Simple Systems to Keep Your Home Organized and Clutter Free

Whenever there is stuff all over my house, I feel paralyzed. My mind only sees clutter and to-do lists and time suckers.

A few years ago I remember talking to a friend about organizing. I told her it appeared that my house was clean, but not to open any cabinet or drawer.

Eeeek! It was so bad.

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Since then, I found a way I could go into a room and not ugly cry. Instead, my house stays clutter-free and it’s fabulous. It takes being intentional, but with systems and routines in place, it has been easy to keep up.

The only area in our house that needs to be managed better is the playroom. My suggestion to the kids was to get rid of all the toys. That didn’t go over so well, but I tried.

Imperative Systems

In order to stay on top of things and make your home feel decluttered and organized, you need to have systems. Period. Some take time to set up and others are quick and easy.

Laundry Systems

First on the list is the “L” word! It’s one of those things that never ever ever EVER stop. When I was in a super busy phase of life I began to neglect laundry altogether. I think I did it once a month taking me HOURS. Who am I kidding? DAYS to complete. It was suffocating.

Now, we use a super simple system of sorting the clothes by which room they go to. When that bin gets full, it gets washed, dried, and put away all in the same day. Or at least, that is the goal.

Here are some great laundry systems that may help you:

1. Sort by room or kid. | Do it when it’s full and have the person whose clothes they belong to put them away!
2. Assign each day of the week to each person in the family. | You can even get creative and name it like “Molly Monday” (if you have a Molly!)
3. Have a three-day laundry system. | Wash everything the first day, fold it all the second, and put it away on the third.
4. Have a single laundry day. | Pick a day of the way where you do all the laundry AND put it away all in the same day. This is what we used to do. It did work well but the new system takes less time since we only have to go into one room to put the clothes away.
5. Wash a load every day. | The key to this working is to throw the load in before you go to sleep then switch to the dryer as soon as you wake up. Put it all away before your day gets started. If not, it usually will start to pile up.

Bonus!!! Grab your free monthly inspection checklist when subscribing to the Raising Kids With Purpose Newsletter so you can keep your house decluttered!

Daily Clean Sweep

This one is life-changing.

I’m not even kidding.

It allows for a fresh start every day with no clutter. Read: toys, clothes, shoes, books and whatever other random things our kids leave around the house.

Every night as part of your evening routine, give everyone a basket, crate, bin or even a wagon to walk around and grab all things that aren’t where they should be. Something with wheels can work great, too!

Read more: Routines for Kids: Why & How They Work

Then, all those items get put away in their “home” (my next tip!). If it’s been a long night, it’s okay if everything doesn’t get put away, but at least it’s not all over the house.

When you keep up on this, it’s amazing how quickly it goes. And you can make it into a game by setting a timer, let your kids toss unbreakable items from a far distance or allow them to push each other around in a basket.

Everything Must Have a Home

I constantly find myself asking, “Where is that ____________’s home?”

If something comes into the house and it does not have a “home”, then it’s home becomes the garbage or gets donated. This goes for paper and mail, too. If you don’t have a home for it and you won’t need it in the future, get rid of it!

“Homes” that work well for our stuff:

• Crates or bins
• Rolling Carts
• Hangers – not used only for clothes. For example, I use belt hangers to hang my bags and purses.  
• Shoe Organizers
• Shelving Units
• Drawers – plastic or real dressers
• Overhead storage racks
• Plastic Containers WITH lids!
• Wall Holders for items like brooms and mops
• Drawer organizers
• Folders and Filing Cabinets for mail and papers
• Accordion Organizers – I use these for all school work and art I want to keep.
• Pizza Boxes – My friend saves each year of her daughter’s school work in a pizza box so they fit nicely under the bed!

Because I love to organize, most of our bins are labeled and micro-organized by color or size. You don’t need to go that far. You (and your kids!) just need to know where everything goes.

The Dollar Store and IKEA are both amazing places to get very inexpensive organizational tools.

Your bins don’t need to be pretty to function. Our pantry has a bunch of Dollar Tree bins because they were um, $1! We also have bins from Ikea and Michaels to add a little style!

And if you are putting something away, make sure it goes in its actual home, don’t just throw it in a drawer as we did for years then couldn’t find anything! Make sure it goes in the spot you reserved for it.

The more you keep up on this, the less time you have to go back and clean later. And it’ll cut down on the need to buy more of something because you can actually locate it.

No More Tchatchkes! (Cha-Skies)

Another phrase that rattles in my brain to help keep the clutter at a minimum, “No more Tchatchkes!”

A friend of mine introduced me to this word. and I love it. Seriously, say it a few times.

So much fun, right?!

It’s Yiddish for junk, trinkets, little toys or basically what I call crap. Ha! I apologize for the language but there’s no other way to properly describe it.

Tchatchkes that need to be tossed:

• Treasure Box or Goody Bag Toys | Can we please talk about this? I get it. Our teachers are doing their best job to manage their classrooms and our kids LOVE getting to go to the treasure box. It’s so sweet of their teachers to reward them. And our kids love getting little surprises at birthday parties. If it’s not practical like a pencil, bookmark, book or something they will actually use and gain value from, it doesn’t stay in our house.
• Fast Food Toys | These fall in the same category as the toys above. You can donate them to the treasure box at school. HA HA!
• Swag | How many stress balls, koozies and drawstring bags can one family really use? Again, if it’s something that won’t get used or provides value, it has to go.

