How To Get An Organized Home: 12 Easy Tips from A Stay At Home Mom

Today I’m Sharing 12 Easy Tips I’ve Learned For an Organized Home

I tried to figure out how to get an organized home for years. But it took time, persistence and a lot of learning to get there.

From the whir of the washing machine to the baby fussing for milk, it seems things are never quiet around here. If you are a homemaking mama you can probably relate! In my early years of homemaking managing my home was a nightmare.

I was so unaccustomed to organizing and cleaning that it took me at least five years to get into a rhythm.

But in that time, I have learned quite a lot!

There is so much more to having an organized home than tackling the junk drawer. I’ve learned it’s the daily rhythms and habits that form the foundation of whether or not a home runs smoothly and in an organized fashion!

Today I want to share with you a few life changing cleaning and organizing hacks for the homemaker. These are easy ideas that you can implement right away and see results from immediately!

Let me preface this by saying that no home lived in by a family is ever perfect, and a home is meant to be lived in and loved! The purpose of cleaning and organizing is to create a happy oasis for your family, but no home that’s lived in and loved on is clean all at once!

Establish Daily Tasks that Keep You Organized

I have noticed its the little things that lead to big messes in home organization.

Jackets left out. Dishes undone. Floors covered in crumbs. These and many other small things add up to make the big overwhelm of an unkept house.

So first establish those daily tasks that will keep your days organized. For me these are:

-Washing dishes after each meal and wiping table

-Putting things away as we go

-Taking out trash and recycling

-Doing a load of laundry each day

-Making the beds

-Doing a 5 minute clean up of bathrooms

-Sweeping or Vacuuming

-Putting toys and books away

I have found these 8 main tasks (shared with my children) are the foundation of my organized home.

Wash Your Dishes After Every Meal

When overwhelmed with a dirty house, cleaning experts tend to recommend cleaning your sink first. And for good reason! It’s hard to focus on the rest of the house knowing you have dishes scattered everywhere and a dirty sink.

And, the next meal prep looms only hours away!

You can’t meal prep and cook with dirty dishes everywhere. So, I try to keep up on dishes throughout the day.

To make dish washing more enjoyable play music, listen to a podcast, smell essential oils and make your kitchen pretty! I follow Andrea from Pine and Prospect for lovely kitchen decorating ideas.

Dish washing can actually be enjoyable when you add these elements!

Keep Cleaning Supplies in Both Bathrooms

I love to keep cleaning supplies in both bathrooms. I use these amber glass spray bottles and make my own non toxic cleaning spray. Keeping a bottle of spray, roll of paper towels, and a jar of baking soda in each bathroom makes cleaning easy and quick.

Check out my five minute daily bathroom cleaning routine here!

Do A 10 Minute Tidy Up Every Night For an Organized Home

Before I do my bedtime routine, I do a quick sweep through the house (ten to fifteen minutes). I pick up any clutter, throw laundry into baskets, return books to their shelves, and tidy up.

I call this “putting the house to rights” and it’s such an easy thing to do I wish I’d started it years ago!

Waking up to a clean house because I took ten minutes to tidy is a joy!

Do A Load of Laundry Every Day

From start to finish, do a load of laundry every day. Get the kids involved, teach them how to load the washer, add detergent, fold and put away.

Add some music and make it fun with kiddos!

My favorite non toxic laundry detergent for sensitive skin!

Train Your Kids To Clean Up After Themselves

Kids add to the clutter and chaos of homemaking. They just do! But oh, they are a joy, aren’t they?

And, here’s a secret that I think too many people don’t understand in these busy times:

Kids long to help. Just like adults, they want to feel productive and important.

So, slow your roll, and take a few moments to teach them to clean up their messes.

My 3 year old is currently obsessed with kid scissors and cutting. It’s great, but messy! So he gets a paper bag to put his scraps in and is responsible for his mess. He (usually) does a good job cleaning up.

A few easy ways to teach your kids chores:

Let your kids help in the kitchen, and then train them to put their dishes in the sink, and eventually wash them.

Give your kids a morning routine that involves making their bed and putting away their pjs.

Teach your kids to put away their toy before getting out a new one. Do this every time and it will become a habit!

Slowly, slowly, in the little things you will find you have helpers.

Minimize Toys and Encourage Creative Free Play For an Organized Home

Speaking of kids and messes, one of my favorite ways to instantly reduce clutter is to reduce toys.

There was a time when about 80% of my kids toys were unused. Then, I got rid of half of them. I became strategic with their toys.

And life got easier.

Babies only need a few toys to learn and grow with. And my kids naturally love to play with cardboard boxes, paper, scissors, glue and crayons. So why not let them have at it?

Donate some of your unused toys and let your kids have creative free play with stuff you will recycle later. Take pictures of their creations and enjoy having less toys to manage!

Set a Cleaning Schedule and Stick With It

Start with a very simple cleaning schedule and stick with it! I pick one area a day to focus on, and make sure I do my daily tasks as well. (This is not deep cleaning, but tidying, vacuuming, etc).

The key for beginner housekeepers is to keep it simple. Don’t overwhelm yourself!

Set a De cluttering Schedule For an Organized Home

Like the cleaning schedule, set yourself a gentle de-cluttering schedule. Once a week, pick one room and focus on de-cluttering it for an hour. Make a box for goodwill and drop it off on your next outing.

Get Rid of Extra Papers Immediately!

Pack-rat and extra papers are two “p” words that seem to go hand in hand and could have been used to describe me a few years ago! Now, I go buy this motto: purge papers immediately!

On the way back from the mailbox, recycle those ads! Shred bills as soon as they are paid, and better yet go paperless (it is 2021 after all!).

Keep a large filing organizer nearby for important papers (like this one), but be ruthless in what you keep.

Hire a Mother’s Helper if You Can

I searched. I prayed. And finally, after years of hope deferred, I found her.

My amazing “mother’s helper”, Naomi, is twelve. She comes once or twice a week. During that time she cleans, babysits and helps me catch up.

A mother’s helper is especially helpful if you have a baby!

If you have more than a couple kiddos I would highly recommend finding a “mother’s helper” to come once or twice a week and help you!

My mother’s helper literally changed my life. I love her. 🙂

It took me a long time to find her, but I am praying now that you can find a gem of a girl to help you as well!

When All Else Fails, Set the Timer!

We all have times when things just get out of control and we feel overwhelmed. When that happens, I set the timer for ten minutes in the worst room. I work my way around the house for one hour. By the time the hour ends, the house is much better and we can carry on! 🙂

There are a ton of adorable timers on Amazon your kids will love.

Before and after with the ten minute timer:

Remember, cleaning and organizing is not about perfection…

I hope these 12 tips give you a ray of hope for your keeping your home clean and organized. In the end, remember that managing your home is not about being perfect, but providing a happy, well managed haven for you and your family.