If you want your home to stay calm and clutter-free on a regular basis, sticking to a schedule with your home organizing tasks is essential. Like many things, our possessions can easily creep up on us without regular organization, so planning when you'll organize key spots in your home can be helpful.
Planning certain organization tasks on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis can be incredibly useful, as it will help you to regularly address areas of your home that get used all the time – and ensures you don't forget about areas that are used less regularly, which are often overlooked in the organizing process.
So, which home organizing tasks should you be penciling in to address daily, weekly, and monthly? Keep reading to find out.
Daily, weekly, and monthly home organizing tasks
Adhering to a schedule of organizing tasks isn't only beneficial for maintaining a streamlined home; there are plenty of benefits of organizing your home when it comes to your mental health, too. According to the experts, your organizing and decluttering schedule should look something like this:
Daily organizing tasks
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Clearing your main surfaces: If you can spare the time, it will be well worth your while to organize surfaces in your home on a daily basis – perhaps at the end of each day, decluttering life coach Beth Lennon suggests. In fact, this is one of the daily tasks professional organizers swear by for a clean home. 'Getting in the habit of clearing off surfaces before you go to bed means you wake up to a less cluttered home each day,' she points out.
One reason why this task is so important to do daily, professional organizer Di Ter Avest explains, is because a cluttered surface can make your home feel much messier and disorganized than it really is: 'Daily tidying of surfaces such as countertops, tables, and desks prevents the accumulation of items that can quickly make a space feel overwhelming. As such, clearing them daily can easily help to maintain order,' she says. -
Sorting mail: Taking a quick moment to organize any mail you receive daily can pay off tenfold when it comes to staying on top of clutter. 'Sorting through incoming mail daily prevents piles from forming and ensures bills are paid on time, too,' Di says. 'It also lets you quickly discard junk mail and organize important documents.'
Shannon Krause, a certified professional organizer and owner of Tidy Nest, points out that having a system in place here will help you to complete this task effortlessly. 'Having a designated “drop-zone” is helpful - this ensures that there’s a specific place for mail, to ensure it's not taking over the entire console table,' she says.
- Clearing out handbags and work bags: Our handbags or work bags can become incredibly cluttered and messy, so ensuring that you declutter and organize yours at the end of every day can go a long way in making sure the possessions you actually need on a daily basis are easily accessible, Shannon explains. 'This may sound like a waste of time, but I swear by this routine. Toss any trash like receipts or wrappers, and immediately deal with the items that need attention, like bills, or something you've purchased in the day that now needs a place in your home,' she says. 'Also, put away the items you grabbed for the day, like an umbrella or sunglasses. This little ritual will help you to start each day with a clean slate.'
- Doing a load of laundry: It might seem like a big task to complete on a daily basis, but Shantae Duckworth, professional organizer and Founder of Shantaeize Your Space, explains that tackling a load of dirty laundry daily can seriously improve the clutter situation in your home. 'If you have a big family, doing laundry every day and making sure that the clothes are put away also make your space feel more organized,' she says. 'Plus, we know that laundry can be very time-consuming if you leave it, so spacing out your washing and drying will help you get into a routine of making sure that these things are getting done on a more timely basis.'
Weekly organizing tasks
- Organizing the refrigerator: It's one of the most dreaded tasks on everyone's list, but organizing your refrigerator on a weekly basis is essential for the smooth running of your household – and more specifically, your kitchen – in the week to come, Di explains. 'Weekly refrigerator cleaning and organizing helps prevent food from spoiling and eliminates unpleasant odors,' she says. 'It also allows you to check for expired items and make a shopping list for groceries, ensuring you always have the fresh ingredients you need on hand.'
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Clearing your entryway: Entryways can get cluttered very easily, so organizing this spot weekly is vital in order to stop clutter from rendering the space stressful and unusable. 'This area tends to accumulate shoes, coats, bags, and other items that are often dropped off as soon as you enter the home. Staying on top of this area weekly by implementing a system for storing and organizing these items can prevent it from becoming overwhelmed with clutter,' Di says.
While there are plenty of tricks for organizing an entryway, Shannon first insists on actually having a home for all of your items, if you don't already. 'For example, we find shoes are often the clutter culprit in this space,' she says. 'If you have a small entryway, a simple shoe tray will do the trick. If you have a little more space, adding a shoe rack or cabinet will keep shoes easily accessible while keeping the floor clear.'
Monthly organizing tasks
- Rotating and analyzing seasonal items: Whether it's Easter decor or outdoor furniture, taking the time to look at your seasonal items monthly and organizing them as required will ensure your home is ready for any upcoming transitions. 'Monthly rotation of items such as decorations and outdoor gear ensures that they're easily accessible when needed and prevents them from cluttering up storage spaces,' Di says. 'Checking them on a monthly basis also allows you to assess whether any items need repair or replacement before the next season,' For example, now is an ideal time to assess any items you need for summer, or anything (be it pool floats or lawn chairs) that might need to be repaired or replaced.
- Organizing your home office: 'Papers, files, and office supplies can easily pile up in a home office, leading to a disorganized workspace, so a monthly organizing and deep cleaning session can help keep this area organized and conducive to productivity,' Di says. Every few weeks, take a couple of hours to sort through the papers on your desk, filing away any you need and shredding those you don’t. Take some time to organize any notebooks too, and clear the room of items that don’t actually live there – such as books or workout gear.
- Addressing closets: Whether it's your hallway storage closets or your wardrobe, organizing these spaces monthly will make sure they don't become overwhelming, and overrun with items you don't actually need, use or like. 'Closets of any kind can quickly become cluttered spaces, especially with household members throwing items in without organizing them properly,' Shantae says. 'So, take some time to go through the closets and sort through whether you need to keep certain items or not, or if they can be organized within the closet in a more helpful way. And, if there is anything broken, throw it out, and donate items you don't need anymore.'
- Sorting your pantry: Pantries or food cupboards are notorious for becoming cluttered and disorganized, which can render the space unusable and even unsanitary. 'Conducting a monthly edit of your food inventory, such as your pantry, helps clear out any unused or expired items and keeps it clutter-free,' Shannon says. 'Given that most food items, except for non-perishables, remain fresh for several weeks, this regular check allows you to identify and dispose of anything that's spoiled or no longer necessary, and to use anything that may be expiring soon. This will also simplify your grocery shopping process, helping you to easily recognize what's already on hand and what needs replenishing.'
Committing to daily, weekly, and monthly home organizing tasks is a simple technique to fast-track your way to a tidier home. But don't worry if you miss a day, you can always try out other helpful methods, such as these home-organizing tasks that take 20 minutes or less.
