It should come as a shock to no one that I love organizing and cleaning. Hello! Nice and neat!
Cleaning and organizing can be overwhelming tasks on their own. Trying to accomplish them at the same time is a recipe to send your stress level straight through the roof. So with a lot of people trying to get their homes in order for the upcoming holiday season here are my top 5 cleaning and organization tips to help you accomplish your organizational dreams without abandoning half finished projects or ending up in tears.
1. Work on one room at a time
I find it easier to work on one room at a time with cleaning and organizing and especially if you are doing both at the same time. This way nothing is forgotten and you can just cross the whole room off your list. It may even help you solve organization issues in other areas of your house. For example I always clean and organize my pantry and hall closet before I do the kitchen. This way I can see if there is any available space in these areas for any new kitchen item that have been recently acquired but aren’t used enough to require space in the kitchen. (Examples include: Espresso Machine, the other attachments to the blender, and a giant stock pot I only use when I want pretend I am on Little House on the Prairie and make enough soup to last until spring.)
2. Try to only touch things once
This is a big one for me especially when cleaning out closets or cabinets. Only touch things once. This means if you are taking it out of the closet or cabinet for any purpose (donate, throw out, or to store it) it goes directly into its new home. Or in a pile with its other friends until you find the big garbage bags your husband likes to hide for some reason. Cleaning the inside of your kitchen cabinets? Everything that comes out gets organized or refilled before it goes back in. We aren’t wasting our time taking everything out, wiping down the shelves and then putting things back to come back later and reorganize. No way.
3. Find a system that works for you and isn’t just aesthetically pleasing
I am guilty of going pretty over function for a lot of things. And when you start organizing it’s really easy to stop at pretty and not make it all the way to does this actually work? It also takes time to find organization systems that work for your family and lifestyle. If you are trying something new give it at least 3 months. After those 3 months take a look and see how the system has held up. Is it easy to maintain? Is it functional or are things all over the place again?
I now have a lot of systems that work. Which is great and it makes big cleaning and organizing way easier. For example I no longer need to reorganize my snack cabinets and my vitamin and medicine cabinet because I found a system that works for us. But, there are spots that still need work. I am trying a new system currently in the refrigerator because it was a pretty set up but, I was finding tops off of fruit containers from little fingers weaseling their way in there and I couldn’t fit a 2 liter bottle of soda in with the way the shelves were set up. Not. Functional. So on to try something new!
4. Work from the top to the bottom
This is the best advice ever. (Thanks Mom!) Not only does it help you stay on task it makes it easier for you to know what comes next. When you are doing a “big” clean always start at the highest point and work your way down. So ceilings, fans, and lights are first followed by cabinets, counters and any other eye level things and in last place is the floors. Which you can sweep, mop, and vacuum up all the debris and dust you just sent flying around the room.
5. Give yourself enough time for the project and set realistic expectations.
This is a hard one for me too. I always start out with grand plans to try to finish anything in a day. I am even bigger culprit of the “Oh I’ll just do this while the kids are at school.” And this just isn’t always possible. In order to do some cleaning and organizing tasks properly you need to give yourself more time and not in a “I’ll just come back to this part when I have time.” way. Because most of the time you don’t have the time to get back to it. What I like to do is plan out big projects and tasks ahead of time. Cleaning and organizing the kitchen? Day one is cleaning out inside of the cabinets and drawers and organizing. Day two is for cleaning-cleaning. Cleaning the playroom? I need to allow at least three business days and hire an exorcist.
Hope these tips help you get through all of your projects quicker, easier, and with your sanity still intact!
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