It’s hard to believe that this is the last day in January! I feel like I have had quite a productive month getting things organized around here and I have loved having so many of you join me for The Household Organization Diet. I have completed most items off of my January To Do list with the exception of a few cupboards that still need to be done and our windows that we are actually going to be replacing in a couple of weeks.
So now that you have invested so much time getting your kitchen cleaned and organized the real challenge is to keep it that way! To maintain your results, you need to start developing new habits that you can slowly start to integrate into your daily lifestyle. Here are a few things that you can start to work on:
- Develop a daily cleaning routine. This is the bare bones cleaning that should be done EVERY day. Write it down and place it in your cleaning binder {see printable below}. If you are a visual person, you might want to keep the list out and hang it on the inside of a cupboard door or closet that you use daily.
- As much as possible, clean and tidy as you go. This does require a bit of discipline when you first start but it really does make things so much simpler in the end. As things become routine, you hardly even have to think about it.
- Have a 15 minute family clean up time before bed. Get the whole family involved and go as quickly as you can during this time prioritizing what needs to be done first. It really is amazing what you can get done.
- I have found that if a space is truly organized, it should not require a lot of effort to keep it that way. If you find that certain areas are quickly becoming disorganized again, re-evaluate the space. Do you still have too much stuff? Is there a way that you could optimize your space better? Sometimes it takes a little trial and error to get things right. Remember that organizing should be making things simpler!
- As you work your way through each room each month, create a project list and write it down {see printable below}. Keep it in your cleaning binder. Come back to this list if you have some extra time or schedule it in if it is a priority for you.
- Go through your monthly To-Do list and decide how often each task needs to be done. If you want to wash your dishwasher on a monthly basis, add it to your monthly cleaning list. If you want to clean your oven again in 6 months add it to the July To Do list so you won’t forget. If it is just going to be done on a yearly basis, there is no need to do anything as it is already on your January To Do list!
If you haven’t started your cleaning binder yet, you can find the first post here. The following printables can all be downloaded and printed to add to your binder.
Blank To Do Lists
So go and organize your binder and I’ll show you some more pictures of my binder tomorrow. If you are looking for more ideas on how to get organized you can check out this post with 30 more ways to get organized!
Tomorrow I will be hosting an Organization Link Party so you guys can show off all of the hard work that YOU have been doing! Your links can be anything related to organizing {they do not necessarily have to relate to the kitchen} so get all of those organization ideas ready and come on back tomorrow morning! I hope to see you then!
I linked up with I Heart Naptime, Tatertots and Jello, The 36th Avenue, Savvy Southern Style, House of Hepworths, Mom on Timeout, Stone Gable, Savvy Southern Style, Lil Luna, Under the Table and Dreaming, Uncommon, Craft-O-Maniac, Craftberry Bush, Liz Marie Blog, The Frugal Girls and Tidy Mom.
Thanks so much for this series you are doing! I have been following you this month and using a lot of your posts to help me clean my kitchen! It has made a world of difference! I’ll be back tomorrow to link up! Thanks again!
Enjoyed your post. I organized all my drawers two weeks ago but didnt think of taking any pictures before. Did take pictures of a scrapping room. That I have on other sites. Been back to yours twice and am a follower now. Waiting to see your next one. God bless
What a great post. Thanks for all of the resources. Thank you for sharing with us 🙂
Thanks for all the printables. STILL trying to get organized 🙂
Lori @ http://jasminebrook.blogspot.com/
I just stumbled upon your site. I would love to print and read about the other months in 2013 and be able to start on my own organization, but I have only been able to find the January To Do List and the in depth details about January 2013. Help please. I am a busy working mom in need of your wonderful help.
Hi Leah! There will be all new printables and updates out each month this year. To find last year’s projects you can either look under the “Get Organized” tab at the top of the blog and click on The Household Organization Diet or you can find everything on my Household Organization Diet Pinterest board here: http://www.pinterest.com/jliff/the-household-organization-diet/ Hope that helps!