8 Tips to Stop the Mess Before it Happens

Create a schedule for yourself and stick to it. Be disciplined with yourself to stay on track and maximize your productivity.

You can use your smartphone calendar, a paper organizer, or printables to keep a schedule for yourself.

✨ PRO TIP: I tell myself (and the kids) no TV or video games until all the day’s responsibilities have been completed. This is a biggie because, at the end of the day, it’s fun if there is a little reward to look forward to.

Declutter one area at a time. It feels so good to have an organized space, but don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to declutter the whole house all at once. Choose one section at a time, and do it thoroughly.

✨ PROTIP: Keep ongoing giveaway box(es) for the thrift store or for next spring’s garage sale. We keep our in the garage and hold a sale every year. The kiddos love being able to keep their money from selling their things.

✨ EXTRA PRO TIP: My daughter tends to keep EVERY. LITTLE. THING. EVERRRR!! So, we compromise. When we declutter and she doesn’t want to give or throw something away, we put it in a box until next year’s sale and if she hasn’t wanted it in a year, we sell it or toss it! Win/win!

This is a hot one for this Momma! Stay on top of your laundry! Who wants to see mounds of overflowing, smelly, dirty clothes. Ew! Use baskets to separate colors, whites, etc.

With four of us in the house and both kiddos in two different sports, we do laundry twice a week. The kids help fold and put away their items.

✨ PRO TIP: Get rid of clothes you no longer wear, don’t fit, are stained, or outdated! Remember those give-away boxes in the garage? Make one for donations.

✨ EXTRA PRO TIP: I have to remind my kids, just because you looked at your clothes or wore those jammies just once, does not mean they are dirty! Just sayin’.

LISTS!!!! I love lists! They are my best friend when it comes to staying organized. I use them for everything…grocery shopping ✔️ CHECK! Chores around the house ✔️ CHECK! Future blog ideas ✔️ CHECK! Tasks for my fiance….yup! ✔️ CHECK!

PRO TIP: Teach your kiddos how to make lists now. This is a priceless life skill for their future.

You can get them each different colored to do note pads to get started!

Use containers or baskets for items that need to go back to the same place every day.

For example, I put a basket at the top of the stairs for things to go back downstairs and another at the bottom for things to go back upstairs. This way, anyone headed upstairs knows to grab whatever is in the basket and bring it upstairs, and vise versa.

Never leave dirty dishes in the sink. This should be a non-negotiable rule in the house! This will definitely stop the mess before it happens. 🙌🏼

Empty the dishwasher as soon as it’s completed so that any new dishes can go directly in. No one wants to see a gross pile of dirty dishes sitting in the sink! Ew!

✨ PRO TIP: If the dishwasher is running or too full to put the new dirty dishes in, don’t just pile them in the sink. Rinse them off while the food is still fresh on them so no one has to scrub dried crusty food off.

✨ EXTRA PRO TIP: Keep a magnet on the dishwasher that shows whether the dishes are clean or dirty so everyone knows they can add their dirty dishes or empty them!

Keep a family chore list up on the fridge or somewhere visible to everyone. Add parent’s chores, too so kids see that everyone has responsibilities as members of the family to stop the mess and keep the house tidy.

✨ PRO TIP: Let the kids know what needs to be done around the house and let them have some ownership over what chores they’d like to be in charge of.

Make a daily 15 minute, all hands on deck, family clean-up time. This means ALL out-of-place items are put away, coats hung up, school items put back, dishes brought back. to the kitchen, lunchboxes cleaned out, shoes put away, etc.

✨ PRO TIP: If the family is diligent about using the baskets as mentioned in tip three, this daily clean-up time should be faster and much more efficient.

Additionally, if everyone simply remembers to put away what they just took out, clean up in the evenings should be a breeze!