3 simple steps towards that tidy house you dream of

1. If you're not using it now, it doesn't need to be out. Put it away. I used to be surrounded by books, magazines, cds, videos, baby toys, clothes, charity piles and so on and so on. I wouldn't put it away because I would think 'well i'm just going to get it out again soon' It's better to do one thing at a time well and completely. When you have fifty jobs on the go it just ends up in one big cluttery mess!


2. Build little habits. I have many of these. Whenever I make a cup of tea, I use the minute it takes the kettle to boil to tidy the kitchen. You'd be suprised how many dishes you can put away in one minute or give the fridge a wipe out. I never come downstairs without collecting any dirty washing from upstairs. I come down and put it straight in the washing machine. Every night before I go to bed I count to 60 while having a quick tidy of the living area, putting away books etc anything that's not been done during the day. All of these jobs take less than a minute but seem to save me hours of tidying and cleaning.


3. Don't wait until you've got time to declutter a large section. You never have time. Break it down to two minute jobs. For example decluttering my bookshelf looks like a mammoth task. But if I break it down into twenty little sections I will get it done easily. Make a rule, if you have a favourite tv show, declutter every time an advert comes on. Don't sit and waste time watching the ads..even if it's just for one ad break each time you watch a show.