Name: Little Miss Organised
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Imagine stepping into your home and feeling an instant sense of calm and order. With everything in its place and clutter a thing of the past, you can breathe easy and fully enjoy your space. A well-organised home brings not just physical order, but also a boost to your mental well-being.

In this article, we’ll delve into the art of keeping your home organised and clutter-free, offering practical decluttering tips, cleaning routines, and storage solutions that will transform your living space into a haven of tranquillity.

4 Ways to Prevent Clutter in Your House

An organised home is a sanctuary of efficiency and serenity. It streamlines your daily routine, reduces stress, and makes space for creativity and relaxation. However, we know that maintaining an orderly home can be a challenge, especially in a world where stuff seems to accumulate endlessly. Clutter can sneak in and disrupt the harmony you seek.

But fear not! These decluttering tips will guide you through the process of decluttering, creating efficient home storage solutions, and establishing cleaning routines that will keep chaos at bay.

1. Regular Decluttering to Keep Your Home Organised

Decluttering isn’t a one-time task; it’s a habit that keeps your home organised. Start by designating specific decluttering days. Whether it’s a weekend morning or a quiet evening, having a set schedule helps maintain consistency.

As you embark on your decluttering journey, categorise items into three groups: trash, donate, and keep. Be honest with yourself – if you haven’t used or needed something in the last year, it might be time to let it go. This process not only creates space but also brings a sense of accomplishment.

2. Designate Spaces: Storage Solutions for Each Area and Labelling System

Effective storage solutions are the backbone of an organised home. Consider the unique needs of each area. For example, install floating shelves in the living room for books and décor, and use clear bins under the bed for off-season clothing. Maximise vertical space in the kitchen with hooks for utensils and pots.

Once you’ve designated a place for everything, maintain order with a labelling system. Labels make it easy to find what you need and encourage everyone in the household to put things back where they belong.

3. Quick Daily Tidy and Weekly Deep Cleans Keep Your Home Organised

Consistency is key to maintaining an organised home. Create a daily routine that includes a quick tidy-up session. Spend just 10-15 minutes each day putting items back in their designated spots. This prevents clutter from piling up and becoming overwhelming.

Additionally, incorporate weekly deep cleaning routines. Dedicate an hour or two to tasks like dusting, vacuuming, and wiping down surfaces. Regular deep cleans can help keep your home organised and feeling fresh.

4. Staying Motivated: Celebrate Small Wins and Remind Yourself of Benefits

Staying motivated throughout your organisation journey is important. Celebrate small wins – whether it’s successfully decluttering a closet or keeping your countertops clear for a week. Acknowledging your progress boosts your confidence and fuels your determination to continue.

On days when the task feels daunting, remind yourself of the benefits: a peaceful home, reduced stress, and more time to focus on what truly matters to you.

Looking for more insightful decluttering tips? Tune in to the podcast with Bonnie Black in ASD Needs to learn how to keep your home organised even when you have challenging needs in the family.

Transcript

Susie:
Luke and Susie, with you for Faith, Family, Culture. And we love catching up with our next guest because she inspires us to get organised, but has got some great strategies available to help us do that in a way that works for us and for our family, whatever our family circumstance is. Her name’s Bonnie Black. She’s a Little Miss Organised and she’s all set to join us, Luke.

Staying Organised in Challenging Situations

Luke:
Well, and it’s interesting, Susie, because so often we talk about some stuff and if this is the help that you need and you’re not really on it, it can sound like, Oh, yeah, that’s utopia. But you’ve got to be able to duck and weave with the punches as they’re coming through. Little Miss Organised has had to do that herself recently and understand what the future looks like. We’re going to explore how to stay Organised under the pressure.
Luke:
A very personal subject for you right now, Little Miss Organised Bonnie Black is our guest right now. Bonnie, there’s been a diagnosis for your four-year-old, which is, I guess, the centre of this conversation and one that is a very worthwhile one for us to have to understand that things aren’t always easy, but we’ve still got to be able to take control somehow.

