Having a tidy home can make it seem larger and more inviting, and after a hard day at work or running around with the kids the last thing you want to be doing is searching for the remote under piles of magazines or stepping over laundry. But if your house already looks like a tornado hit it where do you start?
Organise
Clutter is often the by-product of items not having a place to go when they are not in use. So, give them a space and when you’re tidying up you can return them there so you can always find them.
One Room at A Time
If your entire house needs tidying don’t try to do it all at once. Choose one room, perhaps the living room, and take a “tidy or turf” approach to the contents. If it belongs in the room it gets tidied away – if it doesn’t turf it out into another room (and hopefully eventually it will end up where it belongs!)
Delegate
Unless you live alone make sure that everyone else in the household is pitching in to help. Children (or lodgers and flatmates) can be responsible for keeping their own things tidy – in their own room – so you can simply move their belongings out of the shared areas.
Hide It
Not so much sweeping it under the carpet as placing it in storage furniture. Coffee tables with shelves underneath can store magazines. Box and shelf storage systems can provide a lot of modern storage and hide the clutter away much more successfully than open bookcases.
Get Rid of It
As you tidy think “Do I actually still use this?” If the answer is no then put it in a box of things to sell or giveaway. Rather than having it cluttering up your home let someone else use it.
Store It Elsewhere
Of course, sometimes there are things you actually do use or want to keep but not every day. These are ideal candidates for moving into storage. If you have a garage or loft they can be put there but these days self storage units are very cheap so that might be an option worth considering, especially for sentimental items you want to keep warm and dry.
Do It Daily
Once you’ve tidied your house you need to keep on top of it. A daily ten minutes before bed, moving remote controls, magazines, books, toys and clothes to where they belong will avoid you having to spend a whole day at the weekend sorting out the mess.
Don’t Buy More
One of the secrets to having a tidy home is simply to avoid buying more items than you have a use for. When you’ve finished with a magazine recycle it and don’t buy another one until you’ve done so. Don’t buy five types of coffee maker to clutter up the kitchen. The less stuff you have in the house, and the more you have in cheap storage, the easier it will be to keep it tidy.