The thing with clutter is that if you leave it unattended, it would soon get out of hand. You may often look around and feel the sudden desire to just get down on your knees and clear the mess that has laid siege to your home. If you have reached that stage where you must take an action and take that now, then this 7-day plan will be your gospel carved in stone. We offer a comprehensive layout of where to begin first and gradually move up. This plan has been organized in such a way that all the tough jobs come first so that you can get a jump start, and you can begin on the weekends. By the time your weekdays arrive, most of the dirty work will be done already. You can follow this plan to the last letter or complete the tasks as per your convenience and schedule. The point is to finish all the heavy duty cleaning at the start and leave smaller jobs for the weekday evenings. You can pick the room that needs the most attention or begin where you like.
Kitchen
[Image: Matthew Bolt Graphic Design]
Kitchen can be one of the most challenging areas to sort. You need to start by giving your kitchen a deep clean treatment. Concentrate on all the areas that are being missed during quick daily cleaning routine. You should also organize all your cooking tools for a much smoother prep before every meal. Now get to the refrigerator and clear every shelf, one at a time. Throw away all the items that you know you will not consume or is starting to rot. If there is a sauce that you didn’t like the first time, chances are that you will never use it again. You can either discard it or hand it over to someone who will consume it.
Entryway
[Image: Martha O’Hara Interiors]
This is the first place where you meet and greet all your guests. This spot, unfortunately, also attracts the maximum dirt, clutter and soil from the shoes. This weekend, take a quick look at the room and give it a long sweep to remove all that dust and clutter that have been making this spot an eyesore. Make it look clean and fresh for not just outsiders but also for yourself.
Form new habits like checking your mail as soon as you enter your home and do so while standing at the recycling bin. At the end of the day, just clear the place of anything that does not belong there.
Living Room
[Image: Tim Cuppett Architects]
Living room is the most commonly used room in the house and serves as a common hangout for the family members, dinner party zone, play area and what not. Since it is almost always in use, this room can be a mess with too many things that are there for no reason.
Get started with a good vacuum cleaner and attack the dust with all your might. It will be not easy to sort this room so make time for cleaning this section as it will be very time-consuming. Start from the top and run a vacuum cleaner on the walls, curtains and ceiling. Wash the curtains on the gentlest cycle and also dust the light fixtures, mantle and picture frames.
Dining Room
[Image: Liz Carroll Interiors]
You may not use your formal dinners ever so often but cleaning it regularly will allow you to host dinner parties at a moment’s notice. Refresh the space and keep it organized so that it becomes usable at all times. Start by removing all the items that do not belong in this room. If you see toys, books or unpacked bags, take them to their rightful place. Clear the dining table and other surfaces of any irrelevant item.
Bedroom
[Image: Nanette Wong]
It has been proven scientifically that clutter and dirt in the bedroom can be a reason why you are not being able to sleep restfully at night. Make your bedroom a healthy and clean space by clearing it of all the dirt and dust bunnies that are inadvertently making your indoor quality of air hazardous.
The most important thing that needs organizing in a bedroom is closets and drawers. Take everything out and assess each of the items carefully before placing them back again. If you haven’t used an item in years, you are never going to use it so it is time to throw it away. Do the same with old clothes that do not fit anymore. Sort your clothing on the basis of seasonal clothes and the ones that need alterations. Treat them accordingly from here.
Children’s room and their play area
[Image: Anthology Interiors]
This is one of the trickiest areas of the house, which is sure to be messed up. Give your children a clean and sorted play area so that they can respect the importance of cleanliness. Give their rooms a deep cleaning treatment, especially if your kids have respiratory disorders like asthma.
Remove all the clothes that they have grown out of and set them aside to give away or sell. Also, throw away all the toys that are broken or your kid is too old to play with it. No need to store similar kind of toys. You can discard the ones that are too many.
Bathroom
[Image: Julie Holloway]
Don’t let damp towels or soap scum make your bathroom appear unhygienic and dirty. Start sorting your medicine cabinet, one shelf at a time and remove all the things that you will not use. Throw away all the expired products and keep your focus on removing all the items that have gone bad or you will not use anymore. The sorting will come later!
Home Office
Image: Angela Ruple Interior Design
Too much disorder is not a very healthy environment to work in. It is not such a pretty sight to stare at bundles of paper and overstuffed files that remind you of works that need to be done. So get started on that mess, and you can also plan some strategies along the way to keep it sorted.
Pile up all the non-paper items out of your desk and pile them on top of one another like a stack. Organize them on the basis of utility to allow easy access when you need it. Remove any item that does not belong in your home office, especially the duplicates. What will you do with three staplers?
Garage
[Image: VILLAGE BUILDERS]
Garage is where the maximum clutter is stored. Use your time wisely and keep only those that you require genuinely. Everything else must be thrown away. You can also create a storage mapping structure so that you never have to deal with clutter, at least in this part of the house.
Once you have dedicated specific zones for each item in your garage, it is time to sort them and toss them if not needed. Only keep those things that you will use in the next 12 months or important memorabilia. Everything else is a waste and needs to be discarded.
Laundry Room
[Image: Southern Living]
Laundry may not even be on your list when you decide to clean your house from top to bottom. Ironically, this is the only place that works the hardest to keep your linen and clothing clean! It is time to change that. Transform your laundry room into a healthy working space by making it well lit and keeping it clean. Clean the exterior of your washing machine with a soft microfiber and be careful around the rubber seals. If your washer has attachments like detergent dispensers or lint traps, then you must remove them gently and clean them with warm water in your sink. Neutralize the odour in the machine by mixing two parts of white vinegar and water and running it in the machine at the hottest setting, without any clothes, of course!
Keeping your home sorted is not as much as a task as it seems. All it takes is religiously keeping one section of the house clean every day. This way you will not be bombarded with too much cleaning work in your hands after some time of neglect. This is an easy formula that you can tweak as per your convenience. The idea is to get to work, no matter how you do it!
