Domestic organisation lends to a feeling of calm. Don’t you love walking into a room where everything is in place?

Clutter creates a sense of stress, but the good news is that it is the easiest kind of stress to handle. You have complete and utter control over it, so here are some ways to deal with it.

1. Have a place for everything

This takes some thought, but once you manage to house all your belongings, as little as they may be, your home will look instantly better and you’re saving yourself time looking for things all over the place.

2. Store wisely

Always store the most-used items at hand. Let’s take the kitchen as an example. Put the least used items in the higher cupboard, shelves, or corner storage. Same goes for clothing. In-season should be most accessible, while out-of-season and occasion wear can afford to be stored in harder to reach areas.

3. Declutter regularly

Anything you do not love or does not serve you is taking up physical & mental space. Donate, sell, or toss.

4. Make the beds every morning

I couldn’t start my day without the beds made. The house looks so disorganised when they’re not! Which brings me to my next point…

5. Everyone pitches in

Talking about getting beds made reminded me to mention the importance of everyone pitching in at home. There are several chores that kids as young as 2 can do. “If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together”.
In my book, I outline home chores by age, and I also have a list of extensive chores with a space designed to allocate the specific chore to the person who is responsible for it. We don’t give ourselves enough credit. There is a LOT to be done in the home.

6. Live with less

You’ve surely heard me say this a couple of times, but it’s so true! Choose what goes into your home wisely. Less belongings = less clutter. If this topic interests you, here’s another blog post which you’ll love.

8. Keep the main living area clutter-free

If I’m not able to clear all of the house, at LEAST the main living area (we have a combined kitchen/living/dining) is free of clutter.

9. My one minute rule

If you’ve read my book, you know the drill! Anything that takes less than a minute should be done immediately! So, rinse that glass, hang that jacket, put away the condiments, put that book back in it’s place…you get the gist!

There you have it. My 9 rules for domestic organisation bliss. Which ones do you use already?

PS: As of next week, right till the end of summer, my Facebook lives will start happening on Wednesdays. Tune in as I talk about how to keep the house (reasonably) tidy with toys on the cards. You can catch me on the Mama Manual Facebook page at 4:30pm Malta time (GMT +1). See you there!