quickly look around you and check if there is anything that needs to go to that room (or towards that general area). If so take it with you! You're running around the house all day anyway
so you might as well clean up while doing so!
8. Have a "needs to go upstairs" box near the stairs
(but not on the stairs for safety reasons)
Next to my stairs I have a wooden crate where I put everything from downstairs that needs to go upstairs. If you go upstairs or catch a family member on the way up ask them to take something from the box to the room they are going to! It doesn't take any effort at all to quickly check the box but it will make your life so much more easy!
9. Develop rituals!
Two rituals that I try to nurture are making my bed in the morning and always clean out and polish my kitchen sink in the evening. Two small things but for me they make a big difference - they make me feel somewhat in control and make me happy in the morning when I see my shiny kitchen sink and happy in the evening when I see my nicely made bed. By the way, not making your bed so the dust mites have a hard life might be true, but by the time I'm done in the bathroom and got dressed at least 15 minutes have passed, plenty of time for a messed up bed to air.
Before I got downstairs I can savely make my bed.
Neat ideas:
Store your bed sheets in their own pillow cases
Idea from Martha Stewart
is it too nice to throw away but I don't really need it? ->Box 3
If no:
put it in the trash bag
Clean one area like this and then throw the trash away and try to clean out the boxes -
the sell/give away box might stay around for a while but try your best to get rid of the things in box three! Try to stick to items that people really would still like to have too,
those knitting magazines from the 80ies are probably not really useful to anyone anymore so bye bye 80ies!
6. Everything needs a home!
Give everything in your house a "home", a fixed place where it should go, where you store it, where it can live a happy life. If you catch it somewhere else return it to its home! End homelessness in your house!
7. Never go empty handed!
If you have to go somewhere in the house - from the living room to the kitchen, from the bedroom to the bathroom, from the kitchen to the study - quickly look around you and check if there is anything that needs to go to that room (or towards that general area). If so take it with you! You're running around the house all day anyway
so you might as well clean up while doing so!
8. Have a "needs to go upstairs" box near the stairs
(but not on the stairs for safety reasons)
Next to my stairs I have a wooden crate where I put everything from downstairs that needs to go upstairs. If you go upstairs or catch a family member on the way up ask them to take something from the box to the room they are going to! It doesn't take any effort at all to quickly check the box but it will make your life so much more easy!
9. Develop rituals!
Two rituals that I try to nurture are making my bed in the morning and always clean out and polish my kitchen sink in the evening. Two small things but for me they make a big difference - they make me feel somewhat in control and make me happy in the morning when I see my shiny kitchen sink and happy in the evening when I see my nicely made bed. By the way, not making your bed so the dust mites have a hard life might be true, but by the time I'm done in the bathroom and got dressed at least 15 minutes have passed, plenty of time for a messed up bed to air.
Before I got downstairs I can savely make my bed.
Neat ideas:
Store your bed sheets in their own pillow cases
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