Have you ever swept aside a task until you have more time to deal with it? We’ve all been there. 

The problem is that many of these tasks end up at the bottom of our to-do list over and over again. I’ll clean out the fridge later. I’ll go through my closet next week. I’ll just add this paper to my already giant stack of papers until I have time.

Sound familiar? If so, you need to implement some organizational and cleaning routines into your daily life.

Use these tips to get your home – and life – back in order.

1. Keep a Chore Calendar

Every family should have a chore calendar. Think of this as Chore Central. It is a regular cleaning routine for your household. 

You can delegate certain tasks to certain family members, such as one child dusting, but the goal is to focus on completing chores on certain days of the week. Here’s an example:

  • Monday: Kitchen
  • Tuesday: Bedroom & closet
  • Wednesday: Kids’ rooms and playroom
  • Thursday: Laundry
  • Friday: Bathrooms
  • Saturday: Floors & home office

Snag a large, desktop calendar, but affix it to a wall where everyone can see it.

2. Do the Dishes Every Night

Your house will feel instantly cleaner when the sink is empty. Make it part of your nightly routine to load the dishwasher each evening after dinner. 

Take turns as a family getting this simple chore done. If you have kids who will be helping, you can add their names to the chore calendar. 

3. Have a Nightly Laundry Basket Pickup

A quick and easy way to keep your home looking organized is to do a nightly laundry basket pickup. This doesn’t mean you pick up laundry baskets or dirty clothes. 

What it means is to use a laundry basket or generic basket to walk through the main spaces in your home each night and pick up anything that doesn’t belong.

Have family members take their personal items from the basket and put them where they belong to keep your home looking clean and free of clutter. 

4. Vacuum and Mop One Area Each Day

Stay on top of vacuuming and mopping by doing a little bit each day rather than trying to do it all at once. 

For example, on Monday, mop the kitchen floors. On Tuesday, vacuum the master bedroom. Add these tasks to your daily room focus. 

5. Clean Out Your Fridge Weekly

Have you ever left food in your fridge long past its expiration date that it started growing mold? Have you ever struggled to fit new food in your fridge? 

Put an end to these issues by cleaning out your fridge once a week. Some times to consider: 

  • Free the fridge of old food on days you clean the kitchen,
  • Get rid of expired food on the day when you do meal prepping, or
  • Go through the fridge and toss out the old food on garbage day.

Spend Less on Food With Ibotta

Ibotta earns cash back at the grocery store. And not for unusual items, either. Ibotta wants to give you cash back on the staple grocery items you buy every week.

If you want to save on food costs while cooking at home, you need to be a smarter grocery shopper. Earn cash back on groceries with Ibotta.

Ibotta users earned $186 million in 2019. Download the free Ibotta app today, and Ibotta will get you started with a $20 welcome bonus.

Want to hear even more ways Ibotta can save you money? Check out our Ibotta explainer video, here!

Download Ibotta Here & Grab Your $20 Welcome Bonus

6. Set Aside Time Each Week for Meal Planning and Prepping

Waiting until the last minute to plan meals for your family is stressful and often leads to unhealthy choices.

You can change this by implementing a weekly meal planning, shopping, and prepping routine. Use Sunday to get your meals planned and prepped for the week. 

Save Time and Money With $5 Meal Plan

If you’re interested in the magic of meal planning to save time and money but don’t know where to start, you are in the right place. 

With the $5 Meal Plan, you get a weekly meal plan, recipes, and a shopping list. With the hard work out of the way, just buy your groceries according to the list. Boom! You’re ready to start cooking easy and delicious meals at home, and you will save a ton of cash on resto purchases. Who knows, you might even discover a new favorite dish.

Try the $5 meal plan for FREE for 14 days.

7. Set a Reminder to Wash Sheets and Towels

In addition to your regular laundry, you need to make sure you wash your sheets and towels. You likely have enough sets of sheets and towels, so you do not have to wash them as often as your clothing. 

However, it’s a task that you need to do regularly, so add a bi-weekly reminder to your chore calendar. 

8. Wipe Away During Wait Times

Smartphones have made our lives easier in many ways, but we are so addicted to them that we waste time scrolling and searching when we can organize and clean our homes. 

For example, what wait times do you regularly have? Do you wait for food to bake in the oven or for water to boil on the stove?

Instead of scrolling through your phone during these wait times, wipe down the counters or straighten the living room.

9. Clean Closets Out Seasonally

Every season, go through your closet and take out any clothing you didn’t wear last year.

Here’s a tip – place all the hangers in your closet facing the same direction and when you wear something and put it back in the closet, turn the hanger the other way. At the end of the year, you will be able to easily see which clothing items you wore and which ones you need to donate or sell.

