A few years ago, my husband and I moved into a fully updated bungalow that we both just love. We both feel like we've been there for years and years, because we are comfortable in it and it meets our needs so well. Living in our old home (what I lovingly refer to as our "honeymoon house"), we were kind of slobs, y'all. We always had to do a lot of deep cleaning whenever we hosted events, and things stayed cluttered a lot of the time. It was so STRESSFUL. My anxiety was always kind of spiking because I felt like, even when I just wanted to relax and unwind, there was always something screaming to be cleaned, de-cluttered, organized, or tidied. When we moved into our new house, my husband and I made choices to change those habits in our new home, and not fall into old patterns. There were a lot of things that we did when we moved in (and things we continue to do!) that set us up for success. When we changed our habits around tidying in our new home, it helped to make it such a peaceful and beloved haven for us.
In the first part of this series, I want to share some tips for serenity and low-anxiety around keeping your space clean, especially with the new Netflix Tidying Up series causing mass de-cluttering. :)
Designate places for things to "live".
This was HUGE when we moved into our house. If it didn't have a very specific place to live, it didn't get put away until it did. Now, when we use something or wear something or get something out, it goes back to where it lives when we're done. (Pro tip - organizers are your friend AND you can get amazing ones at the dollar store!)
Donate duplicates!
We had so many of so many things! If you only need one or two of something, donate the rest.
Follow the one in, one out rule.
I am still SO BAD at this, but it makes so much sense when you only have so much space for things to live! If you buy another of something (purses, shoes, t-shirts, board games, etc.), donate one of your existing ones. (*pro tip - if you know this is going to be an issue for you, designate one space for all the things that you can "grow into" - but once it's full, it's full!)
Get smaller furniture - and don't put anything in your entryway to stack stuff on.
Two of the "hot zones" in our old house were the entryway buffet AND the kitchen table. We hardly ever used the kitchen table for eating, but when we did we had to clear 6 months worth of junk off of it. We set stuff down on the buffet the second we walked in the door, and it often stayed there until we cleaned weeks later. When we moved, we left the entryway clear AND we downsized our kitchen table. Our kitchen table is still a catchall (some habits die hard!) but there's a lot less space for catching.
Split your closet by season.
Currently, my winter clothes are in my closet, and my summer clothes are in the guest closet. This cuts down on trying to find things, and it offers a wonderful opportunity to purge your closet of things you aren't wearing when you switch!
Load/Unload your dishwasher errrrry day.
I do this at night before I go to bed. You don't have to run it! There's just something magical about having an empty sink.
Move things to the room they live in each day.
I am the person that comes home, sits down, takes my shoes off and leaves them wherever they fall. It's a problem, so I've learned to walk through the house at some point during the day and return all the things that don't live in the room they are in to the room they do. It's easy to put them away the next time you enter that room.
Set a load of laundry to delay start while you are at work, OR, load the washer before you leave in the morning and start it as soon as you get home.
Guys, if I won the Powerball, I would outsource my laundry. Seriously. I hate it. I don't even have that much, but it takes over everything when I neglect it. Having it "ready to go" has taken the misery out of it to a point, and made it easier to finish during the week, so it doesn't overtake my weekends.
Rotate deep clean zones.
Here's where I get real with y'all - all the unhidden spaces in my house stay pretty tidy all the time. My biggest issue is those hidden spots - drawers, closets and cabinets, so I have a rotation of these zones that I revisit every once in a while. Closets get cleaned out twice a year (usually when I switch over my clothes!), my bedside table drawer gets deep cleaned 3-4 times a year, etc. We all know where these zones are for us, and can plan accordingly. No guilt, no judgment, no overwhelm, because we know we have a scheduled time to tackle it! I, of course, keep my schedule in my bullet journal.
If it is within your means to hire a housekeeper, do it.
We have one that comes 2 times a month and it's the best thing we ever did. If you don't feel you need one, or you don't want to invest in having a housekeeper, assign one day a week to do the deep cleaning in your house and stick to it. I think one of the main reasons that all the messiness used to spike my anxiety is because it was this nebulous thing that I never knew when I would get to. Now, with schedules and plans, and more organized spaces, I know that it will not always be that way, and that helps my anxiety tremendously.If overwhelm about cleaning your space has you paralyzed, pick one small place to start. Maybe a kitchen drawer, or a bathroom cabinet. Remember, always, that you are doing the best you can, and a messy house says nothing about your worthiness or character as a person.If you need some help to lower anxiety caused by messiness, I hope these tips help, and I'd love to hear how you use them.