Family Challenges and the Role of Organisation in ADHD Management

Bonnie:
Yes, that’s right. So, my four and a half year old has been diagnosed with ADHD and DCD, which is a developmental coordination disorder. The last probably six to eight months have been particularly trying for our family as behaviours have, kind of, escalated. And we’ve sought lots of help from different professionals to try and work out exactly what has been going on.

Obviously when you add in COVID and then you add in selling your house, moving house, new businesses, it has been a really tricky time. So, I was really grateful that on the Little Home Organised Podcast, we were able to have a chat a few weeks ago with a world expert on ADHD. And the episode will come out later in October about how to help kids with ADHD, because the last four months has been a crash course in learning all about it.

Susie:
But in a sense, I imagine you do have a bit of a head start on a lot of people in that surely it must help someone with ADHD to have some organisation and structure in the home.

Balancing Organisation and Flexibility in the Face of Family Challenges

Bonnie:
Oh, it definitely does. And kids in particular, whether it’s ADHD or ASD or something else, they really get overwhelmed with too much choice. It’s a bit like if we go out to a restaurant and there’s 40 meal options, we as adults even feel overwhelmed, and it’s far easier for us to have six or 12 options. Yes, it is much easier for our kids to have a more clutter-free environment to be able to find what they need, because some of the traits of ADHD is that when the kids are not medicated, their frontal lobe capacity decreases by 30%. So, my daughter is actually operating at a three year old level in terms of her impulsivity and her decision making.

And so you add that in with the coordination disorder where things are really difficult for them to do and even simple tasks of folding clothes and putting things away becomes really hard. So, we’ve had to really lower our expectations because she’s the middle child and the elder child can do a lot of things. And we’ve had to really step in beside her and support her at her level rather than expecting her to rise up.

Luke:
So, in some ways, we can often take it easy on ourselves, but you’re a Little Miss Organised. You’ve got to stay organised and you’ve got to have a house that is in function, that’s who you are. Out, and yet there’s greater challenges, there’s greater exhaustion, there’s greater obstacles for you to be able to do that. So, where’s the line between letting it go and letting some form of disorganisation happen and actually making it organised and being obsessive about it?

Prioritising Relationships Over Perfection in Parenting

Bonnie:
That’s a really good question because I’m very well known for being more on the particular side of things and liking things the way that I like them. I think since having kids, I’ve learned to let a few things go. Because, when you’re pregnant and you’re tired or you’ve got a newborn, you’re pretty emotionally tapped out anyway. But, I think the last six months have really shown me how much more important. It is to let that stuff go and not sweat the small stuff.

The relationship is more important with your child than having a beautiful home. It’s about compromise and sacrifice on both sides of the coin because you don’t want a child to grow up who’s anxious and has low self-confidence because you’re constantly harping on at them to tidy up. When you tidy up a child with ADHD, their brain explodes. It’s like, What’s tidying up? What does that mean? It’s far easier for you to say, Okay, we’re finished with the duple now. We’re going to pack it up together and then we’re going to move on to craft.

Luke:
This is a massive conversation and that’s why it’s well worth exploring the Little Home Organised podcast. Bonnie Black, Little Miss Organized. There is so much we can touch base on. We probably should come back to this in dealing with keeping your home under control, especially with challenging needs in the family. But, thank you for your time for now.
Bonnie:
Thank you for having me.

The Ongoing Effort in Keeping Your Home Organised

Creating an organised and clutter-free home is an attainable goal that brings a multitude of rewards. Remember to designate decluttering days, categorise items, and establish storage solutions tailored to each area. Embrace daily and weekly cleaning routines to maintain order, and find motivation by celebrating small achievements. As you work towards keeping your home organised, keep in mind that maintaining it is an ongoing effort. But the benefits far outweigh the challenges.

Ready to organise home? Start small, stay consistent, and enjoy the positive impact it has on your life. Your surroundings play a significant role in your overall well-being, and a clutter-free space paves the way for a clutter-free mind.