dirty house? clean it up.

I like to organize. I absolutely love the feeling of looking at a messy closet and then the satisfaction of seeing it in order. I like it when my house is clean. My days start so much better when I come downstairs to a clean kitchen. I grew up being taught the benefits of a clean and organized home. One of my very first words was “organize”. No joke.

I find that keeping my house clean and organized has so many benefits other than just for my sanity. For one I feel way more productive when my house is clean. I also save money by keeping my house organized. Whenever I let things slide I don’t realize if I have extra toothpaste or items in my pantry. Then I’ll buy more that I don’t need.

There are a few random things I’ve picked up that I thought I would share. Most probably came from my mom because she’s basically the Queen of having a clean house.

1. Make my bed. Even if I’m the only one that will see my bedroom, making my bed makes a huge difference in how clean the house looks. I feel better about my bedroom and in turn want to make sure the rest of the house is picked up. I make my bed every day even if it doesn’t get done until the evening. Side tip: I totally avoid all of those extra pillows that come with a bedding set. Sure they make the bed look pretty but what do you do with them? At night they get tossed on the floor and then it makes one more thing to pick up.

2. Keep cleaning products where I need them. I keep all my cleaning supplies in the laundry room in a handy tote. This way I can take them from room to room as I clean. The kitchen counters, the stove and sink, and my bathroom are things that need cleaned often. I keep cleaning supplies for those things right where I need them. My Method counter cleaner and stove cleaner reside under the kitchen sink. An extra toilet bowl cleaner and Dow Scrubbing Bubbles live under my bathroom sink. This way when I have a few extra minutes I have what I need right there.

3. Clean my stove. It really makes a huge difference in my kitchen to have it clean. I was “lucky” enough to get black stove when we bought our house. This makes keeping it clean super difficult. But I try!

4. Have a spot to collect misc papers and then sort through them once a week. Tucked in one of my cabinets is typically a stack of papers that needs to be sorted. Bank statement, coupons, random papers… The key is to sort through them once a week so the pile doesn’t get out of control. The other day I took my stack of papers over to the kitchen table and started sorting. Garbage pile, file cabinet, coupon file, crafty closet…my piles grew until I was done with the stack.

5. A place for everything and everything in it’s place. This is like the first commandment of organizing. Really it’s the key to everything! I am constantly working on this with my husband. He does pretty good but often times will just tuck something in a drawer somewhere instead of putting it where it should go. It seems like it saves you time to do that but really it makes the job last longer. When you need the item again often times you don’t remember where you tucked it so you have to spend extra time searching. Or someone else (ie. me) has to find the item and then put it in the actual spot, thus causing the other person to use up their time.

6. Use my time wisely. While waiting on Bebo when he’s outside, I’ll often use those five minutes to empty the dishwasher. If Jasper wants to play in his room I will sort through his closet or dust his bookcase.

7. Have a system for dealing with outgrown kid’s clothes. Toddlers outgrow clothing every day. Since we’re not sure if we’re done having kids I am saving most of Jasper’s clothes. (If we were done I would only save a few sentimental pieces and garage sale or donate the rest.) When I realize something is too small I put it in a basket in his closet. Once the basket is full, the clothes get put in a Rubbermaid container stored in the crawl space. Each Rubbermaid is labeled with the size of clothes it contains. The key for me is to empty the closet basket regularly. When Jasper was going through a huge growth spurt the whole bottom corner of his closet was full of too-small shirts and pants. It’s easier and quicker if I store them often.

8. Minimize how many duplicates I have and get rid of things I don’t use. How many spatulas do I really need? How many wooden spoons? (And yes, that picture is actually all of the wooden spoons and spatulas I own.) If I use something once a year, is it necessary to keep it? I try to only keep the number of pans/cooking items I use at a time. I have three cookie sheets which sounds like a lot but when I make cookies I use them all. I have one main cake pan because that’s all I really need.

I think the thing to keeping a clean house is to make realistic goals and slowly work on them. If your whole house needs work, start with one cabinet. You’ll feel so great when that’s organized that you’ll want to keep going. I recommend looking at your organized cabinet numerous times a day and showing it to anyone that stops by. Also, there is not just one way to stay organized. Though those tips work for me, they might not for you. Do what works for you.

My house is not perfect. I actually just found a scrunchie in my hair stuff that’s probably been there since I was in Jr. High. So yeah…I have drawers and closets that need some work. I just really love to keep things organized and think it makes me a much more productive person. Pretty sure I could be a professional organizer. And if you need some motivation just watch an episode of Hoarders. That always works for me.

*Wow…wordy post. I guess I have a lot to say about this subject. I might have to do a few more posts about this.