It’s hard not to be impressed when you walk into a tidy home. And when I say tidy, I mean tidy. There’s not a single rogue shoe kicking around the front door, nor a stack of papers amassing on the dining table, not even a crumb to be found on the kitchen counter! So, what’s their secret?
It’s not so much something that they’re doing, odds are it’s down to what they’re not doing. Certain habits encourage a messy home, common habits that we’ve all been guilty of at one time or another. But, if you want to keep a tidy home, you need to break them. Here’s how…
1. Not putting shoes and coats away
This habit causes piles of abandoned shoes by the front door as well as coats draped on the backs of chairs, or across the bed. You’re often knackered when you come home, but making the effort to put your shoes and coat away shifts the chaos from the hallway and prevents tripping hazards! Take a moment to declutter and organise so everything has a home – and use the wardrobe for items you’re not wearing regularly.
Check out how to organise your shoe cupboard when it’s total chaos and how to tackle that household coat mountain for more info.
2. Leaving food in the sink’s strainer
There’s nothing so disgusting as finding old bits of food lodged in the kitchen strainer. Whatever you do, don’t rinse it down the plug hole! It will likely cause a blockage followed by an unwelcome smell. People with tidy homes remove any traces of food immediately before they have a chance to rot or get flushed down the drain. These can either go in the general waste, or in the compost bin. Investing in a strainer with a handle can make it easier, and less disgusting, to empty.
3. Not unpacking the suitcase after a trip
Once you’re home from your holidays, it’s all too easy to leave the suitcase sitting, still packed, at the end of the bed. But this is one habit people with tidy homes steer clear of. It can encourage holiday blues and take its toll on your mood, leaving you feeling unproductive. If you can’t bring yourself to unpack as soon as you’re home, be sure to set a time to do it so the suitcase doesn’t dwell.
Read up on how to clean a suitcase to give it some real TLC.
4. Leaving items out after a shop
Putting your food away immediately is essential – for the refrigerated and frozen items, anyway. The rest is usually hit-and-miss, with a few items left out on the kitchen counter, especially if they belong in another room. If you want a tidy home, these things should be put away before they become a permanent addition. If there’s not enough room for the packaging, it’s time to declutter the kitchen cabinets to remove food that’s past its expiry date.
This rule also extends to items you’ve purchased and abandoned around the home, still in their shopping bags. All because we can’t face putting things away!
5. Abandoning clothes on the airer
There’s an instant feeling of relief and achievement when the laundry is finally on the clothes airer; it’s un-bunched, spaced apart and will dry without a musty smell – check out 9 ways to stop laundry smelling if you deal with this often. The problem is there’s no deadline for when it needs to be taken down again. This causes the laundry to stay hung for far longer than needed. Sometimes, we even just take clothes straight off the line to wear immediately, removing the step of putting them away entirely. But this is a major habit to break.
Leaving a full airer up for longer than necessary creates an ongoing busy environment, and a potential obstacle when you walk around the home. If guests come to visit, it can also be a source of embarrassment, so it’s worth setting a reminder to take it down as soon as it’s dry. If you’re struggling to fit the items in your wardrobe (and that's what's causing you to leave them up), decluttering your wardrobe is the only solution.
6. Keeping a floordrobe in the bedroom
A ‘floordrobe’ is what happens when your clothes end up on the floor of your bedroom. It’s for those things that aren’t quite dirty enough for the hamper but aren’t clean enough for storage either. If not on the floor, they often end up draped on a chair. This is another habit to break if you want a tidy home. A floordrobe makes your bedroom feel chaotic and claustrophobic, not to mention it’s a major tripping hazard in the night and not very good for your clothes either. Take the time to put your clothes away as you take them off; you can always use a decorative basket for things that have been worn but aren’t ready for the wash.
7. Having ‘cram and slam’ drawers
When something’s stored in a drawer, it’s out of sight, out of mind. But when the contents are stacking to the point that it’s bulging – and you need to press it down before you can force it shut – then that’s not so easy to ignore. This is known as a drawer that needs to be ‘crammed and slammed’, and it’s not something you’d expect to find in a tidy home. Left like this, you won’t find what you need (or know where anything is stored). Plus, whatever’s stored is likely taking damage from the conditions, too.
Such drawers need decluttering and organising so they make the best use of the space. Drawer dividers, compartments and labels can all encourage you to keep things where they should be and stop old habits from reverting.
Handy storage solutions
