Friday Five: Little Things That Make a Big Difference

5 little things that would make our house a whole lot less cluttered:

1. Shoes in the closet (except for maybe the one pair being worn for the day).

2. Coats hung up in coat closet instead of the backs of our dining room chairs or draped over the couch, EVEN if we know we're going out later.

3. After laundry is done, fold it, put it away, and take basket back to basement. Just having a laundry basket left in the room makes it untidy, whether there are clothes in it or not. Instead of putting things away at the end of the day (either in the hamper or hung back up), it tends to just get dumped in the laundry basket. So if it's not even there... you get the idea.

4. Empty the dishwasher in the A.M. Then it is free to load back up as we go through the day, and dirty dishes and bottles don't get stacked up. When it's time to prepare a meal, the kitchen is ready for me. There's nothing worse than going to the kitchen to start dinner only to find that the counters covered in dishes and you have to clean it first just so you can have a place to cook! So easy, and it makes a big difference.

5. Mail in basket, bills in office organizer, and junk in trash NOT on dining room table! It's so easy for mail to be the main source of clutter. We have a fairly small house with three main "hot spots"--the dining room table, the coffee table, and the top of the piano. I set up decorations on the top of the piano to keep it from looking like a place to set "stuff" and that seems to help. And awhile ago I got a small basket for the top of the piano to put mail in since it never ever gets taken straight to the file cabinet. Periodically I sort through it, throwing out old stuff and filing away important stuff. Even still, mail doesn't get put away all the time. And we really need to work on keeping the other two "hot spots" clutter- free. Clutter really gets to me, whether I recognize it or not, but when it's clean, I truly can breathe easier and I just FEEL BETTER!

I know these ideas are basic and most people already do them, and I also know they're specific to what works for our house. But perhaps sharing these 5 "rules" will help me actually follow them! Happy Friday!!