Here are 15 easy ways to simplify your home. I have personally adopted all of these basic habits so I know they work! When adopting a new habit I try to start with one at a time.
This makes it easier for a new habit to stick around for the long haul.
15 Easy Ways to Simplify Your Home And Life
Why do we complicate life? Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed and stressed out I take a moment to reassess how I am spending my time and how my house is functioning.
Most of us spend a lot of time at home! If your house is a huge unorganized mess that is going to add to the feeling of overwhelm.
Take a moment and see what you can cross off your to-do list and if any of these habits might help you simplify your home.
1 – Clean the Kitchen After Each Meal and Before Bed
The kitchen is usually the busiest place in a home. This is where we make all our meals store a lot of things we need to get to quickly, and gather when people are over.
In a lot of homes, the kitchen is highly visible with the popular “open plan” house layout. This means the kitchen is highly visible and if messy it can make the whole house feel like a disaster.
One way to simplify your home is to clean the kitchen after every meal. This could be as simple as rinsing the dishes and setting them in the sink or dishwasher. I try to wash the dishes after every meal and put them away so we are ready for the next meal or thing we are going to cook.
Nothing is worse than entering a messy kitchen in the morning! So I always try to clean the kitchen each night before I go to bed so we are all ready to start breakfast in the morning.
This helps our home to run smoothly!
2 – Keep Up With The Laundry
I have a family of 5 and if I don’t keep up with the laundry we can quickly become overwhelmed. One habit I started is to at least try to finish the laundry completely.
This means if I start a load I try to dry it, fold it, and put it away all in one day. If I don’t complete the load all the way it can add to a lot of confusion.
We forget if the basket is full of clean or dirty clothes and sometimes my kids start to add dirty clothes on top of the clean ones!
One Load a Day
An easy way to stay on top of the laundry monster is to do one load a day. In the morning I throw the dirty clothes in the washer and by the end of the day, we have one load done.
By doing a load a day I never have to deal with a huge amount of clothes at one time. Of course, if there aren’t enough clothes for a load I will skip a day, but I find this is the easiest way to never get overwhelmed with dirty clothes.
If you live alone or have a small family then it might be easier to pick one day when you do all the laundry.
3 – Share The Chores With The Whole Family
As I mentioned we are a family of 5. This means everyone who lives here must pull their own weight when it comes to chores. My boys are at the age where they can help out with some age-appropriate chores.
They already have to put their stuff away, but in addition to that they help take out the trash, put dishes away, and clean the floors.
As a mom, I do not feel like it’s my responsibility to clean up after everyone else. I like to say if you can’t help then you need to move out LOL!
4 – Don’t Shop Often or “For FUN”
The more we shop the more we bring into our homes! And the more we have in our homes the more things we have to deal with. We have to organize these things, keep them clean, and make space for them.
One way to simplify your home is to have less in it. The less stuff we have to deal with the more time we have for other endeavors like hobbies, spending time with family, going on vacation, resting and so much more.
Also, the less money we spend the more we can save which can lead to less debt and even the possibility of retiring early!
5 – Keep The Counters and Flat Surfaces Clear
Keeping the flat surfaces clean and clear will help to simplify your home. It makes it easier when you want to make a meal in the kitchen.
When you go to sit at your dining room table to eat you won’t have to move a bunch of junk just to eat.
This will also help with visual clutter. By having clear flat surfaces your eyes can relax as you look through your home. Instead of bouncing from one item to the next thinking about all that “stuff” you need to deal with.
6 – Declutter Regularly
Decluttering regularly will simplify your home! This doesn’t have to be an overwhelming project. You are allowed to declutter a few items a day.
Open a drawer and grab out anything you haven’t used in a long time, trash, or anything that you don’t need. Now throw it away or put it in a bag to be dropped off at the thrift store.
7 – Don’t Keep Things That Arn’t Relevant
This tip is very similar to decluttering regularly, but hear me out because it’s a little different. Sometimes we keep things because we have always had the item or that is just what people do.
But I am here to tell you it’s ok to do things differently than everyone else. For instance, most people buy a book read it, and then add it to their bookshelf. My question is are you ever going to read that book again?
I know I am not going to ever reread a book.
Why would you keep a book if you are never going to look at it again? I can see if you have an actual library where people come and borrow books from you, but let’s get serious that is not most people.
Think about what you are keeping in your home because it’s always been there and can you let it go?
Maybe the books and the bookshelf could go! This can also apply to “kid stuff”. Sometimes we are given a game or gift that my kids never use, but because it was a gift we keep it without a second thought.
If it’s not relevant or being used declutter it!
8 – Shop Food Once A Week
Make a list and try to go shopping for food only once a week. By only going once we save money and time.
Several trips to the store led to more opportunities to buy things we didn’t need and makes the chore of shopping happen over and over instead of one time.
9 – Go Through the Fridge and Freezer Before Shopping
Before I go to the store I look through my fridge to see what food needs to be eaten before the expiration date. I clean out everything that has gone bad or any leftovers that we didn’t eat in time.
Then I wipe out the fridge and get it organized so we are ready for the new food to come in.
10 – Have a Designated Place for Everything
A place for everything and everything in its place! This is a saying that my parents used to tell me when I was a child. It makes a lot of sense!
Find a place for everything in your home. This will make it easier to find items as you are getting ready to run out the door or do a project.
An organized home where everything has a spot to live in will save you money and keep you clutter-free. Because if there isn’t a spot for something then why buy it?
11 – Eliminate The “Junk Drawers”
I find there is no reason for a junk drawer. If you organize your “junk drawer” then it’s no longer a junk drawer.
How much time has been wasted throughout the years sifting through a drawer of junk looking for a battery or a pair of scissors?
Find a place for all these items and you will save so much time and frustration.
12 – Each Family Member Has a Designated Towels
When it comes to towels we do things a little differently than most people. Instead of having 10 matching towels we have mismatched towels for a reason.
Each person in our home has a towel assigned to them this way we know who’s towel is whos. I like knowing that I am using my own towel and that someone hasn’t accidentally used my towel and hung it back up.
My kids like it because they know they are responsible for that towel and not being blamed for someone else leaving the towel on the floor.
13 – Keep Bathroom Counters Clear
By keeping the bathroom counters clear all the time it makes it easier to clean and wipe down more often.
Also, there is less to clean. We keep a bunch of bottle and decorations on the counter then we have to wipe all of those things down and therefore complicate our cleaning routine more than needed.
14 – Nightly Reset in Main Living Areas
Each night before we go to bed I like to shut down the house. This means going through the main living areas and putting everything away. Turning the lights down low or off and making sure everything is reset.
This way when we wake up in the morning we can start with a fresh house.
15 – Set Routines For Your Simple Home and Daily Activities
Daily routines and habits are the easiest way to simplify your home and life. Doing the same things every day makes it a routine and the more we do something the faster we get at it.
Without a second thought when I get up I make my bed. I head into the kitchen and I make my breakfast. Which just so happens to be the same thing every day. Oatmeal! I know exactly how much to pour and how long it takes to heat it.
After I eat I wash my dishes and put them away. Now I can leave the kitchen clean and head to my office to get to work. You guessed it, at around the same time every day!
When it’s time to walk to pick up the kids from school I can add on some extra walking for more exercise because I am ready. My shoes are on and I am going to walk regardless so this would be the time to get some extra steps in.
You can see how a routine makes it easier to get things done and simplify life. Of course, there are days like the weekend when we do things a little off routine and I don’t have set times for everything, but in general, having routines and habits makes life easier.
Read More About Simple Living:
40 Things We Stopped Buying to Be More Frugal
How to Declutter When You Are Completely Overwhelmed
10 Things Not To Do When You Are Organizing
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