5 habits to maintain a clean home

the older I get, the more of a "clean freak" I've become. 

but the issue here is that I am not a "super clean & tidy" person by nature, I'm actually quite messy if I let myself-- so it's kind of a struggle for me. 

this weekend, my husband and I cleaned our kitchen from clutter as well as our living room. It was quite necessary, because our little man is 8 months now and crawling everywhere, grabbing and pulling himself up onto everything. so we really needed to take out the extra "stuff" and keep it pretty simple, as far as decor goes. we still have a ways to go, but it feels so nice to do some spring cleaning!

I've come up with 5 habits to maintain a clean home----

[I'm no expert, but these are helping me :)]

1// prep for tomorrow

throughout the day when you have some spare time [usually before bed, after kids are asleep] do some prepping for the next day. don't wait until the morning of to pack your husbands lunch or the diaper bag. maybe even shower the night before; if you know you're going to have a busy morning, pick out your outfit and set things by the door to remember to take them with you.

2// toss the trash

sounds obvi right? but one of the main sources for clutter is all that stuff you are meaning to throw away-- but haven't. random boxes from christmas, tags from new clothing, candy wrapper, etc. I have a habit of setting trash-to-be-taken-out by the front door- but try to it all away right then.

3// quick pickup before bed every night.

make sure there is a clear living room floor, toys are put away and dishes from dinner have been put in the wash. there is nothing worse than waking up to stacked dirty pans or wounding your foot on a stray toy left from the night before. this doesn't need to be a deep-clean, things should just look put away.

4// write it down 

I am a big to do list type person. I like to write down what needs to be accomplished that way I don't forget something. utilize your phone to help make notes as well. there are tons of free apps to help keep you organized, as well as a plain notepad for notes. plus we usually always have our phones with us- so it can be very helpful to type out your grocery list this way [I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten my list at the grocery store and walk around knowing I've forgotten items and just hoping I run into them haha]

5// designate tasks

choose particular days in the week for certain tasks. this way everything is sure to get done by the weeks end. for example do laundry every monday [if you have a little one who goes through multiple outfits a day-- choose 2 days a week for laundry]. deep clean things like the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom on a particular day, but make sure to still do a clean sweep of these every day. try to stick to a schedule and make sure to still clean necessary items everyday [like the bathroom sink for me- it is unreal how dirty it gets after o n e day]

Do what works for you and your family, if it's not working change it! try something new, not everything works the same for everyone. 

hope this is helpful for you!