Many of us face the prospect of party season and especially the holidays with a sense of dread of clearing up. As homeowners we’ve likely hosted friends and relatives over the holidays. And now we face the big clear up for the new year. Here are 15 top tips on how to go about getting your house in order.

15 Ways to get your house in order

With the turn of the new year comes all of the resolutions. You might decide to lose weight, to get fit and healthy. You might even resolve to learn a new language. But what about your house? Some of the best new year resolutions centre around making your home look and feel fantastic. It’s not just about giving it a new lick of paint (though that helps), but about keeping it clean, decluttered and feeling like a home not just somewhere you live! Your house should be somewhere you can walk into and feel proud, and what better time than getting your house feeling good for the new year? 

Keeping your home clean

Keeping a house clean at all times is pretty impossible when you have kids running around, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do your best to get it in order and keep it there. Your home deserves your attention and a part of that starts with a clean, with a declutter to follow. Yes, you might have to hire the experts at Sheridan Skips to help you, but it’s always a good idea to do that rather than overfill your bin that won’t be collected for another week or so.

Decluttering and getting your house in order isn’t just about putting things in the bin anyway; it’s that big refresh that you need to make sure that your house reflects what you want from the year ahead. It’s that whole ‘new year, new house’ thing without actually buying a new one. 

Decluttering and clearing up

Still, one of the very best gifts that you can give yourself to start the year with is a fresh new house to live in. This means putting in the time and effort now to reap the rewards for the rest of the year. So, with this in mind, we’ve got fifteen excellent ways that you can get your house in order and make the start of your year the freshest yet! 

1._Start with the clutter. Before you can really get to the nitty gritty dirt of your house, you really need to put some effort into clearing off all of the surface junk. That means that you need to go through all of your things and decide what’s clutter and what isn’t. This can be a huge job, so make it easy by going room to room. If there are things that aren’t sentimental that you haven’t used for six months, into the skip it goes. Consider the amount of things you keep ‘just in case’ you need them, and get rid of those, too! You don’t need to be surrounded by a clutter-filled home in 2022, not when you have the chance right now to get your home in order. When you remove all the clutter, you’ll find it so much easier to keep on top of the cleaning that’ll follow.

Get organised to keep your house in order

2. Make a schedule. You don’t actually have to make your own cleaning schedule with this one – you use one that you find on the internet. A weekly or monthly cleaning schedule will keep you on track for your year and it’ll enable you to keep on top of your house no matter what’s going on in your life. You’ll know the best days to do specific jobs in specific rooms, such as changing the bedding and deodorising the carpets, when you put together a schedule. It’s going to help you to remain as organised as you go into the year feeling.

3. All about those lists. Lists on the fridge, lists on the walls, calendars laid out – you need to have a checklist to keep you on track of all the things that you need to do. It’s a good idea to make a list of the things that need to be done in each room so that you can tick as you go. If you’re in the middle of a task and you think about another one, you can add it to the list for later.

Tidy up as you go

4. Keep things in order. One of the hardest things to do sometimes is clean up after yourself. I know – it’s something you’re supposed to learn as a child. Yet often, people just don’t bother when they don’t have a parent reminding them. So, you need to remember that if you get some stuff done at home, you have to keep up with it all and wipe behind you as you go. If you are in the kitchen cooking, clean as you go so that you don’t have a huge clean-up after the meal.

Get the right gadgets to help you

5. Get your gadgets on. You need to ensure that you are cleaning properly and one of the best ways to do it is to equip yourself with the right tools. You’ll make your life so much easier when you have the right tools in your hand to get into the nitty gritty. You might want to vacuum before you mop, but why not buy a RoboVac to do it for you before you mop and save yourself a job? 

6. Invest. There are always knock-off versions of expensive cleaning tools. But it’s these that are going to make you spend more money than you had planned. Instead of doing this, just spend out the right money in the first place and you’ll have the tools that you need for the job. You can get the brushes, the cleaning fluids and the equipment that you need to ensure that your home is clean and ready to go. This way you won’t have to deal with knock-off machinery breakdowns. 

Storage is a useful resource

7. Get your storage sorted. One of the hardest things to do is find homes for all of your things. The thing is, this is only going to be a problem if your storage solutions aren’t up to scratch. You can always find somewhere for your things to go and if you buy in the right storage, you won’t ever have this problem. Make sure that your house has the right storage equipment and you’ll be halfway there!

8. Keep caddies of easy cleaning materials. If you have more than one storey of your house, keep an easy cleaning caddy upstairs as well as downstairs. This should have a spray bottle of lemon and water, clean cloths and antibacterial wipes, a duster and a pair of gloves. This way, you don’t have to traipse to the kitchen every time you see something that needs to be wiped up – you can just do it.

Pace the cleaning

9. Don’t do it all at once. If you decide to declutter and clean the house at the same time, it can be a bit much. Much harder to get through it knowing you have all that on your plate in one day. Instead, tell yourself you have to clean the kitchen today. If you make sure that your cleaning efforts become more manageable, you’re going to be able to stay on top of it all!

10. Never go to bed in a dirty kitchen. If you want to get your house in order, never go to sleep in a dirty kitchen! Wipe down, wash the dishes and get them all cleaned away before you go to sleep. 

Choose good cleaning products

11. Embrace something natural. Instead of using bleaches and chemicals, use natural cleaning products where possible. If you want to get your home in order, you need to make sure that you are starting the year strong! Avoiding harsh chemicals is also a good thing to do if you want to keep your home healthy this year.

12. Make your floors shine. If you have floors in your home without carpets, then get down and clean them with cleaning cloths rather than just mops. You don’t want to leave streaks all over the floor if you can avoid it. 

13. Don’t forget your oven. The oven may not be as clean as often as you would like it to be. After all you will likely use your oven on a daily basis. But make sure that you go into the new year with a clean oven and a shiny hob top! If you know you have a clean oven, you’ll feel happier when you’re cooking your food. You could even use dryer sheets at the end for the door and the knobs – when the heat is on, the kitchen will smell lovely! 

Deep cleaning offers great results

14. Deep clean the fridge. The freezer needs defrosting and the fridge needs everything emptied out of it and the shelves soaped and cleaned. You want hot water and soap, here, and then follow up with an antibacterial wipe once it’s dried. To remove streaks, use kitchen roll to do the final wipe.

15. Bring in a cleaner. The last thing you should consider is hiring in a cleaning service. While you can do every one of these jobs yourself, you don’t have to do it alone. You can hire professionals who have the equipment and the products to get the job done. There are so many ways that you can keep the house clean and tidy and these are just the beginning.

A final thought on how to keep your house in order

While you may not be able to apply all these suggestions in one go it is worth making a plan. Take it step by step to get started. Once you do all of these things, you’ll find it so much easier to keep on top of this year!

FURTHER READING ON HOME CLEANING AND HOME MAINTENANCE

At Housesitmatch.com we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about home maintenance and organisation and house sitting. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs useful.

Maximise space at home

Enjoy a spotless home without lifting a finger

How to get organised at home

Home maintenance – How to fix hidden problems

Planning your holiday home and pet care