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Have you ever walked into your home and immediately felt overwhelmed by the mess and clutter? Need some quick decluttering tips for a stress-free home?
You’re not alone. Research shows that a clean house has a positive effect on our mental health—but who has time?!? Whether you work full-time or are a stay—at—home mom, we all get caught in the cycle of busyness and our home turns into a tornado instead of the sanctuary of peace we hope for.
If you are like me, you could always use some decluttering tips/hacks to help make the job quicker and more efficient. I’m going to share some quick decluttering tips for a stress-free home.
The key to keeping a clean home is finding a routine that works best for you and your family.
I have found when I do a few things each day I am able to maintain a cleaner home longer.
#1—Load of Laundry Every Day
Laundry is the one household chore that can PILE up quickly when not maintained.
Making a habit of doing one load of laundry every day keeps me from spending my weekends locked in the laundry room.
I prefer to wash a load when I arrive from work and move to the dryer before bed. This keeps the clean clothes from staying in the washer too long and then having to be rewashed…which has happened too many times to count! 🙃 I hang up all the clothes as I move them to the dryer, so they will have a chance to dry by the time I get home from work the next day.
By the middle of the week, I will wash a load of towels. I do save washing our bedding until the weekend, just so I have enough time to remake the bed.
Find a routine and rhythm that works best for you. Set reminders or alarms for each stage so you don’t leave clean clothes in the washer too long and end up wasting time having to wash them again.
Organizing the laundry area helps to make this chore a little less stressful.
I love these mesh bags—https://amzn.to/43oTEkP to use for socks! It keeps those pesky pairs together and makes finding them to fold so much easier.
By spreading the laundry out over the course of the week, your weekends will be free to enjoy time with your friends and family.
#2—Organize the Mail
Mail is constantly entering our lives and can get out of control quickly if it is not sorted often. Daily mail should be identified and sorted multiple times throughout the week if not daily. Here are some quick tips for sorting and organizing mail:
- Create a “drop spot”–where all mail goes when it comes into the house
- Try to sort the mail into groups–bills, junk, coupons, etc.
- Create a space or have an organizer to place the above groups into after they are sorted. This gets them off the counter and into a specific spot to come back to later.
- Try to go paperless with as many bills as possible
- Trash the junk mail as soon as it arrives
- Clean out the organizer periodically to keep everything clean
Here are two of my favorite organizer depending on your home.
We have this countertop organizer https://amzn.to/3ZmKOlc and I love how there are tabs for labeling the groups.
This organizer https://amzn.to/43O2lUx attaches to the wall for quick grabbing on your way out. It also holds keys and has a spot for lists.
#3—Declutter & Clean Countertops Every Day
Another one of the quick decluttering tips for a stress-free home is keeping counter spaces clear. Countertops in both the kitchen and bathrooms are the one space that tends to constantly be a mess in our house. They become the “catch-all” for mail, keys, dirty dishes, make-up, hair products, jewelry, etc. Keeping countertops tidy and clean each day helps to cut down on the chaos of a variety of piles.
There are many ways to keep your countertops organized—here are just a few ideas:
- Create a space above the back of your stove to hold your favorite spices. This frees up space on the countertop and keeps me organized while I’m cooking. I love this shelf https://amzn.to/43yOqTI because it is adjustable to different levels above the back of your stove, especially if your stove is like mine in the back and isn’t level.
- Use any open spaces between cabinet, drawers, or even between the fridge—https://amzn.to/4kZK3qG
- Remove the clutter around your sink by using a basket caddy for soaps and sponges/brushes
- Use the corner space on your counter for shelfing or baskets—this space is usually wasted and can be turned into another storage space. I personally love these https://amzn.to/4mMVbZD because it matches my home decor. Amazon has tons of options…just search for corner counter shelving. 😊
- Bathroom caddies can help organize the clutter in your shower area or counters! I LOVE this make-up caddy because it rotates 360 degrees and is cute—https://amzn.to/4mQj823.
