30 Habits to Maintain a
Stress-Free Home in September (#1-10)
Having a stress-free home is a goal for all of us I’m sure. I have compiled a list of 30 habits you can incorporate into your life to help you maintain a stress-free home. This is part one of three which includes habits 1-10.
1. Shoes off at the door.
Taking your shoes off at the door can help you maintain a stress-free home for a few reasons. If you take your shoes off at the door it will reduce the amount of dirt and grime that is carried through your house from the bottoms of your shoes (that you later have to sweep, vacuum, or mop up).
Think of all the places you walk in a day. The gas station, grocery store, public bathrooms, and more; now imagine those same shoes walking through your home. Your shoes track in dirt and bacteria from all these places and land them on the same carpet or floors your kids crawl around on or play on.
I’d also recommend putting them away once they’re off your feet. By doing so, you reduce the visual clutter in your space and you are completing a task your future-self would have to come back and take care of later on in the day. Something I like to say is: if you can do it in less than a minute, do it now.
Overall, your house will look, feel, and actually be cleaner and tidier.
2. Do laundry daily.
Doing a bit of laundry a day can help keep it at bay. This is a great habit to develop to maintain a stress-free environment in your home.
I’m not saying you have to complete a load from start to finish every day. What I am saying is to do one part of the laundry process daily; either:
-
- Start a load.
- Switch the load.
- Take them out, fold them, and put them away.
Now, for number 3, I group taking them out, folding them, and putting them away together because that would be ideal, right? However, some days this just doesn’t happen and that’s okay too. Often for me, personally, these are broken into their own individual tasks through the day, but I still aim to complete it by the end of the day.
Doing a bit of laundry every day can keep it manageable and less likely to build up into a mountain of clothing, especially if you’re doing laundry for several people within your household. If added to your daily routine, this can be extremely beneficial. It reduces visual clutter and mental clutter. If you know you do a bit of laundry daily, it takes the decision factor out of the task; you just do it.
3. Do dishes daily.
Dishes are inevitable. We all eat and we eat often. Dishes can become that consistent, nagging clutter that can build up on our counters and sinks so tackling a load a day can reduce the stress caused by them.
Some households may benefit or find it necessary to do the dishes more than once a day to keep it maintained and that’s okay too if it is what works for you or what is necessary to maintain a stress-free home.
I can personally say that as a family of three, one load of dishes daily can usually keep my counters and sink clean and not have too many items building up in the kitchen. However, some days two loads are required so I’ll do a load in the morning and one before bed.
Dishes are a part of my daily morning routine. If the dishwasher is full, I’ll unload the clean dishes, load the dirty dishes in, and run it before taking my daughter to school.
Dishes are often the bane of our existence, right? Try to make it as fun as possible by pairing it with an upbeat playlist and amping up your energy while cleaning. This is a great way to boost your mood while doing chores!
4. Tidy and wipe down countertops daily.
Tidying the countertops and wiping them down daily is one of my favorite to-dos and is an easy, simple task to help you maintain a stress-free home. Maybe I’m a weirdo, but I enjoy the task because I love the way my kitchen looks when the counters are clutter-free and I don’t see crumbs and coffee stains decorating the surfaces.
I tidy countertops and wipe them down as needed throughout the day so things don’t pile up and it reduces the visual clutter around me. This can be a really quick and simple task to complete and it leaves your house feeling clean and smelling fresh.
5. Meal plan.
Meal planning can help maintain a stress-free home in a multitude of ways. By meal planning you can plan and prioritize using up old ingredients or accounting for what leftovers you have in your fridge. This will lead to less waste, saving money, and less clutter in your pantry or fridge.
Meal planning also can alleviate the nightly stress of the most daunting question, “what’s for dinner?”
Not only does it alleviate the stress of last-minute decision making, it also can boost your overall satisfaction with your diet or nutrition knowing that you’re planning healthier meals instead of eating out.
6. Adopt and follow the saying: if it takes less than a minute, do it now.
This saying can refer to so many small tasks and is easy to remember and implement. These small tasks inevitably build up and become clutter around us when we don’t take care of them right away. By adopting and following this saying, it will be much easier to maintain a stress-free home.
Some tasks or chores that usually take less than a minute:
- Taking off your shoes and putting them away.
- Making your bed in the morning.
- Wiping down the counters.
- Emptying your kids bookbag when they get home and putting the bookbag back where it belongs.
- Sorting the mail from your mailbox and throwing away the junk.
- Starting a load of laundry.
- Spot-sweeping floors.
7. Have a donation station.
Creating a donation station in your house for items you have decluttered can be helpful in maintaining a stress-free home so items don’t build up on your table, counters, or floor. A donation station doesn’t have to be detailed or in depth, you can simply have a bag or box at the ready in a designated spot to place decluttered items.
I have a cabinet in the kitchen designated for this and I find it helpful. If I have items going to different places, I just simply separate them by putting them in different bags and put them in the cabinet until they get loaded into my car.
8. Follow the one in, one out rule.
A simple way to maintain a clutter-free, stress-free home can be following the one in, one out rule. If you bring a new item home, is there an item you can let go of? By practicing this, you can prevent clutter from building up and keep your home more organized.
Practicing the one in, one out rule also helps you remain intentional with what items you bring home and what items you keep in your home.
Making the most of our space can be essential in reducing our stress at home.
Doing this can also help reduce overbuying and impulse shopping. If you remind yourself while shopping that for every item you bring home, you’ll be letting one go; it may help you re-evaluate your purchases and decide if you truly want or need that item.
Whether it’s a new shirt, new shoes, new purse, or new mug; follow this rule and your home will be easier to maintain.
9. Fill up your empty boxes.
If you have a box come into your home (yes, I’m talking about Amazon boxes) and you empty it, can you find items to declutter and fill the box up before disposing of it?
So many of us get deliveries often and cardboard boxes can build up within our homes. Try making this into a game and challenge yourself to fill the boxes that are emptied with items you no longer need, love, or want before getting rid of it.
Keeping your home clutter-free will help you maintain a stress-free environment.
10. Delegate small tasks.
One way to help maintain a stress-free home is to delegate small tasks to those in your home who can do them. If you have children, can you identify small chores or tasks that they can complete to alleviate the workload you are experiencing?
There are several benefits from teaching our families to help us. Having them complete small tasks in the daily maintenance of our homes is a great start. This can teach them the importance of helping others, doing their part, and finding pride in taking care of our homes.
Conclusion
Working on building one or more of these habits into your life can help you create and maintain a stress-free home. Come back on September 20th for habits 11-20.
Do you already follow any of these? I’d be interested to know; drop a comment below!
If not, what habit do you plan to implement? 😊
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