Great Idea Alert! A way to allow your kids to play with new and fun toys that don’t stay in your house is to rent some from ToyLibrary!

It’s genius! You order used (and disinfected) toys, then when you’re done, you send them back. This way you don’t have to find a home for them.

After Dinner Clean Up Dance Party

This one is something we are trying hard to instill in our kids. We got the “clear off your plate and put it in the sink” down but getting the kitchen cleaned is taking some work.

If done right, it should only take 10 maybe 15 minutes.

Our Echo plays some rockin’ 80’s music, everyone is required to put away or clean at least 2 or 3 things as we dance. When the kitchen gets done AS SOON AS dinner is complete, nothing piles up and it feels so good.

I follow a blogger who even has a Disco Ball in their kitchen and another with a fun bell the kids get to ring when finished. Whatever it takes!

The Daily Goal

In implementing all these systems, the goal is to have the house clutter-free and cleaned up every single night to start each day fresh!

This doesn’t happen all the time. Part of the reason is….life. Sports, rehearsals and busy schedules get in the way. But when you really break it all down while staying consistent, it saves you so much time in the long run. And can I just say it feels good?! Clean spaces are where it’s at!

Here are a few tips that really help me:

1. If you think about it, do it! Just do it, you’ll thank yourself later.
2. Set a timer. Some nights when the kitchen doesn’t get done after dinner, I look around and just want to go lay in bed. But instead, I’ll set a timer for 5-10 minutes to see what can get done. More times than not, it gets done in that time. And if it doesn’t, I’m already cleaning so I might as well finish. We LOVE these timers!
3. Don’t pass something up that’s not in it’s home. If the kids are still going to be playing with something, I’ll leave it, but other than that I don’t let anything just sit there. It needs to go to it’s HOME!
4. Get my kids to help! This is a no-brainer except if I’m trying to get rid of toys. Ha!

Read Next: 4 Easy Steps For Teaching Life Skills to Kids

Getting Started

Okay, so if you’re sitting there thinking, “Oooh, I can use that system and that would work well for us. I’m not sure about that but we can try….WHO AM I KIDDING? AHHHH MY HOUSE IS A MESS WITH NO SYSTEMS, IT’S TOO OVERWHELMING. I’m just going to shut every door in my house and go eat Bon Bons.”

You know, that overwhelming feeling of not even knowing where to start?

I have good news. It doesn’t have to happen overnight. It has taken me years to get good systems in place and feel like my house is semi-decluttered.

Having older kids also helps this because they are far more capable of pitching in now than when they were toddlers.

So if you’re in the weeds, hang tight, it gets better.

How To Start Decluttering

Decluttering your house when you have kids can feel daunting and overwhelming. All you have to do is commit to a few minutes every day which will sometimes turn into hours. Here are other tips that have really helped me:

Visualize how you want your home to look

Set goals for each space in your home.

Do a Deep Organize

This is like a deep clean, but instead only getting rid of stuff, make sure every area is organized.

Focus on one room at a time

I started at one end of my house, went through every cabinet, closet, area that had stuff, and made sure there were homes for everything. Bring along a big garbage bag and don’t be afraid to toss!

Set a timer for 20-minute chunks

I’ve been doing this for the playroom. It gets me started then I work on it for a little longer than that.

Ask yourself imperative questions

You can google how to get organized and will find so many tips, tricks, and scripts to tell yourself. Some professionals have you ask yourself if that item brings you joy. Another question I often use is, “Have I used this in the past year?”

Teach one system at a time

In converting your kids to becoming declutterers, explain how they can be involved, and focus on one system at a time. Create habits!

Think about every item that you bring into your house

Before buying another coloring book or toy, think about where it will go, what can you replace it with, or if it really is something that will bring joy or value. And it’s best to not bring ANYTHING else into your house until your decluttering process is complete.

Get inspired!

Every time I go to two particular friends’ houses, I always come home wanting to throw everything away! Their houses are completely free of clutter and feel so refreshing which does inspire me to do the same. *Thanks, friends!

The After Effects

When you look at a space where there once was a lot of stuff, you’ll think, “Wow! That’s so nice to see the countertop again.” Or at least for me, I have happy thoughts instead of little gremlins yelling in my head.

And it can be addicting! Once you get rid of the clutter, your mind can be freed to think and do other things.

Room by room, space by space, if done with intention and keep systems in place, it will be more manageable. And don’t forget to include the kiddos!

Bonus! Monthly Inspection Checklist

I created a monthly inspection checklist that you can laminate and use over and over again. There are two lists. One has suggested rooms to inspect and the other is blank so you can fill it out.

I keep this on my fridge so I can make sure all the rooms in my house get cleaned and stay decluttered.

What Systems Do You Use?

I want to know! What am I missing? What other systems could we be using to maintain a clutter-free home? Comment below!

Originally published on 02/18/19; updated 06/23/20