The Household Organization Detox: The Detox You’ll Actually Keep in 2018

There are many cleaning tasks that can be scheduled, allowing you to perform certain tasks on certain days and thus preventing the feeling of being overwhelmed by all those chores you let pile up throughout the week. That’s where the power of your smartphone can come in, by scheduling alerts reminding you, say, to give the bathrooms a quick clean on Tuesday after dinner, or change the sheets after you wake up on Saturday morning. Keeping a schedule can be easy and effective when you utilize the technology that’s right at your fingertips, such as setting reminders to change batteries in smoke detectors and other items, clean your appliances and regular home-maintenance chores.

The worst thing you can do with mail is to set it aside and promise to deal with it later – which will inevitably result in a mail pile forming that will grow larger and larger with each day you procrastinate. A better bet is to get in the habit of dealing with mail at the time you get it; those few moments you spend will pay off when you’re not greeted by a huge stack of mail greeting you every time you walk in.

One of the smartest things you can do is to clean while you cook. Start by doing your meal prep, and clean that up before moving to the next stage. Once the meal is ready, quickly rinse utensils and load those items that can be placed into the dishwasher. When the meal is done, cleanup will be that much easier.

It may seem ike a no-brainer, but hang up jackets or anything that should be hung up as soon as you take those items off. Leaving clothing on the floor or draped on a chair increases the chance you’ll wind up moving onto something else – while those rumpled clothes just lay there. By getting in the habit of hanging things up immediately, it will become second nature and one less thing to worry about when tidying up.

Laundry has a tendency to pile up as those mounds of dirty clothing grow bigger and taller each day. A great way to prevent laundry from getting out of control: schedule it! Designate certain times on specific days for laundry, which will ensure you keep on top of it – and you never run out of clean clothes.

Here’s another habit to pick up: do a quick tidy before you hit the sack. Clean up surfaces, put bowls and dishes in the dishwasher, wipe off surfaces and you’ll wake up to a clean house, not a mess that needs to be cleaned up in the morning, usually the busiest time of anyone’s day.

One of the most common pieces of advice you’ll hear is to make the bed each morning. It won’t take long, but it will set the tone for the rest of the day – and you won’t come home from work to be greeted by a dishevelled, unmade bed.

Set a schedule so you can tackle a household task or clean a particular room each day, and stick to it. Once you become accustomed to the routine, you’ll be amazed by much you can accomplish in a few minutes each day while resulting in a home that is perpetually clean and tidy.

Each time you take a shower, finish up by giving it a quick clean. Keep bathroom cleanser and a sponge somewhere handy (under the sink will work), and then give the shower a quick clean each day by spraying it with bathroom cleaner, give surfaces a quick wipe and then rinse. Doing a brief clean daily will prevent having to do a bigger, more intensive clean later on.

Before heading to bed, take a few moments and give kitchen and bathroom counters a quick wipe. If you’re feeling even more ambitious, you can also give your bathroom toilets a quick scrub was well. It won’t take long, but you’ll be greeted in the morning with surfaces that are clean and gleaming.

Multi-tasking is a key concept when it comes to maintaining a clean, organized home, and a great way to do this is to unload the dishwasher (which you should run before heading to bed) while your morning coffee brews. The result will be one less task to complete later in the day.

Keep a small bin or hamper in your closet, with one specific purpose: a place to stash any items from your closet that are ready to be donated to a thrift store. Commit to taking a quick, weekly assessment of your closet in order to identify items you’re done with that are just taking up valuable space. Place these items in the “to donate” bin, and you’ll keep your closet efficient and uncluttered.

When something gets spilled, there can sometimes be a temptation to leave it and make a mental note to get to it later. That’s a temptation that should be resisted; instead, get in the habit of cleaning up spills immediately, which will prevent thing from staining or becoming crusty and saving you from a bigger cleanup job down the road.

One of the easiest – yet most effective – habits you can undertake is to fluff up the cushions on your sofa after you’re done sitting. It takes moments, yet the next time anyone walks into the room they’ll be greeted by a great-looking couch with full, fluffed-up pillows.

Anytime you’re about to head out the door, check the garbage. If there’s trash that needs to be taken out, take it on your way out – two birds with one stone!