ALL the time? I kind of feel like a liar saying these habits will keep your house tidy all the time, because they aren’t fool proof. In my own home I do all of these things, but I don’t necessarily do them perfectly everyday. If YOU do them perfectly everyday they WILL keep your house tidy all the time.

But I don’t want to give you a false sense of hope. I also think it’s really important to set realistic expectations. When I go into my week expecting it to be perfect I’m quickly let down. Things happen. Kids get sick. Social media sucks me in. It happens, right?

Before I started implementing these 4 Simple Habits, life was much more chaotic. Things were less tidy. My stress level was much higher. My mood was way crazier. If you’re looking for 4 quick fixes that are going to save your life I don’t have those. I just have one… Jesus.

However, if you’re looking for some tweaks you can make that’ll help you manage your home a bit better, I really believe in what I’m about to share. They’ve worked for me, and I know they can work for you too! Real quick, though, before you read on… if you have anything that’s worked well for you, please share that before you leave. I’m always looking to learn!

4 Simple Habits That Keep Your House Tidy All the Time

HABIT 1: Create a Daily Top 3

What are the things that make your house feel cluttery? What are the top three things that if you only got those things done you’d feel ok about your day?

When I was a new mom I knew if I could just vacuum the rug by our front door, load the dishwasher, and wipe the kitchen counters I’d feel decent about the house. Those were the things that made my house feel tidy. I don’t know what they are for you, but make a list of three things and focus on getting just those things done every day.

HABIT 2: Minimize Your Inventory

This has been one of the most helpful things for us! We came across The Minimal Mom a couple years ago, and after watching enough of her videos we knew we want to simplify our home.

Part of the reason our homes become so cluttery is because we have too much stuff to manage. If you find that one room in particular is regularly untidy, take a weekend to purge. Donate what you can, trash what you can’t, and keep only what you really want and need.

The less you have, the smaller the messes. And the smaller the messes, the less time it’ll take to clean up. Plus, when you get rid of what’s unnecessary you’ll find that your house feels lighter and your whole self will feel more at peace. Win-win!

HABIT 3: Pick Up Throughout the Day

Some people set 5 minute timers. I just try to grab things as I’m moving through a room. (Guarantee – Trent is reading this right now laughing.) It’s not a perfect system. Things definitely get missed, but I can assure you, less things get missed now than they did before.

The point here is as often as possible don’t let the clutter build up. If you can put something where it belongs just do it real quick. If your kids are old enough, enlist them to help.

Your kids can unload the dishwasher in the morning, so you can load it back up throughout the day. If your kids make a mess, have them clean it up. If there’s a load of clothes that need to be put away, just take the 3 minutes to put it away. Oh, and speaking of laundry…

HABIT 4: Get Rid of Your Laundry Hampers

I know. I know. This sounds like it’ll just make more clutter, but hear me out. The Minimal Mom explained this process for managing laundry, and it revolutionized my life!

Tell me if this sounds familiar? You call to your family, “Guys, I’m doing laundry! Bring me all your dirty clothes!” You end up with 4+ baskets of laundry in your hallway, and it takes you all day (or longer) just to wash them. Other things come up throughout the day, so some loads get pulled out of the dryer and just stacked on top of the machine. You’ll fold them later. It ends up being a 4-day affair, which means laundry clutter all over the house for half a week.

Here’s what happens when you get rid of hampers. When your family changes their clothes there’s nowhere else to put them than in the laundry room. When a loads-worth of dirty clothes pile up, you just wash them. A single load of clothes is much easier to manage than four or more. This little hack has been huge for keeping our house tidy!

But do these things actually work?

Listen. No system is perfect. I mean, I’m sure there’s someone out there that’s perfect, but it’s not me! It may sound like I never have clutter in my house, but I do. The ‘no laundry hampers’ thing doesn’t work for one person in our house. But having a laundry hamper didn’t work for that person either. Their room is constantly covered in dirty clothes. However, it works for 75% of the house, which I call a win.

Are there ever days where the dishwasher doesn’t get loaded? Yep. But 90% of the time it does, so I call it a win. We’re not shooting for perfection here (contrary to the blog title). What we’re looking for is progress. We’re just looking for something that makes life easier than it was before. If at least one of these tips helps then celebrate the win and keep moving forward!

Because there’s always a better way,
Sarah

QUESTION: what do YOU do to keep your house tidy? Let us know because we’re always ready to learn! is there something i shared that you’re going to implement? tell us in a comment!

Check out the other blogs in this marriage series here: 5 Simple Routines That Make Family Life So Much Easier
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