Can you share your organisation and keeping home tidy tips? Thread for people who want to be better at this in 2026

[TraitorsLantern]

This week I’ve got a parking ticket, lost a prescription and found a bank card that I thought I’d lost. All through my own disorganisation. So my NY resolution is to get my shit together.

My tip is the A Slob Comes Clean podcast which I need to start listening to again.

What works for you?

Spend the whole of January having a massive sort out and clear out. Room by room, object by object… like with like. When you’ve decided on a place for everything and arranged it - keep it there/put it back when you’ve used it. Keys in a bowl, on a hook, in a drawer, a box for sunglasses, a pouch for cables etc etc etc. Once everything has a place, it’s much easier to keep things tidy.

Oh I need to join you on this.. I’m forever trying to keep on top of home admin but failing miserably! I have a cleaning day on Friday however the dusting I’ve just done upstairs tells me I need to do more 🙈

If something takes less than 2 minutes to do, I do it immediately. The main perk of this is that it stops clutter building up on surfaces and the stairs as I put it away immediately. It really helps me keep the house relatively tidy and less overwhelming when I clean.

TOMM. Or specifically do 30 mins decluttering in a different room every week.

All the doctor surgeries in our area send the prescription straight to the pharamcy of your choice and mine texts me when it’s ready to collect.

I learnt a good tip on here a couple of years ago that was to always do a small job when the kettle is boiling, like stick a wash on or empty the dishwasher! I don’t know what I used to do before that when the kettle was boiling, I must have just stood and stared at thin air 🤣

I saw this tip on here and it's a good one.
Buy a cheap week-to-view diary and when you buy anything that needs a receipt kept, staple it onto the page on the day you bought it.
No more hunting in purses, bags and empty carrier bags for receipts.

Honestly, the only way is to just get things done right now rather than later, or as soon as possible. That means washing a mug straight after using it, even if there are no other dishes in the sink.
When you leave things to pile up And add up, you’ll want to do chores much less because you will feel overwhelmed.

Following for tips!

Mine would be...

1. Coloured (and labelled) baskets/boxes for things multiple people might need to find/put away a lot e.g easier to train yourself and others to think "pink box = Chargers, blue box = papers, red box = medicine/first aid" or whatever and eventually becomes 2nd nature

1. Have 1 smallish dumping basket/spot near door/busiest areas and religiously sort it all out on a set day eg 20mins on sunday morning (for all those sodding bits and pieces that get brought in/shaken out of pockets/put through letterbox)

1. Always do a job while kettle boils as pp said

1. Watch Stacey Solomon sort your life out and wish you had someone do it for you 😅😅

That is a really good idea!

What’s TOMM?

My surgery does that too but I put it in a pocket of a jacket which I then lost amongst a pile of clothes 😬I’ve now found it but only after having to ring the surgery to replace it.

I've got an adhd organiser thing where it gives you 4 lists of jobs for different times of the day, when to do weekly, monthly jobs etc. It's really good.

Also bribe your children to help, especially in the school holidays when things get untidy quicker.

Mind you, the most effective thing I did last week was to get dh to move his hobby related stuff out of the living room and into the shed!

I don't keep anything ' just in case '
I regularly clear things out I don't use.
Filing cabinet for paperwork. Once opened and dealt with if needed it goes into correct file.
Clothes if I didn't wear it that particular season ie summer I'm not likely to wear it next summer so goes to charity.
I love storage in cupboards , labelled and sorted.

@elliejjtiny which one have you got please?

I have been considering this

I used to have a really good schedule thing but somehow I can't seem to re-create it in my head. I got it from a magazine I think, but it was actually very good.

Storage storage storage! Have just bought another unit with drawers for my DDs playroom in anticipation of Xmas toys.
My house is busy, and I have a lot of ‘stuff’ but everything has a place.

I can’t find anything at the moment, got sent a new bank card through the post, didn’t even get to open the envelope and I promptly lost it somewhere in the house. My van needs an MOT like a week ago (it’s on my driveway and I have got another car) I can’t find anything paper work I need and although my house is tidy every draw and cupboard is full to bursting with shit I don’t need.

so come the 27 th December im ruthlessly decluttering!

I absolutely love this idea! Off to buy myself a diary today for 2026!

Never leave a room empty handed. Eg coffee mug out etc

Are you just listening to A Slob Comes Clean or have you tried her methods @TraitorsLantern ?

I’m not being snarky - I had an “oh but- “ resistance to every one of her methods until I tried them.

I’ve had to give up on laundry day last year because my new machines take 6 hours between them to wash and dry a load. I miss that so much.

I’ve been struggling with peri menopause, and at Hallowe’en I stuff-shifted before a party for the first time in four years and was in chaos for a month afterwards. Never again! My energy is quite low now this Christmas and I’ve realised that my clutter threshold has dropped, so I’m going to get back into the daily 15 minutes declutter for the New Year.

The lovely thing about Dana’s methods is that each one works as a stand alone and makes things better, even if you’re not doing the rest (yet)

@GooseyGandalf six hours? That's not possible. How would anyone get anything done?

Also every time you leave a room or a place look behind you to see if you’ve left anything left or if there is anything you can improve in 30 seconds.

Get rid of stuff. I honestly spent so much time and so much money on storage systems. I seemed to believe that if I just had enough/the right boxes then my house would magically become calm and organised. Just get rid of all the stuff!
I like the 20:20 method when you’re not sure whether or not to keep something. If you can replace it in less than 20 minutes for less than £20 then out it goes (you’ll never replace it!).
The other one is ‘If I lost this in a fire, would I buy a new one?’

In terms of decluttering, I developed a Vinted obsession this year. If it isn’t nailed down, it’s at risk of being Vinted!

Seriously though, attaching a £ value to my clutter was really useful for me and I have made over £1000 in about nine months.

We downsized last year and have less storage so we have had to be much more organised. I've got labelled baskets in my pantry/under stair storage labelled batteries, pens, lightbulbs etc

Dont put something down, put it away e.g don't put a pile of washing on the bed, put it away immediately.

Kallax everywhere. I even got rid of a coffee table and put a kallax unit in its place. Same foot print but taller. I use the storage cubes from Amazon and tie luggage labels through the hole in the front.
Ring binders for everything, labelled on the front and the spine.
I keep things in the room they are used, so they are easy to put back.
I live with a hoarder and the kallax system helps with sorting and tidying.
It is a work in progress.

I did adopt a few, like once you have done a big sort out and everything has a place then you can just spend 10 minutes or so doing a very light tidy up every week. I just need to have the big sort out again first.