5 Tips for a tidy home

Our home is the center of operations of our life. This is where we plan the future, where we manage the day to day and where we dream of everything we need and want to do, alone and as a family. For us to achieve all those dreams and plans, it is essential that our command base is an organised and tidy place. But how can we have a tidy home without wasting all our free time on chores?

Here are 5 tips to help you:

• All things in their right place – Before anything else, everything must be defined, and each thing must have its right place.
• Use and put away – If each thing, each object has its defined place, the rule to follow must be use and put away. We can’t give in to the temptation of picking up a game, a book, some shoes that we later decide not to wear, and leave them to be put away later. After using something, everything must be put back where it belongs.
• Divide responsibilities– This rule should be followed by everyone in the family, each one has their own things and should be given the responsibility to tidy up when they use them. Even with children, this system should be used when it comes to their toys, books, clothes or school bag, for example.
• One day for each room – Go over each room without leaving a lot of tidying up for the weekend, divide the house up by days and divide an hour’s work into a few minutes for each day.
• Renew and/or dispose of– Keep the cyclical habit of renewing and/or disposing of things that are no longer used or are getting damaged with use. If there is a new life to give to an object, keep it and make it a leisure project, a fun moment with the children. Now, if something breaks or gets old, don’t keep it for keeping it, throw it away and make room for new acquisitions. Also pay attention to the mail, the advertisements and the newspapers and magazines you buy. Sort it out every week and get rid of what is not important.

If we focus on this system and stick to it, we will gain free time to do more fun things than tidying up and again and again in an endless cycle. Life must be more than just working during the week and spending the weekend cleaning and tidying.