Decluttered Living

Daily Habits that Keep your Home Tidy

I’ve developed a few daily tasks that are absolute non-negotiables in my home—tiny habits that keep my house from looking like a crime scene. I call them “non-negotiables” because it tricks my brain into actually doing them (kind of like telling my kids that broccoli makes them run faster). Do I miss a day sometimes? Absolutely. Does my house crumble into ruins when I do? Not quite—but skipping them too often means I’m one pile of laundry away from starring in my own episode of Hoarders. So, I stick to them as much as possible to keep the chaos at bay!

Dishes

Listen, no one likes doing dishes—okay, maybe some people do, but we don’t talk about those people. You know what’s worse than doing a day’s worth of dishes? Doing two days’ worth. It’s like compound interest, but instead of making you rich, it just makes you miserable.

So, every morning, I unload the dishwasher so it’s ready for the daily avalanche of dirty dishes. I used to think I didn’t have time for this between getting myself to work and wrangling four tiny humans out the door. Why add one more thing to the morning chaos? But here’s the plot twist: If you don’t do it in the morning, you’ll be dealing with it after work, when you’re exhausted, the kids are nuts, and the couch is calling your name.

Turns out, unloading the dishwasher takes less than five minutes—faster than my kids can “find” their shoes. Plus, it keeps the sink from becoming a dirty dish Jenga tower. Now, getting kids to actually put their dishes in the dishwasher instead of the sink? That’s a battle for another day.

Laundry

Ahh laundry. The never ending task. Even when you’re caught up, it never lasts more than 12 hours since you’re always wearing clothes! Especially with toddlers. Ever laundry so hard that you don’t have room in your closets and drawers for all the clean clothes?! That’s your sign to pair down your wardrobe — but that’s a topic for another day! Every morning, switch your laundry to whatever the next stage is. Have clothes in the washer ready to be tried? Get them switch. Need to remove those clothes from the dryer? Get them at least in a basket to free up the dryer space. If you’re feeling really ambitious, get to folding! That’s it, switch and move on.

Ah, laundry. The never-ending saga. Just when you think you’ve conquered it, you blink, and there’s another load waiting to be washed, dried, and folded—because, you know, you can’t go around naked. Ever done laundry-ed so hard that your closet and drawers are stuffed? That’s your cue to pare down your wardrobe—but we’ll save that project for another day.

Every morning, just switch your laundry to the next phase of its journey. Got clothes in the washer? Move ‘em to the dryer. Dryer’s full? At least toss those clothes into a basket so you don’t end up with a laundry mountain on your bed. Feeling like a laundry superhero? Go ahead, fold them! That’s it, switch the stage, and go enjoy your day. Don’t forget to do one more switcharoo at the end of the day too so tomorrow your laundry is ready for the next phase.

Kitchen Counters

Sticky counters are the worst. Wiping them down is like the cherry on top of your kitchen-cleaning sundae. The sneaky part? It forces you to declutter and actually put away all those random items that have made your counters their permanent home. You’re not just banishing sticky residue and bacteria, you’re also clearing away the chaos. Result: countertops so shiny, you might just need sunglasses.

And the best part? This is an end of the day task. You’re welcome, future you!

Nightly Tidy

The nightly tidy: it’s exactly what it sounds like—tidying up before bed. It could take 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or, if you’re feeling really ambitious, 30 minutes. The beauty is, it’s totally up to you and the amount of love your home needs. The goal is to reset your space (I personally focus on the living room, but I’ll sneak in the hallway and playroom if they start looking like war zones).

You cannot tell me you don’t love waking up to a room that’s actually put together. If you don’t love it, I’m pretty sure you’re a unicorn. I usually tackle this once the kids are in bed (because let’s face it, the kids are just going to undo everything I do), but hey, if you want to involve them, you can always set a timer, turn on some peppy music, and turn chaos into a cleaning party!

