clutter free

1. Develop the Daily Tidy-Up:

Setting aside just one minute each day for a quick tidy-up in common areas can work wonders in preventing clutter from piling up. The goal here is to focus on one specific area that needs attention.

You can do this by setting a timer on your phone for a minute. Then, just look around. Where are the piles? If they’re accumulating all around your home, just pick one area for today. You can pick another area tomorrow. Maybe it’s a kitchen counter, the top of your desk, your bathroom surfaces, the pile of clothes on the floor of your closet, or the front entry’s pile of shoes.

I guarantee that if you set the timer, you could have those strewn-about shoes and coats at the front entry all hung up quickly! Everything would have a home in probably a minute or less.

2. Commit to the “One In, One Out” Rule:

I love this rule. It works like this: every time you bring something new into your home, commit to removing an item. And really get it out of your some, because throwing it in a donation pile by your door usually means it’ll weasel its way back into your stuff again. This rule not only prevents clutter but encourages thoughtful consumerism!

I’ve been practicing this for many years and it’s the best clutter preventer. Many years ago I bought a new salad spinner and I had nowhere in my kitchen to put it. So I had to make room! Something had to go, so I ended up donating a kitchen item that I didn’t use. You could put it in the garage or another area, but that kind of defeats the purpose of this habit. The “one in, one out” rule helps you prevent accumulating too many things and not letting things you no longer need, go.

So start practicing the “one in, one out” rule today! This is a game-changer if you can master this habit. It will make a huge difference. Just think about how many items are in the average home (roughly 300,000). If you keep adding to those items, you’re never going to get rid of the clutter!

3. Establish Permanent Homes for Items:

The third habit of our 1-minute habits for a neat home is to not let yourself “set it here for now.” Avoid the “I’ll just set this here for now” trap at all costs.

Oftentimes we’ll think, I’m just going to put this on the counter for now. Or, I’m just going to leave my sunglasses here, and I’ll throw my keys there… I’ll put them away later. Then what happens is when you need to leave, you can’t find your keys and you’re in a panic to get out the door!

Take the time to make sure each item has a designated, well-thought-out home. When deciding where you will keep an item think about how you would like to access it, how frequently you use it, and who else in your household uses it. Then always, always, always put things back where they belong!

If you truly can’t do it right away at that moment or you’re in a rush, then at least make sure you do it the same day. And make sure not to drop things in random places as you might have to go searching to find them again!

4. Sort Mail Immediately:

Don’t let paper clutter accumulate. I’m sure we all know how grueling sorting through a ton of loose papers, flyers, and envelopes is. So to avoid this, sort through your mail as soon as you get it.

When I go to the mailbox, the junk mail doesn’t even reach our house. I sort it in the car after I pick it up, and when I get out of the car, I walk through the garage and drop the recycling straight in the bin. The important mail comes with me into the house, where I don’t toss it on the counter but instead file it and address important items accordingly.

5. Quick Closet Checks:

Closets are sneaky places. “Out of sight, out of mind” is an all too easy mode of thinking when doing a quick tidy-up. We’re all a little guilty of stuffing things away for a quick win!

Most of these 1-minute habits for a neat home can be applied in closets. Regularly take a minute every so often to straighten up closets, shelves, and drawers. When you open up your front entry, bedroom, linen, or laundry room closet, just quickly tidy something up. It will only take you a minute. Straighten up the stacks of clothes or linens, rearrange the coats into sections according to their owners, or pick up clothes from the floor. There’s no need to spend hours, just take a quick minute and straighten something up.

The next time you open that door, it’s going to make you smile! Plus you’ll likely be motivated to continue on with another shelf or section in that same closet. This small effort can lead to a consistently organized living space.

6. Keep up with Digital Declutter:

Regularly organize your digital life. This area can easily become a mass arrangement of mixed-up photos, files, and videos if not routinely looked after. Next thing you know you’re paying for extra cloud storage you never really needed or jamming up space on your computer.

Spend a minute today to categorize your photos or files on your phone or computer. Try to keep up with doing this a little bit every day to avoid the overwhelming task of organizing a massive backlog. Simply go to where you keep photos that you took for the day and organize them into a folder. Delete anything that’s blurry, and narrow down your 10 photos of the same thing into one or two. Quickly sort them into a folder. You can do this by theme, year, holiday, event, etc. Whatever it may be, just pick a simple type of folder and make sure that you organize your photos for the day, at least every few days.

7. Restock and Rotate:

Before you run out of pantry items, household essentials, or cleaning products, make sure to restock and rotate what you have. This prevents last-minute rushes and promotes a smoother daily routine.

Let’s say you’re the one who finished up the peanut butter. Why not put it on the grocery list in that moment? If you know your back stock has some more peanut butter, make sure you go and put the new peanut butter in place of the one you just finished.

