Staying on top of the housework for a cleaner, more organised home

As the New Year begins, many of us will be making resolutions to change a few things for the better. For busy families, a regular resolution made around this time of year is to get on top of the household organisation and find ways to declutter our lives. If you’re drowning in a sea of toy cars, vacuuming up Lego bricks and constantly looking for things that have disappeared into the mess, here are some top tips for creating a cleaner, more organised home for 2014.

Top tips for home organisation

• Spot where the mess happens: Certain areas of your home will be like a mess magnet. If you are constantly clearing art projects from the dining table, get yourself a small box or basket to pop it all in, and find somewhere handy to store it. Find places in the house where you tend to find mess, and create a solution that will make it as easy as possible for you and your family to tidy away.
• Make a place in every room: Create a place in every room in the house where toys and other bits and bobs can easily be put to instantly clear up at tidy up time. A nice wicker basket or crate is ideal for this. Every now and then you can take the basket around the house, rehoming the contents when you have time.
• Use a shoe box: Don’t bother with a shoe rack. Families who do seem to spend all their time picking up shoes and getting frustrated when others don’t, so have a simple large box where everyone’s footwear can be chucked in, making it easy for everyone to help.
• Swish the bathroom every day: Keep a basic cleaning product and cloth in the bathroom and give it a quick swish over when you go in for your morning wash. Just a brief wipe of the shower, toilet and sink will keep things looking and smelling fresh, and you’ll never have to spend an hour deep cleaning the room again.
• Take ten minutes: Find yourself ten minutes a day to tackle a problem area. This could be a drawer, a cupboard or a room, but limit yourself to ten minutes. Trying to do the whole house in one go will only stress you out and make you reluctant to do it again, but by tackling the big problems in manageable chunks, you’ll keep your enthusiasm up and make a little progress each day.
• Know when to throw: Remember that if you are in any doubt whether you or your family need something any more, throw it out. If you really can't bear to part with it why not consider putting it in cheap storage units unit as a compromise to it cluttering up your home. Having too much stuff is the major culprit for many families who are living in a cluttered state of affairs, so throw out anything that is not beautiful or useful.

Implement a few of these tips yourself, and see how easy it can be to get back on top of the housework. Don’t feel like you’ve got to do it all alone either; even children as young as two can help with putting clothes in the washing machine or taking books back to the bookcase. Make it a team effort and everyone will be pleased with the results of living in a clutter-free home.

The author has written and published articles on a wide range of topics including Small Business Advice, Tax and Accounting, Interior Design, House Renovation and Project Management.