Remodeled, organized and cleaned; what more could you want? How about sustained organization and cleanliness?
Just the daily routines of life can throw our homes into a cycle of disarray. The hectic schedules that we keep seem to give us license to drop, throw and leave our stuff all over the house. It is not until we can open the door to the house or someone trips and falls over a pile of junk, do we sit up and take notice that something has to be done about the clutter and mess.
Well, you have taken major steps towards seizing control of the situation by remodeling what needed to be changed, organizing the new and existing spaces and vowing to clean on a daily basis so that you don’t get overwhelmed by the cleaning monster.
Here are a few easy steps to realizing the dream of an uncluttered and clean environment in your home.
1. Establish Boundaries – In a home there are private spaces and public spaces. Review the difference between the two with your family. In doing this, you can hold each other accountable for private things being left in public places. This should help in ridding the Living Room of junior’s shoes and socks, book bags and backpacks should have a designated area, not on the Kitchen floor, coats should be hung in the closet, not thrown over the Dining Room chairs. Rules like, “if it is yours, it should be in your room,” will help to clarify where things belong and keep you from being the bad guy when it comes to straightening up the house.
2. Create Spaces – If you constantly are hearing, “I don’t know where it goes,” perhaps it is time to create specific spaces so that everyone knows where things belong. This is not a new concept. Almost everyone knows that if you say, “put the lawn mower away”; it would go in either the Garage or the Shed. Not too hard. It should be the same throughout the house. If something looks out of place, it probably is and you should be able to identify the owner and then it should find its proper place.
3. Set an Example – How easy is it to throw your keys and the mail on the island when you walk through the Kitchen? Do you ever drop your purse just inside the door to free up a hand to do something else, and never get back to pick it up? Well, just so you know, there are eyes watching your every move. You are setting precedence with your every action. Even if you have a good reason for leaving your things out, you need to lead by example and clean up after yourself. If they see you doing it, it will encourage everyone else to take responsibility for their things.
So remember, establish boundaries, public and private spaces and things; create spaces, a place for everything and everything has a place; and most of all set an example or simply stated: Practice what you preach!
Next Time…Move to the Outside
Q&A&C – Questions and Answers and Comments are expected and welcomed.
YOUR STORY – Tell us about your remodeling experiences, good or bad. We all have had them and perhaps you can help someone else have a great remodeling experience or avoid the issues that you encountered. Remember…keep it clean and civil or we can’t publish it.