The Top Tips I Tell My Clients
(and you’re not going to like the last one)
While I work with a client, I don’t just make it prettier or more functional, I also coach them through their habits and what habit shifts would improve their home’s function and their general level of peace. Keep in mind that most of my clients have toddlers or young children - and I tailor these to each client’s situation - but these ones come up the most:
Try to practice one in, one out with all household items to keep them under control.
Watch your online shopping. If you are constantly ending up with returns (that you never return because it’s too hard with kids), it might be time to focus on only order pickup or in person shopping. At least with Target orders you can return without getting out of the car.
Here is my tip sheet for maintaining a toy rotation system.
When everything has a home, it is easier to “put it away instead of putting it down”.
Practice a nightly 15 minute reset to get the house ready for a relaxing morning. Clear all dishes, put away toys and items that have accumulated. Eliminate all piles.
Practice one load of laundry a day, from start to finish (especially putting away). This is easiest if you only do one person’s laundry at a time instead of color sorting.
Work on shopping your pantry before heading to the store for groceries to keep your pantry uncluttered and items easy to find.
Only put trash in designated trash cans. It can be helpful to think of it as “touch only once”. Similar to don’t put it down, put it away, “touch once” saves you extra cleanup time later if you just deal with the mess right away.
Use your stair bin as a relocate bin. Instead of starting piles, items go in there to be relocated once full. Or, if you walk up the stairs without holding anything, grab something on your way and put it away.
The easiest way to stay and be organized is to own less stuff. Clear out your donate and “too small” baskets periodically.
Take a look at your phone’s screentime report. Is it high? Can you sacrifice 20 minutes of scrolling to reset your house daily and feel better/less stressed throughout the day?
