17 Ultimate Tips for Being Tidy & Keeping Your Home Clean

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Hate Cleaning? Check out our 17 ultimate tips on how to become naturally neat and tidy so you can keep your home consistently clean and with far less hassle.

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1. Make sure everything has a home.

When you have a designated home for everything, it can become 2^nd nature for you and others to learn how to put things back over time.

This can be more so the case when you use labels or other means of identification, and if items are in logical or convenient locations.

2. Contain the mess with baskets and bins.

Items such as containers, bins, baskets, boxes, and even pieces of furniture can be a great way to store larger items or even miscellaneous ones that never seem to have a logical place to go.

This might include things like throw pillows that you remove for sleep and need to put back in the morning. It may also involve more permanent storage such as bedding, children’s toys, pet toys, throw blankets, etc.

3. Be strategic and problem-solve common issues.

Try to be strategic about cleaning and find clever ways to outsmart the problem.

For example, if certain areas of the home get messy quickly or daily, there’s probably a solution for it.

It might also mean buying more than one cleaning product or tool to make sure they’re conveniently located near each bathroom or on each floor for convenient, no-excuse, fewer-steps cleaning.

It might even entail getting the right tool, even if it’s a really trick vacuum that tickles your Nerd receptors and works as an incentive to clean.

4. Rethink cleaning.

Sometimes, simply rethinking cleaning can be a great way to feel better about it and see it from a different perspective.

Rather than looking at cleaning begrudgingly, as most of society conditions us to do as early as childhood, look at the benefits.

Live and Learn

As someone who has adult ADHD and often lacks the motivation to do a lot of things because of it, I found that treating it as a hobby and turning it into a game or challenge with timers helped motivate me.

Over time, and as I started to see cleaning habits naturally form in my day-to-day – not to mention the many, many benefits that come from maintaining a clean home.

5. Learn to scan the room.

Learning to scan a room before you leave or enter it, as well as before you go to bed, can be a good way to make yourself more aware of your surroundings.

It can also help you see messes that you might have learned to turn a blind eye to over time.

6. Thoroughly and regularly declutter.

Make an effort to do a big decluttering of your home – especially if you have a lot of stuff that you find you don’t even use.

This will help you to save time while cleaning, help prevent bigger messes from happening, and will allow you to spot messes more easily.

7. Take something with you as you leave a room.

Try to take something with you whenever you get up, take a break, or leave a room. This might include things like trash, dishes, beverage, or items that belong elsewhere.

8. Make it a daily habit.

Make an effort to get into the habit of cleaning daily, even if it’s just daily maintenance cleaning chores.

Doing so will ensure faster and easier, less overthinking, and a home that’s easier to maintain.

Habit-Forming Tricks

Focus on the main or high-traffic areas.

Consider using morning and evening cleaning routines.
Practice maintenance cleaning chores and methods.
Work around other factors like Trash and Grocery Day.

9. Learn about yourself and your quirks and work around them.

Learning about yourself and what you don’t like cleaning and what you do well with can be an excellent way to learn how to work around any quirks, scheduling, and cleaning concerns.

For instance, you can often negotiate with others who might prefer to do a chore you don’t like doing and vice versa, such as trash vs. the dishwasher.

10. Focus on procrastination and overthinking.

When we overthink something like cleaning, it typically leads to procrastination, anxiety, and a slew of other issues.

Because of this, try to focus on what causes you to procrastinate and see if there’s a solution for it.

For instance, if you procrastinate on cleaning the shower, you may find it easier to have a handheld showerhead and tools such as an extendable shower mop or scrubber.

! Hate cleaning the shower, cleaning the kitchen, or making your bed? Read our posts on the Ultimate 15 Motivating Benefits to Gain from Maintenance Cleaning and How to Benefit From a Good Cleaning Routine for a little cleaning motivation as well as time-saving tips and tricks.

11. Accountability counts.

One surefire way to overcome procrastination, overthinking, or inefficient cleaning systems is to hold yourself accountable.

Maybe that means setting challenges or goals for yourself, teaming up with friends or family members, or joining a cleaning community on Facebook or other forums.

Or, like many others on platforms like Youtube, starting a cleaning channel or blog. 😉

12. Create flexible routines and schedules.

Utilizing flexible cleaning routines and schedules that work around you vs. feeling like you have to work around your routines can be a great way to stay consistent.

Over time and when you stay on track, you’ll eventually learn to turn your routines and scheduled cleaning chores into a habit, which, in turn, can help you be tidier out of habit.

Routines & Schedules

75 2-minute cleaning chores

13. Make it entertaining.

Just as with exercise, you can learn to appreciate something like cleaning more and learn to stay consistent with it if you approach it by incorporating things that you like into the mix.

Cleaning Entertainment

Audiobooks

Good music
Podcasts
Talk on the phone

Cleaning with friends or family
Time yourself and turn it into a game
Listen to videos or shows that you don’t have to necessarily watch

! Ready to challenge yourself? Check out our 5-minute Spring Cleaning Tasks and 75 2-minute Cleaning Chores that you can easily squeeze into your day and do year-round.

14. Be the master, not the apprentice.

Sometimes, the best way to become more proficient at something like cleaning is to teach others.

That doesn’t necessarily mean nagging them into submission into joining you on your cleaning journey, but rather talking about the benefits you’ve learned. Then see if you can get others on the same page as far as routines go.

Either way, go gently, be empathetic to their feelings, and realize that this is your journey and not theirs, but also maintain healthy boundaries for yourself and those around you.

15. Make the space something you love being in.

People often typically start to neglect their homes when they no longer appreciate them or get bored.

You can easily bypass this issue by giving your space a revamped look that makes it Instagram-worthy and something you can be proud to show off, even if you’re on a budget.

Decor Tips

You can find new or used décor pieces at thrift stores, eBay, garage sales, retail stores, or online.
To keep your environment decluttered and less overstimulated, consider rotating décor pieces you might already have and like but don’t always want out and store what it isn’t used – especially if you find you can’t quite get rid of it yet.
Rearrange the room when it comes to furniture, wall art, and knickknacks.

Consider using the design technique of only having a few pieces on one surface at a time – usually in odd groups of 3 and 5.

16. Know your “why” for keeping a cleaner home a priority.

Knowing your “why” or reason for doing something can work as a major incentive or motivator when you find yourself falling out of the habit of cleaning.

This can go for starting a cleaning journey and working towards maintaining your home better.

Top 3 Reasons to Clean

Faster and easier cleaning.
A better-looking home.
Less stress.

! Looking for more cleaning incentives? See our 12 Easy Decluttering Tips for the Motivationally Challenged and 19 Awesome Benefits You Can Gain from Decluttering posts next.

17. For everything something new, get rid of something old.

Consider adopting the policy of donating or getting rid of something for every new item you bring in.

Conclusion

In this post, we covered our 17 best tips for becoming naturally tidy and learning how to keep your home clean with ease and consistency.

Quick Recap

Make sure everything has a home.
Contain the mess with containers, baskets, and bins.
Be strategic and problem-solve common concerns.

Rethink and tweak your perception of cleaning.
Learn to scan the room before leaving it.
Thoroughly and routinely declutter.

Take something with you as you clean to wash, put away, or throw away.
Make it a daily habit.
Learn about yourself and your quirks.

Focus on procrastination and overthinking.
Find ways to hold yourself accountable as you practice keeping up on cleaning.
Create cleaning schedules and routines that are flexible and suit your needs and personality.