Making Your Home Sing

Making Your Home Sing - With Order

This is a repost with some new thoughts!

Does your home atmosphere rise and fall with organization? I have noticed that when I let things go, it seems the whole house falls apart. Dinner is any body's guess, laundry is overflowing, someone will need something that cannot be found, I get overwhelmed and grumpy and on and on...

But if things have a little bit of order, things tend to go smoother. Everyone has clean clothes if a little laundry is done each day, dinner is a joy when it is planned out, knowing where things are saves much confusion and stress.

Through the years, a few established habits save lots of time and energy. By trying to keep things up daily instead of letting them get out of control, they are more manageable. Little things like doing the dishes each night saves the dread of a sink full of dirty dishes facing you in the morning!

Here are six quick, easy steps to help keep an organized home:

Six Things to Do Every Day

Get into the habit of completing these basic tasks daily. With just a few minutes work, you’ll easily be able to keep chaos at bay.

1. Make the Bed
Tidiness begets tidiness. A crisply made bed makes the whole room seem more orderly, which makes it less likely that you’ll let other things - such as clothes and papers - pile up around it.

2. Manage Clutter
Whenever you leave a room, take a quick look around for anything that isn’t where it should be. Pick it up and put it where it belongs. Insist that everyone in the household do the same.

3. Sort the Mail
Take a few minutes to open, read, and sort mail as soon as you bring it inside. Keep a trash bin near your sorting area for junk mail. Drop other mail into one of four in-boxes: personal correspondence, bills, catalogs, and filing.

4. Clean As You Cook
Instead of filling the sink with pots and dishes, wash them or put them in the dishwasher as you prepare a meal.

5. Wipe Up Spills While They’re Still Fresh
Whether it’s tomato sauce on the worktop or makeup on the bathroom counter, almost anything is faster and easier to remove if you attend to it immediately.

6. Sweep the Kitchen Floor
Every evening once you’ve finished washing up after dinner, sweep the floor. This will keep tough-to-clean dirt and grime from building up, which will make the weekly mopping much quicker.

By training ourselves and families with these useful tips, we can surely make our homes sing!

(Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook)

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A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.

AmydeanneOctober 31, 2007 at 2:02 PM
true! if I get behind on those I'm messed up for the rest of the day!
Manderly RingorNovember 2, 2007 at 3:26 PM
Thanks for the list...I am trying to just get back to the basics so this list is very helpful!
Rose of SharonNovember 3, 2007 at 11:30 PM
Hey.....yea.......I do those things! I laugh at myself because I start making the bed even before I get out of it! I try so hard to stay on top of things, but they some how get out of control and I have piles of things everywhere. Sometimes it seems never ending!

Have a great day! Sharon
MandalynNovember 4, 2007 at 5:14 PM
This is a great list! I have a hard time keeping my house up daily with my 2 little ones!
MindyOctober 10, 2010 at 10:14 PM
I totally agree with you on all your points, but would you PUULLEEEAASSSEEEE tell my kids?

They seem to listen better if someone else tells them...
momsthewordOctober 11, 2010 at 1:11 AM
Oh I totally agree. Organization is sooo important. Establishing habits, such as the ones you suggested, are the key to keeping on top of things.

It also seems like if I start to let things go, I am quickly joined by others in the family. If you set something down (instead of putting it away) it can quickly have lots of "friends" next to it and before you know it, you have a big mess on your hands!

Thanks for linking up to Making Your Home Sing Monday!
AnonymousOctober 11, 2010 at 9:55 AM
Great tips! I love your blog. I just added your button!

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