Bottom line—there are TONS of options to organize our clutter–I have only shared a few of my favorites. Find the ones that work best for you and your spaces.
#4—Organize All Cabinet Spaces
Let me be honest—Most of the time, my cabinet spaces are a disaster….all of them….kitchen, bathroom, bedroom…everywhere. Having some sense of organization helps to find things faster and just makes life not so frustrating when you are hunting for something.
Here are some of my favorite organizers for all these areas for under $30. Having a place for items brings a sense of calm to our daily routines.
- Bathroom and Kitchen Organizer—https://amzn.to/3Zm9jyP
- Cabinet Organizer(Bathroom or Kitchen)—https://amzn.to/445ykRu
- Pots and Pans Organizer—https://amzn.to/4mRQBt0
- Drawer Organizer—https://amzn.to/3ZVcqhj
#5—2 Minute Rule
The 2-minute Rule is very simple. Any task/chore that can be completed in 2 minutes or less, don’t put it off until a later time….do it now. These small jobs are usually the things that we want to wait to finish because they seem so small….but when we wait they add up to more time spent.
I use the two-minute rule on multiple areas throughout the house. When I take time to tackle these smaller things, it saves me tons of time later.
Household chores that can be completed in 2 minutes or less:
- loading or unloading the dishwasher
- Vacuuming one space or area
- folding a load of laundry
- sorting laundry or starting a load of laundry
- making the bed
- sorting mail
- dusting one space or area
- decluttering/picking up one space or area
#6—Set a Timer for 10 Minutes
So many times, I set out to clean but get sidetracked with other areas and end up not accomplishing much at all. So many times, I’ve started out cleaning up one area and go to another room to take something back to its space and end up side-tracked and cleaning in a completely different area. I call this ADD cleaning because nothing seems to get cleaned and I end up running back and forth between too many areas.
My favorite quick decluttering tips for a stress-free home is the 10-minute rule. You simply set a timer and focus on one area to clean. It is amazing how much you can get done when you are focused. I usually throw on some of my favorite music and have fun with it.
The other rule in this is…. once the timer goes off. STOP….take a break or move into a different area and repeat.
Here is a cool timer I found that has multiple uses around the house: https://amzn.to/3HsVHfa
Also, these headphones are fantastic to jam out while you are cleaning! https://amzn.to/3ZeSmGE
#7—Organize the Fridge
You should declutter and organize the fridge at least once a week. Schedule your cleaning around when you do your grocery shopping…this will make it easier to find a place for the fresh groceries. Toss anything you know you will not use before it goes bad. A more thorough cleaning should be done monthly or quarterly depending on the need in your family.
There are multiple ways to declutter and organize depending on your preference. First, sorting your foods into categories is helpful—dairy, produce, deli, condiments, sauces, etc. You can take these categories and organize the actual area of the fridge into zones according to your foods you use most. Group items that your family uses often together and within eyesight. Other things such as sauces and condiments can be grouped together for quick grabs when needed.
Finally, use practical products that will keep your food in the fridge organized and cleaner. When you can clearly see the options in the fridge, we are more likely to use the items…this will result in less food being wasted…which equals money saved for you and your family. I’ve listed below a few organizing products that work great!
- I love these fruit and produce containers–they contain a colander and are leak-proof! https://amzn.to/3Tj0P80
- Eggs Holder—https://amzn.to/4405otc
- This lazy susan for the fridge is GENIUS! No more taking everything out to reach something in the back…simply rotate the 360 degree shelf! https://amzn.to/43yG91X
- Use decanters to organize & save space for milk and juice containers—https://amzn.to/4jDpD5y
- These mats are a favorite to keep spills contained & your fridge clean—https://amzn.to/4mOgWIB
I hope you are able to use a few of these quick decluttering tips to better manage your cleaning schedule and enjoy your stress-free home.
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