Before becoming a minimalist, I would often look at things lying around and think why I even bought them at first place. Clutter doesn’t happen in a day. It rather keeps piling up with all the mindless consumption that we do on a daily basis. And it’s only when you start cleaning your home that you realize how cluttered it actually is.
This post has affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures.
I remember how I used to get an aneurysm when guests would arrive on a short notice, thanks to my home that was always jam-packed with junk. At that moment, I would usually find myself regretting why I didn’t make it a habit to clean it every day. After all, it’s always easy to do a little decluttering daily rather than having to do it all at once.
Won’t it be amazing to have fewer chores to handle during the day by organizing your home on a daily basis? Imagine how easy it would be to keep your home decluttered if you are doing it for a few minutes every day rather than wasting your whole weekend over it.
Here are some simple things that you can do every day to keep your home organized and clutter-free:
1. Make Your Bed As You Wake Up
An unmade bed is all it takes for the clutter to set in. If you wish to declutter not only your home but also your life, start with making your bed every morning. You’ll be amazed by how this small task can make your room look clutter-free. In order to make the job easier, pack away the extra set of bedding in a storage bag while only using the ones that you need on a daily basis. You may find yourself procrastinating at the thought of making the bed if you delay doing it which is why you must do it the first thing in the morning.
2. Do The One Minute Tasks Immediately
We often don’t realize how a few simple tasks, if put off for later, can add up to make the home look completely untidy. Make it a habit to complete these one minute tasks right away. Take the trash out to the garbage bin, hang the wet towel out to dry immediately after taking a bath and place the newspaper in the drawer or in the newspaper basket after reading it. These tasks won’t take up more than a minute or two of yours but can make a huge difference to your home.
3. Get Through The Physical Mail Immediately
Paper clutter can easily get out of hand if you fail to get through it on a daily basis. Physical mail, if gone unhandled for a few days, can pile up to a level that can make your space look cluttered and messy. It’s important that you deal with the physical mail as soon as possible in order to eliminate paper clutter in your home. Throw away the ones that you won’t be needing in the future while keeping the important ones properly in a mail storage box.
4. Do The Dishes Immediately After Meals
I didn’t know until my hostel days how easy decluttering can be if I could make it a habit to do the dishes immediately after eating. I hated seeing a mountain of unwashed dishes at the end of the day which is why I started doing the dishes as soon as I eat the meals. Not only does it save my time, but also helps keep the kitchen clean throughout the day.
5. Reset Your Home Every Night
One of the easiest ways to eliminate clutter on a daily basis is to do a quick reset of your house before hitting the bed at night. Be done with tidying up the home before you sleep – do the dishes, clean the kitchen countertop, put the books back in the shelves and clothes back in to the closet or in a clothes hamper. Not only does it help you stay on top of your decluttering game, but also helps you start fresh the next day with no clutter piling up to clean.
6. Follow A Daily Cleaning Routine
If you want your home to be free of clutter every single day, you need to be cleaning it on a daily basis. Make a realistic routine that only requires you to spend 15 minutes a day decluttering your space and try to be as consistent as possible with it. Spend these 15 minutes doing chores that are absolutely necessary for a clean and organized home – mop the floors, change the bedsheets, and clean the bathrooms. Don’t over-stress yourself by creating an hour long cleaning routine or you will start procrastinating.
7. One Extra Job Every Day
If you want every corner of your home to stay decluttered, make it a habit to do one extra organization job every day besides normal cleaning. Be it cleaning the kitchen shelf, eliminating the paper clutter or decluttering the drawers or closets, doing one extra job each day goes a long way in keeping your home clutter-free for the longest time.
8. One Load Of Laundry Every Day
What really makes me anxious is seeing a huge heap of laundry that multiplies every day. While staying away from home, I learned that it’s always easier to do one load of washing every day in order to keep it from piling up. I would also make it sure to fold them and put them away the same day in order to get rid of the visual clutter.
9. Keep The Kitchen Counter Clean
While cooking the food, I earlier used to leave utensils on the countertops with the intention of cleaning them later. Within no time, a few cooking utensils would make way for more utensils and clutter making the kitchen look messier than ever. As clutter attracts more clutter, even a single thing kept out of place can create a big problem for your otherwise tidy home. So try to keep those kitchen counters clean by putting the appliances back in the shelves and utensils back in the drawers after using them.
10. Don’t Let The Clutter Set In
One of the best ways to keep your home decluttered every single day is by preventing the clutter from setting in. Keep the shoes back in the shoe rack immediately after getting home. Stop buying things on impulse and get rid of the items that are unnecessarily taking up that valuable space in your home. You’ll be saving yourself a lot of time and energy by simply standing in the way of clutter headed towards your home.
Of course, you don’t need to feel overwhelmed with the tasks listed above. If you find it hard to go through them all, you can simply pick a few of them to start with until you are able to make way for the rest.
Try doing these tasks for a few days and you will find that it’s not that difficult to keep your home clean and organized. Moreover, as you get into a habit of doing the above tasks on a daily basis, you will find it much easier to manage your home.