And there you have it! The daily non-negotiables. Don’t feel like you have to dive in headfirst—pick one of these habits at a time if that’s what works for you. No shame in that! The key is just to keep moving forward. Remember, progress is the name of the game, no perfection. So go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back for doing something, even if it’s just one small step!

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfullness.

Kicking the Clutter in Your High Traffic Areas

Do you ever wonder where all the stuff in your home came from? I do, almost every day. While that’s a valid question, it’s more important to know how to start attacking the clutter in your high traffic areas and how to maintain it.

When my family decided to say goodbye to our debt, we embraced the snowball method for those quick wins! For us, quick wins in decluttering mean taking on the visual chaos in the high traffic areas of our home. Our kitchen counters, coffee table, and dining room table are like magnets for items that have no business being there, and let’s not forget the floor—because, toddlers! The common link? Yep, they’re all flat surfaces begging for attention (and a good dusting). You can get creative with a few strategies for these catch-all zones:

Basket Method

Think of it as the lazy person’s magic trick: grab a basket (or really any container for that matter) to collect all the rogue items. It’s the ultimate “one-stop-shop” for the items that seem to think they can live anywhere but their homes. Downsides? Well, you won’t be earning any Fitbit badges for steps, but at least your living room might think you’re a minimalist!

Pile Method

Instead of tossing everything into a basket like a yard sale gone wrong, you create delightful little stacks for each item’s owner to claim. Once all those pesky items are in their piles, let the owners embark on their backwards scavenger hunt to put their stuff away!

Implement the “One Touch” rule

You know that feeling when you set something down only to have it stare at you accusingly for days? Yeah, just give it a one-way ticket to its proper place the first time! You’ll save time and avoid the daily guilt trip.

Create Drop Zones

Maybe your struggle is that your stuff is running wild with no home! Your mail should have a designated spot—no more love letters from your pizza delivery guy getting lost! And let’s give those keys a comfy residence, too; they deserve a break from their adventurer life. When all your important items have a home, they won’t play hide-and-seek in the chaos of high traffic areas!

At the end of the day, clutter should never dictate your life or your sanctuary! By embracing a new habit or two, you can transform even the most chaotic spaces back to peaceful areas of relaxation. Choose a method or two—why not embrace them all! Rally your family and start attacking the chaos— one flat surface at a time. Remember, it’s all about progress over perfection as you embark on this exciting journey of change. Happy decluttering!

2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

Let’s get acquainted

Hi! I’m Laura, just an average, middle-class, working mom of 4. Let’s get straight to the point: if it were up to me, I’d be a minimalist. Most everything in my house would be donated or thrown out. But see, when you have 5 other people in the house, you can’t just start throwing the contents of your house out. You have to start by controlling the controllables. Spoiler alert, that’s you. You can control your things and your actions, not everyone else’s (especially toddlers!). What does that practically mean though? Well, that could mean having a daily/weekly plan of action; it could mean removing time-wasting apps from your phone; or it could mean getting up an hour earlier every day. This will require you to analyze yourself and your personal needs.

Getting your house under control is really a two-sided coin, so to speak: decluttering and maintenance cleaning.

decluttering — I’ve decluttered a lot of my things and common area items (kitchen, bathroom, etc.). I’ve also been able to convince my little ones (i.e., children) in my house to give up a few items here and there as well. One can’t simply throw out all the Barbies, trains, or personal items of other people in their family without at least having a conversation. But I must gain more control of my house. I have to start controlling the controllables.
maintenance cleaning — I’ve implemented a weekly cleaning schedule and also daily non-negotiables. No matter what happens in a day, my dishwasher gets run at least once right before bed. This has been a game changer in our house. Some days, the dishwasher runs more than once, but at least once a day it is running no matter what the load is. It is essential we end the day with a clean sink.

There’s always room for improvement! Even though I have daily non-negotiables, my house gets messy every single day. That’s what happens when you live in a space. And that is the reason I started this blog: to keep myself accountable to my goals.

If you’re interested in a weekly or daily cleaning schedule I’ve listed mine below: