It’s easy to lose space in the mess that is made up of our stuff. We toss our keys and loose change on the consul in the entryway, sling our jacket over a chair and take off our shoes after we’ve plopped ourselves down on the couch. We do this, every day. Add the mail to the pile of junk on the counter and some scarves and cardigans to the jacket on the chair, and over the course of a week, we have created pigsty.

After making a mess during the week, we use our weekend to clean up, only to start the sequence all over again on Monday. It’s a vicious cycle. The weekend is meant to be enjoyed, and unless you’re like Monica Geller, you probably don’t like spending your days off cleaning. To help you keep your space clean, fresh and organized just follow some of these simple tips!

 

Decluttering the Entryway

We all want our home to give off good vibes. We want our guests to feel as comfortable in our home as we do. A cluttered and untidy house doesn’t exactly leave much room for comfort. The first place to start organizing is the entryway. Why the entryway, you ask? Because it’s the first line of entry into your home. It’s a space that will immediately tell your guests what to expect of the rest of the house. And it won’t matter if your entryway is the only disheveled room in the house; the entire house will feel unkempt, even if it isn’t.

All You Magazine suggests that we “provide a place” for all the things we tend to leave at the door. We can hang our car keys on a hook and our jackets, sweaters, scarves and hats on a coat rack, leaving our surfaces empty of clutter. For all of the spare coins jangling around in our pockets, a silver bowl or apothecary jar will work wonders. 

Decluttering the Living Room

We use the living room for entertaining, socializing, relaxing and binging on the latest Netflix original. But with all of this stuff on every surface, your space can feel a little bit encroached. Is it

really fun trying to catch up on The Real Housewives of New York when out of your peripherals you keep confusing the huge mound laundry on the couch for an intruder? Let’s fix that, shall we?

The first thing you’ll want to do is figure out what does and doesn’t work in the room. Interior design is only as good is its worst designer piece. Are you really willing to sacrifice the character and functionality of the room simply because you thought that kitschy kitten figurine was just the absolute “cutest thing?” No. After clearing your surfaces of clutter (yes, that figurine needs to go!) look into storage. Design firms like Caligaris incorporate storage space into the furniture we use every day. Take a look at the Factory Low Media Cabinet, for example. The cabinet serves as a shelf, entertainment center and storage unit. You’ll want furniture pieces that provide multi-functional use. This will help you save on space and hide media cables, wires, remotes and other unsightly things in your space. 

Decluttering the Kitchen

When you open the bursting pantry for your morning cereal and a can of tomato paste rolls out and falls on your foot, chances are you’re screaming some four-letter words. That’s not a great way to start the morning.

After you have decided to reorganize the kitchen, the Organized Home suggest that you start with one cupboard at time. Opening and emptying all of the cupboards at once onto your counters and floors just makes for a mess. By the time you’re half through working through the chaos, you’ll just put the rest back where you found it, more disorganized than before. By tackling one cabinet at a time, you will feel like you are reaching your organizational goals without losing too much time.

A clean home is a happy home. Do yourself a favor and get to it today, you’ll be happy with yourself and your home.

What are your decluttering tips?