Growing up my mom kept our house fairly clean. Although I can’t remember if carpets were vacuumed or floors were mopped, I can remember that our house never felt messy or cluttered. It was important to my mom that our house was decent.

After I moved out I didn’t keep up with this same philosophy — for awhile I enjoyed living in mess.

Clutter didn’t bother me and dirty dishes didn’t keep me awake at night. But over the past few years I have found that my house didn’t always feel peaceful and I lived slightly more stressed than usual. After trying to embrace the whole “a messy home means happy children philosophy” I was starting to unravel. It may have meant happy children but it also meant a stressed out momma.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the having a tidy home kept our house functioning more smoothly. We can find things, laundry is consistently put away and when we wake up to pour coffee we aren’t staring at the previous night’s dinner dishes.

I have two kids and I’m involved in church ministry; as a result I don’t have a lot of extra time to clean my home, so I have found that routine helps me (and my family!) keep the house in order.

You can search Pinterest for cleaning schedules and there are a variety of schedules –whether you want to clean one room a day or get it all done at once, you can find one to fit your lifestyle. If you aren’t in your own home then this will work for whatever space you have as well.

I use Mondays as our cleaning days. I tried the one-room-a-day thing but it wasn’t practical for us and I found myself constantly falling behind. So Monday we stay home, stay in comfortable clothes, and I heavy clean — toilets, floors, windows, etcetera. I dread those tasks so it’s nice getting it done at the beginning of the week. Find what works for you and you’ll find yourself sticking to it more often.

Here are some daily tips to help you keep your house or space in an orderly state:

✿ Make your bed daily. If you have kids get them in the habit of making their beds, too.

✿ Unload your dishwasher in the morning. Then as you or your family use dishes they can stick them right in the dishwasher to keep your sink empty.

✿ Do a load of laundry every couple of days. This way you avoid the mountain of laundry and the daunting task of folding and putting it all away.

✿ Before you go to bed do a quick pick-up around the house. Make sure shoes are put back into their spots, books reshelved, and cabinets are cleared. If you have kids they can help with this task by finding their toys and putting them back into their rooms.

✿ Most importantly, get your family involved. Don’t let the housework only fall on your shoulders. If they help you pick up the house and their belongings they will appreciate the clean, tidy space more and will want it to stay that way, too.

What kind of tips do you have and implement into your life to keeping your house or space tidy?

image via the inspired room