Want to learn how to keep a clean and tidy home?

Growing up I would have considered myself a clean freak. I kept my room super neat and tidy even as a teenager when most of us are gross creatures at that age. Not saying I never did weird gross things, my room just never showed it. I was 20 when I moved out for the first time and got my own place and kept up with that as well. I wanted everything to be organized and since it wasn’t a large space it was pretty easy!

But then came my experience as a wife living with my husband for the first time in my life and I realized that cleaning up for another person besides myself was exhausting. Now this is not to say that my husband is dirty or messy… in a lot of ways he is much cleaner than I am. I just tend to take on more of the tasks around the home. And cleaning up after my own self in a big house was a lot… but then we had to double the amount of stuff we owned when we joined lives together.

Pretty soon I felt like the messes and the cleaning never stopped. It’s a constant thing. And it’s easy to get burnt out from it like you do with anything else. There are times when my brain just cannot handle the messes. So I shut down and avoid them altogether. Soon enough, there’s a bed stacked with laundry just waiting to be folded. Dishes in the sink. And floors that haven’t seen a mop in a month.

The truth is, we are all humans and there are going to be times when we fall short and our houses are a mess. That’s just life. But on the normal day to day moments, there are things you can do that will help keep your home feeling tidy and organized.

These are things I have started applying in my own life, and I have really been loving how much they help me. And I think they will help you too.

1. 10 minute tidy up at the end of the day

At the end of every day, do a 10 minute tidy up. This can be something the whole family gets involved in. For 10 full minutes, everyone is to go around and pick up things around the house and put them back in place.

I actually got this idea from Tyler’s mom because when we would go stay at her house for a week in the summer we would do these and I thought it was so smart. It just gives your home a quick freshened up feeling and you’ll be much more at peace. You would be surprised at how much you can actually get done in 10 minutes.

2. Put yourself on a cleaning routine / schedule

Ok I will say, I’m not super great at this one. I’ve seen other people say this and I love the idea. But I can’t bring myself to really do it.

Let me explain.

The goal is to break up different tasks that need to get done throughout the house and spread them throughout the week.

For example: Mondays are bathroom days. Tuesday is clean the kitchen day, etc.

Or if you don’t want to go room by room you could just do the simple tasks each day.

Monday is vacuum day. Tuesday is mop day. Wednesday is dust day.

See the picture here?

My issue is, I cannot fathom not having everything the same amount of clean at the same time. So if I clean my bathrooms, I just feel like I HAVE to clean my kitchen.

But even with this I try to have a schedule. Deep cleaning days are when I do everything from her ground up.

Typically Sunday’s or Mondays are my cleaning days.

3. Always clean the kitchen after dinner or before bed

Nothing is worse than waking up to a messy kitchen. So as hard as it can be, try to get into the habit of wiping down countertops and doing the dishes every single night so that in the mornings you wake up with a fresh start.

I promise it’s a game changer! You can thank me later on this one!

4. Make it fun! Listen to podcasts or watch YouTube videos when doing laundry or the dishes

I hate folding laundry with a passion. I don’t really know why, it just seems to take forever. But I have found that when I do it while listening to a podcast I love or watching a youtube video by one of my fave creators, it makes the time go by so much faster.

5. Make sure everything has a place

Something that has really helped me a lot is making sure everything has a place. I was always one of those people who had the random clutter thrown in a room because I don’t want to deal with it and I don’t know where to put it. And not gonna lie I am still working on this because I have a room full of stuff I need to sell.

But one day I decided that I was going to deep clean the house, and put things away and anything I couldn’t find a home for was either going to be thrown away or given away or sold.

I used to be way too attached to random items for no reason but I also was not using those items.

So if that sounds like you, try to not fall into this habit.

6. Clean as you go when cooking, standing in the bathroom etc.

As you are cooking, put things away. Wipe down the counters, load the dishwasher, etc. I try to not just throw things in the sink when I am cooking. I try to wash the item right away or put it away that way it makes for less of a mess to deal with later on.

Same thing goes for your bathroom.

After brushing your teeth, take a few extra minutes to wipe down the counters, wipe the mirror, etc. It will keep a freshened up feeling going all week long.

7. Make your bed every morning

This is hard for me right now because our bedroom is one of the only rooms in our house that I do not have decorated so it looks really sad. Therefore if I don’t make the bed it doesn’t bother me that much because there isn’t much to put together anyway.

But I think it’s so important to make this a habit. Making your bed when you wake up just sets the tone for the day. I love crawling into a freshly made bed every night instead of my janky sheets that are untouched from the morning.

8. Do 1 load of laundry every day

I don’t know how 2 people can create so much laundry, but somehow we do. And it’s only gonna get worse with a kid. Pray for me.

My advice here is, if you can do a full load of laundry every day… do it. Throw the load in the washing machine before you go to work in the morning and toss it in the dryer when you get home and then fold the laundry while watching TV after dinner.

It’s going to save your butt so much time so you can avoid those days where you have to do 15 loads in one day.

9. Have fun decorating

This one may just be me, but when my house is decorated cute, I keep it cleaner. So times like Christmas it’s easy for me to have a clean house because I love my Christmas decor to stand out. Not the clutter.

But in the summer it can be tricky because there are no specific holidays to decorate much for. But even just having a few pieces you really love can make a difference.

Get some new throw pillows, or an accent chair you really like. It will encourage you to keep your home cleaner! Or at least it works for me….

10. Get some houseplants!

This doesn’t have much to do with keeping your house clean per say, but I love having real plants in my house even though I suck at keeping them alive.

Plants give off oxygen which is good for boosting your mood and keeping your house feeling fresh!

There is no better feeling than in the summertime, opening up my house windows and letting the air in my home and having my plants create a little oasis for me.

Again, could just be me.. but it’s worth a shot!

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