5 Rules For Home Organisation.
A lot of my friends talk about home organisation and having an uncluttered home, and personally, I understand it’s not easy to know where to start. When your home is filled with clutter, trying to tackle a mountain of stuff can be quite overwhelming.
So here’s my suggestion: create rules. Principles to help guide your decisions as you attempt to rediscover your floor. While rules without implementation won’t make a dent in your mountain, it is a start.
You probably already have a set of rules in your daily life (i.e. going to the gym twice a week, eating healthy meals five days a week, or reading two books per month).
A clutter-free house needs rules of home organisation too.
Looking good isn’t always good enough
My sister keeps all her shoes. Whether it’s one pair that’s five years old and she hasn’t worn for an equally long time or another with holes in the soles. She keeps them because they still look nice in her eyes. While I understand her sentimentality to keep something that has lost its function purely for aesthetics seems silly.
So I started setting aside time for both of us about once every year to go through our shoe collection and get rid of the pairs we don’t use anymore.
I convinced her that keeping only her wearable shoes helps eliminate the frustrating moments when she thinks she has a good pair only to remember they aren’t wearable anymore. Also, now she can buy new shoes to replace the old ones without cluttering the shoe cabinet like before.
Rule #1: Keep only the items you use, need, or have a purpose in your home. Any item you own must have a designated place to live. After you choose what will stay and what will go, throw away, re-purpose or donate the rest.
Think twice
Even I find it difficult to resist buying a new trendy and fashionable Michael Kors handbag. But I always remind myself how will this benefit me? Do I have a place for it?
Before going out shopping, I often think ahead to list some benefits of the item I intend to buy. For example, I want a sofa for my living room. My apartment could fit a loveseat, but if I buy a sleeper sofa then overnight guests could stay comfortable as well.
Another factor that I take into consideration is whether the new item can provide a good experience.
There’s a common saying that a happy life is not about having the latest fancy stuff like a See-Thru fridge, a 4K TV, but it’s the experiences that make our lives meaningful. So whenever I’m tempted to buy more stuff, I always ask myself if the money would be better spent on a vacation or a nice night out (plus I don’t get a headache trying to find a space for these things in my house).
Rule #2: Think twice before making any purchases, whether they are a physical item or an experience. Decide how you can make use out of it first.
One in, one out
In my second rule, I mentioned how planned purchases can help my home stay uncluttered, but what about a new blender that works better and more accurately meets my needs?
Well, it’s simpler than you think.
Get rid of the old one. Sell it via Facebook Marketplace or donate the old item to an organization in need. By applying a one in, one out rule you can stop clutter from growing uncontrollably. You’ll find the temptation to go out shopping will decrease as well (I’m not a shopaholic, but why take a chance!).
Rule #3: Every time a new item comes into your house, an old or similar item must leave.
Habits make a huge difference to home organisation
Put the cutlery back in the drawer! Hang that jacket back in the closet!
It sounds easy, doesn’t it? But not all of us do it. A healthy clutter-clearing habit needs effort in developing, and the easiest way to make sure things get put away is to do it immediately. The beginning will be a slow crawl, but eventually, the habit will become ingrained and you won’t even think about putting it off.
I have practiced this habit for years. Every time I feel so much more relaxed and free afterwards. Now I don’t have to worry about organizing my house daily to maintain it’s clutter-free state. And when I see how much better my home looks, I’m that much more motivated to keep placing items back into their designated spots.
Rule #4: Do not procrastinate. Put items away as soon as possible, because the more energy you put into removing the clutter, the easier it will be to find and develop habits to better manage the things you keep.
Junk Boxes
Sometimes when I go through a pile of stuff, I know exactly what to keep (the stuff I like and use) and what I should discard or donate. But then there’s some stuff I don’t use often, but think I might want or need someday.
Or those little things like tape measures, pins, etc. that get used a lot but don’t have logical places in the home.
Instead of agonizing over finding a place for every miscellaneous item, I created a junk box and put those miscellaneous items inside. The box is then stored somewhere out of the way with a note on my calendar, so I can remember where to find them. I also like to label what’s inside, in case I lose the sticky note.
Rule #5: Create a labelled junk box to store miscellaneous items (whether they’re used often or less often)
The Last Drawer
Living in a clutter-free house means I have more energy and free time with my family. Less time is spent looking for items and fewer arguments are brought up about missing belongings.
Everything has a place. Even the inside of my handbag is clutter-free.
What is your rule for an uncluttered house? Let us know if we missed anything in the comments below!
15 Comments
I make labels with my label maker to mark bins or boxes that have been sorted and are storing things I decided to keep. I put masking tape labels on bins or boxes that still need to be sorted through. That way, when I have some time to do more sorting and open a closet, I know where to start right away. I also label shelves in the linen closet, pantry and other areas so everyone in the house knows where to find things and where to put them back.
Author
Great tips Colleen! Thank you 🙂
Love it! Simple systems work the best. Thanks for sharing, Colleen!
My Granddaughter is an in clutter bug. She puts piles of stuff in a box then gets 2 more boxes. 1 for keeping and 1 for disposing. She then goes through the first box an item at a time. If she has to think about wanting it or needing it she puts it in disposables. She says, don’t think, do!
Author
That’s a great tip Glen. Sounds like your granddaughter she has the right mindset for keeping an organized home.
Less is more! Stop nick nacks! Cluttering you’re tables and shelves with busy nick nacks makes the home messy and cluttered. Eliminating the busy look gives the home a clean fresh look. Less to dust too!!
Author
Thanks for your tip Angie 🙂
knick knacks are my problem.
Knick knacks can add a lot of warmth and love to a home. If you want them, love them by keeping them clean. ?
We are downsizing our house.
So far got rid of a lot of things. Only thing my husband does not let go. He did say would junk things still not doing it.
With the Pandemic, the charity places had tp
Olose. One friend is taking me to a place. So happy about thst.Living room is a mess. I feel will never get rid of the clutter.
I needed thicker curtains for the winter to keep the light out and the warm air in so instead of buying new ones I pinned matching fleece blankets (that I already had) to the back. This past winter I snapped them in place with a snap kit for easier hanging and removal. Hubby made a twin bed with storage below. Winter blankets and curtains go underneath, Extra linens and tarps/air mattresses for camping too?
Dont be afraid to delegate tasks to others the kids can do their own toys etc with a little supervision it will help get them in the habit of it long before they keep their own homes as well as donating some to those less fortunate
Great advice
I worked at athrift store for years and always made a point to speak with the kids if they were along when parents were donating. And to thank them personally if toys were in the donation, letting them know that some other kid was going to be so happy with the treasures. You could see how that made them feel better about the loss and often their next trip would have a lot more toys in the load!
If you didn’t make it a point to remove all the “clutter” from the living room before you go to bed, do it first thing in the morning, stow magazines, papers, etc, fluff cushions, and then move on to the kitchen, if the dishwasher was started at bedtime, empty it before you start breakfast, empty the kitchen garbage and all the wastebaskets. If someone calls for an early visit, or a chance to go out, the basics are done.
It’s the procrastination that gets in my way of clearing stuff rather than the letting go. So I have an arrangement with a friend: I put things I am ready to let go of in a separate area, and she takes them away for me, to give away or dispose of as appropriate. I would do the same for her, but she never has that problem, so I give her coffee and cookies instead!