Life in the 21st century is more chaotic and fast-paced than previous generations would have believed possible. The days when a family unit invariably consisted of two parents, one of whom went to work in the morning and came home in the evening, and the other who took care of the kids and domestic chores are, thankfully, largely behind us. Sure, there are still a few households like that, but they are few and far between.
From single parent families to those with two adults who hold down full-time jobs, for most of us, home life is something of a blur, and it is all we can do to keep ourselves and our families fed, and keep up with the basic household essentials of doing the laundry and keeping the house clean.
Little wonder, then, that our homes can become a little disorganized when there is so much going on from day to day. Here, we take a look at some tips that will help you keep on top of the chaos, even in the non-stop modern world.
Ditch the clutter
Take an appraising stroll around your house, and try to see it through the eyes of an outsider. What can you see lying around that you don’t need or use? That pile of post, how long has it been sitting there? And how about those DVDs, when was the last time anyone actually watched them?
A clutter-free, open plan space looks stylish and is far easier to keep under control. And here’s the thing: clutter invites clutter. If there is a pile of magazines on a coffee table, it will magically grow till it hits the ceiling if you let it.
Accessorize wisely
Decluttered does not mean empty. With the unnecessary either packed neatly into closets or gracing the shelves of your favorite charity shop, you can add things that bring value and help to keep your home more organized instead of less. The As Seen on TV Store has a range of simple, stylish and practical accessories that fit the bill.
Innovative storage solutions like pan racks and space-saving wonder hangers for clothes help you make sure you have a place for everything – and that is the first step to keeping everything in its place.
Get into a good routine
If you went to work each day and the place was in disorganized chaos, someone would soon do something about it to increase efficiency and productivity. The same basic principles apply at home. You don’t have to develop a set of Standard Operating Procedures, but if you think of the daily routine as a production line, it will help you work out how to get everything done as efficiently as possible.
And the output from that will mean that everyone has more time at the end of the day to relax and do the things they enjoy.
Clean as you go
Even the most hygiene-obsessed person will sometimes be tempted by those dreaded words “I’ll sort that out later.” Just a coffee mug today can turn into a pile of dirty dishes, a filthy kitchen countertop, and a stove that, by the end of the week, looks like it might just have been the scene of a homicide.
If you keep everything clean as you go, the work doesn’t pile up, and you don’t end up spending half the weekend just trying to make the kitchen and bathroom clean and habitable again.
Don’t do it alone
If you live alone, then it is down to you to make the above steps work. But chances are if there’s only you in the home, it doesn’t feel disorganized. The chaos typically ensues because there are multiple people doing their own thing in their own way. When some of those people are kids, or worse still, teenagers, the difficulty factor multiplies.
The point is, you will only achieve an organized home if everyone living in it plays their role. Think about that parallel with the office from earlier. If there are six people involved in a business process and three of them are working efficiently while the other three are doing their own thing as and when they feel like it, what will the result be?
The above tips can certainly help you achieve an organized home, but only if everyone in the household gets involved. So, the very first step should be to sit everyone down and come up with a plan that is workable for all. Think of it as getting “strategic buy-in” from your team – good luck!