And you know what? Other family members are going to thank you. They will start to recognize that you did something for the household, and they will want to return the favour to you. Never again will you be the person who drank the last of the milk or used the rest of the peanut butter without taking care of the replacement!

8. Put Things Away After Use:

Rather than leaving items out after using them, make it a habit to put them back where they belong (in their homes you made from tip #3). This reduces future frustration and saves you a lot of time in the long run!

Let’s say you have some returns that you need to mail in. You’ll need scissors and tape to tape up the box and put the return label on. So you’re using two things, the scissors and the packing tape. When you’re done, simply put them back. This way the next time you or someone else needs those items, they’re going to be in the spots they always are.

Trust me, it’s going to save you a lot of frustration and greatly reduce time spent looking for something that is not in the place it’s supposed to be.

9. Wipe Out Shelves and Surfaces:

This tip is one of my favourites of the 1-minute habits for a neat home. I love wiping out pantry shelves or the fridge drawers before I put groceries away. Why? Because I love a crisp, clean fridge. Plus I’m saving myself from having to do the grueling task of deep cleaning the whole fridge, freezer, and pantry.

Is it always perfect? No, of course not. But if I see crumbs during the week or the shelf is noticeably dirty, I will take a moment to wipe it. It just takes a quick wipe! If I’m already clearing the counters or I’ve already opened the fridge for something, I’ll also deal with those spots in the same moment.

It’s going to save you time and energy in the long term. So make sure if you see something you clean it right away. These small actions add up to a consistently cleaner environment.

10. Evening Surface Sweep:

Before retiring for the night, spend a minute tidying up common area surfaces.

Take one minute and just tidy up all the beverage bottles, cans, and glasses that may have been left out if you were sitting on the couch watching TV. If the pillows are astray and you were using a blanket, why not quickly do a reset? Fluff the pillows up a bit, put them back where they belong, and fold the blanket away. When you come back to this space in the morning, the area will be clean.

If dirty dishes in the sink first thing in the morning bothers you, throw a load in the dishwasher at night. Whatever those little irritations may be for you, focus on them. Personally, I like to wake up and know that I have a relatively clean kitchen and living room. Otherwise I’m like, “Oh, I gotta deal with that, but I don’t have time right now and I’m already late running out the door.” It ruins my morning! So do an evening surface sweep and just notice what’s piling up. The goal with these 11-minute habits for a neat home is to ensure your living spaces are welcoming the next morning.

11. Toy Basket Routine:

If you’re a busy mom with kids who bring their toys out everywhere, implement a nightly toy basket routine! What if you had a toy basket that you could take around to collect up all the toys in? It doesn’t need to be organized. At least they’ll be in a basket and not scattered all over the floor. Doing it consistently will lessen your weekly cleaning load as it takes forever to clean it all up if done on a weekly basis.

Practice this right before bedtime. Set the timer for one minute and make it fun! Play some music, include your little ones, and make it into a game. If they pick up their toys three nights a week, maybe they get a little extra sticker on their chore chart or a treat at the end of the week if they do it for all five weekdays.

This immensely helps to prevent clutter from piling up all over the house, because we know how quickly toys can get scattered all over the place!

12. Practice the “Wait and See” Approach:

Before making impulsive purchases, pause for a moment. Give yourself time to think about whether you truly need the item.

Before you checkout at a store or hit order on your Amazon account, ask yourself, “Do I really need to buy this?” A trick I like to do is switch to another browser tab or go down another aisle to think about it twice. Remember, you’re now practicing a “one in, one out” rule. So if you keep bringing new stuff in, something’s gotta go!

When I go to buy a new pair of shoes, I’ve already decided on what I‘m going to donate or get rid of. I’m constantly decluttering my shoes and clothes closet so I have extra room for if I bring something in unexpectedly. But if you tend to do a lot of shopping and the clutter is piling up quickly, consider just waiting an additional minute. Then ask yourself, “Do I really need that sparkly new kitchen gadget?” Of all the 11-minute habits for a neat home, this one works great for those who love to shop 😉

Give yourself time to think instead of making these fast impulse buys. Often when you take the time to pause, it helps you to realize if you really need the item. Your wallet will thank you!

13. Celebrate Progress and Share Tips:

Finally, celebrate your successes! Changing existing habits or adopting new ones is not easy, so you deserve to celebrate each step! Another way to keep yourself motivated is to share your organizational journey with others (like in our Club!). Encourage more friends and family to adopt these habits, and learn from each other’s experiences!

Decluttering your home doesn’t have to be an overwhelming project that takes up your vacation time. By incorporating these simple 1-minute habits for a neat home in your daily routine, you’ll be gradually transforming your living and digital spaces each day!

Remember, small actions lead to significant results.

So, which of these habits are you ready to embrace? Share your thoughts in the comments below and let’s get started on this journey to simplify our lives together!🙂

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