Hour-a-Day Organization

Keep your home clean and organized year-round by focusing on quick tasks that help you break free from overwhelming chores. Use our easy guide to start manageable organizing habits.

Daily Deeds
Pick a few tasks that are everyday priorities in your home, or do them all in just over an hour a day:

• Toss Trash: Take 3-5 minutes to get rid of 3-5 things. The fridge, your pantry, closets, the garage or basement are all good places to do this.
• Put Things Away: Pick up 3-5 things in your immediate area and put them where they belong in 3-5 minutes. For example: laundry, toys, paperwork, mail, jewelry or shoes.
• Do a Surface Reorganization: Take 3-5 minutes every day to clear or reorganize one surface, like the kitchen counter, your dresser or the coffee table.
• Do a Quick Clean: Choose one item or area that often gets overlooked, like the top of the fridge or the coffee maker, and give it a quick clean for 3-5 minutes.

• Use a Basket: Keep a basket in 3 high traffic areas of your home to collect orphaned odds n’ ends. Sort items in the baskets once a week for 3-5 minutes or rotate the responsibility through your family members.

Start Helpful Habits
Take 3-5 minutes a day to get into these good habits and you’ll feel the clutter of daily life begin to melt away:

• Make the Bed: It makes your bedroom look and feel neater, and it sets you up for sticking to good habits all day long. For more beautiful bed-making tips, read Four Steps to a Beautiful Bed.
• Sort Your Mail: As soon as you pick it up, do a quick sort. Throw away junk, hand out mail for other household members, collect magazines or catalogs in a basket or rack and put everything else in an inbox.
• Straighten Up Your Entryway: Putting your shoes in a rack or cleaning off your entry table can make a big difference and a big impression on family and guests.

• Clean Out Your Purse: Spending a few moments at night de-cluttering your bag can help keep it from getting messier in the long run and prepare you for tomorrow. For more purse organization tips, read Decluttering Your Purse or Bag.
• File Papers: To create a clean and inviting workspace, take 3-5 minutes to file 3-5 papers where they belong or start a new file.

By creating small daily cleaning and organizing routines and sticking to new habits, you’ll have more time to enjoy a clean home and relaxing moments.