9 Easy New Year's Resolutions to Keep Your Home Clean All Year
The year 2022 has just rolled in. How often have we promised ourselves to hit a goal or try something new and fail to do it? Are we failing to achieve these goals because they are too challenging?
Here's the thing: The key to fulfilling your New Year's Resolutions is to break them into small actionable steps.
For example, the resolution for 2022 is to finally get the home clean and organized. To make that happen, what are the actionable steps we would need to take?
It's okay if you do not know. That's because we have listed down the ten things you can do to get started:
1. Declutter your most used space
You can't expect to create good decluttering habits without actually decluttering yourself. You can start by first dealing with the most used space in your home. This might be the kitchen, living room, or bedroom. Before you start, it also helps that you ask yourself the following questions:
Do I use this item regularly?
Do I love this item?
Now, if the word 'no' pops in your head, then it might be a sign that you should set it aside to throw away or donate to charity.
2. Get rid of or keep items you no longer need
Another excellent solution is to have boxes to periodically store items that you can donate to charity later on. According to Maid Sailors Maid Service Austin, not only is this a perfect way to declutter, but you feel good doing it.
In addition, decluttering is an excellent way to relieve stress. That's because you are making space for great things to happen in your home while letting go of those that no longer serve their purpose.
3. Put away clothes after washing them
Rather than just tossing them away, make sure to make an effort to put clothes away instead of dealing with them later on. One of the quickest ways to make a mess is to let your clothes pile up.
Make an effort to place them off on a random shelf, but take those extra 2 seconds actually to fold them or hang them back up neatly. The more you do this, the easier it will be and become almost second nature.
Also, if you regularly practice putting away your clothes every day, it's always a lot easier to find your favorite shirt or pair of pants. You won't have to waste that extra time digging for the clothes you're looking for at the last minute.
4. Throw away your trash
This tip sounds pretty simple to do and obvious, but not. You won't believe how much clutter stuff that's meant to be thrown away can do when they pile up.
So, make sure that you throw out things like shopping bags, tags, gift boxes in the bin, and if you can, recycle them immediately.
5. Clear your surfaces
Months or even years' worth of clutter might be stored in your closet, and the thought of organizing it all might overwhelm you.
We suggest that you start with smaller tasks. Some excellent examples would be clearing and wiping surfaces in your home. This includes the coffee table, nightstands, desks, drawers, and kitchen tops.
Usually, these surfaces can be breeding grounds for clutter, and it will be satisfying on your part to clean them.
6. Create a cleaning schedule
Making a cleaning schedule is the easiest way to stay on top of your cleaning and organization duties. It also helps you avoid overwhelm.
Make sure that you break these cleaning tasks into small, daily activities so that the whole cleaning process becomes a lot easier.
It's surprising how many small tasks you can accomplish with only a couple of minutes to spare. If you feel that it's too hard on your part, then you might consider working with a top cleaning service.
7. Use the "one in, one out" rule
The "one in, one out" means that for every item you add to your space, make sure you try to get rid of something similar.
Let's say that you got a new coffee table. Then, you might consider donating the old one. Got a new book? Then why not give out a book you've already finished reading to the library.
8. Use better storage solutions
Now that you got rid of all that clutter, the next step is coming up with better storage solutions! Make sure that you look around for areas in your home that create a lot of mess.
This might be that work desk in your home that acts less like a desk and more like a junk pile. It might be the table in your entryway that's covered up with mail.
Or it might be a particular corner in your kitchen cabinet where everyone throws their things there at the end of the day. Ensure that you have the proper storage solutions for these problem areas. That way, you can develop much better storage and home organization solutions.
9. Clean the carpets
Cleaning the carpet might not be the most exciting task to tick off on your to-do list, but it is a great one. Carpets tend to carry a lot of weight. Think about those dirty shoes, spill-happy kids, and messy pets.
As much as possible, make sure that you have a weekly vacuum routine to stop the dirt and grime from building up.