10. Wipe Down the Shower While You Shower

Mildew can take over a shower in no time. Keep this from happening by wiping the shower down while you shower. 

Keep a bottle of shower cleaner in the shower and spray the walls as soon as you finish, or after the last person in the house showers. 

Save 15% With Amazon Subscribe and Save 

If you haven’t heard of Amazon Subscribe & Save, get ready for another huge money-saving tip!

Subscribe & Save is a store on Amazon’s website full of items you need to replace on a regular basis.

They have everything from dog food, K cups, water filters, laundry detergent, toiletries, etc. (everything I don’t want to go out to buy).

When you subscribe to a product, you get to choose what monthly increment you need it shipped (once a month, every 3 months, etc.), and every time the purchase goes through you receive 15% off that item!

Subscribing is great in itself because I never have to think about reordering those necessities, but the fact that I can get an additional 15% off Amazon’s already super low prices is amazing!

Check out the Amazon Subscribe and Save store here and start picking out what you could subscribe (and save) to!

The only catch is you have to be an Amazon Prime member.

If you aren’t a prime member yet, invest in this service because you will save hundreds a year! It’s less than $15 a month which is so easy to make up for with their free shipping, subscribe and save, store card, and more.

If you aren’t an Amazon Prime member yet, you can sign up for a FREE 30-day trial with the link below:

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial 

If you’re already a Prime member, check out our article: Amazon Hacks: How to Save Hundreds Shopping on Amazon!

11. Don’t Let Mail Pile Up

Do you have piles of mail waiting to be sorted? This is a cluttered eyesore and one that is easy to fix. 

Simply make a point to open your mail directly by your trash can so you can toss junk mail in the garbage immediately.

12. Have a System for Paper

But, what do you do about the important pieces of mail that don’t get tossed? You need to have a system for paper (mail, receipts, documents, etc.). 

Keep a small filing folder for papers and receipts. Go through the papers once a month. 

With so much paperwork going digital, it is fine to shred bills and financial documents once the accounts have been updated online.

Free Workshop – Join our free Simplify Money Workshop

The *only* way to save money is to spend less than you earn. That means you need to decrease your expenses or increase your income.

We want to help you do both.

Join our FREE Simplify Money Workshop to learn the fundamentals of growing wealth. Because when you can spend less than you earn, your money has no choice but to grow. You will build your savings and pay down debt. 

What’s more? We’ve got a bunch of free money-hacks to share with you:

  • Hacks to lower your monthly bills
  • Hacks to spend less on debt
  • Hacks to start investing
  • Hacks to increase your income by $20/month (with no extra effort)

This workshop has everything you need to accomplish the cardinal rule of personal finance: keep your income over your expenses.

Join our free 5-day Simplify Money Workshop, and start growing your wealth today.

13. Clear Out Purse and Car Receipts

Does your car or purse seem to fill up quickly with receipts? There are two ways to handle this issue. 

First, many establishments give you the option of a printed receipt or an email receipt. When possible, go for the emailed receipt (these can still be turned in to corporate). 

Next, invest in a small car trash can and make use of it. 

14. Pick Out Clothes Ahead of Time

If mornings are chaotic because your kids “don’t know what to wear,” start making them pick out their clothing at the start of the week.

Use a hanging closet organizer to hold the clothes for each separate school day. 

15. Follow the One-In, One-Out Rule

Nothing makes a house look more unorganized or dirty than clutter.

Instead of allowing clutter to pile up, use the one-in, one-out rule. When you buy something new, immediately place something you already own in your donation bin.

16. Create a Launch Pad

Do you ever have to search for things you need before you leave your home? Having an organized launch pad, aka entryway organizer, with all the items you need for the day will be a big help.

Set up a launch pad with a shoe holder, coat holder, hat holder, key holder, and purse holder to make it easier to get out of the house and head to work. 

As you look to organize your home, remember to organize your time, too.

17. Plan Some Shortcuts

If you follow these tips, there will be some organic shortcuts (like getting out of the house quicker with a launch pad). However, see where you can implement other shortcuts to better manage your schedule. 

If your weekly routine doesn’t have much space for grocery shopping, sign up for grocery delivery and make your list at the same time you do your meal planning. 

If possible, hire a cleaner to come once a month to tackle that one task you never seem to have time for (such as giving the house or bathrooms a deep cleaning). 

UP NEXT: 15 Toxic Habits You Need to Quit

toxic habits to quit

WANT MORE LIFE HACKS? CHECK THESE OUT…

NEED HELP SAVING MONEY? READ THESE NEXT…

SAVE AT YOUR FAVORITE STORES:

Want to save these tips for later? Click here to pin this post!

Be sure to follow us on Pinterest for more money-saving life hacks!