I am about to move into a new flat. What is the 1 golden housekeeping rule you wish you'd established from Day 1?

[Fishpond]

May be cheating as it will be just a 2-bed flat, for myself and (not-yet-born) son due in July. I'm really, really, truly terrible at keeping up with housework, no motivation although I have a lust for Pottery Barn catalogs (John Lewis = British equivalent!) with their beautifully lined up organized shelves and baskets and whatnot.

So what is the 1 "rule" you wish you'd set up from the day you moved in, or ritual or whatever it might be?

Tidy up as you go along.

De-clutter before you move in. Don't take anything that you don't really need or love.

Enjoy the flat :).

Don't bring anything over the threshold if you don't love it, need it or have a space for it.

I sort the post standing outside by the recycling bin. If someone gives me something I don't like or doesn't fit, it goes straight in the charity shop bag in the boot of the car.

We may move in the near-ish future and I am already starting the cull. The next house is our Forever House and nothing that's not a Forever Possession is coming with us.

Don't stockpile and buy 30 rolls of loo paper because it's on special offer. Once you've factored in the cost of space (work it out by dividing square footage by what you're paying in rent or mortgage), it's generally cheaper to buy as you need it.

Train people to give your child clothes rather than toys, and don't buy him any big toys. I bought DD1 a toy kitchen when she was a toddler and really regret it now - she won't let me get rid of it so it rather dominates one corner of our sitting room. The second my DC have grown out of something, I sell it or put it into the conveyor belt of kids' hand-me-downs that goes around my circle.

We live in a 2BR flat and you have to be disciplined to make sure the clutter doesn't subsume you.

Keep your laundry up to date. Once you have a baby it can so easily get out of hand!

Agree with declutter.

A place for everything and everything in it's place - makes tidying up much easier when you are just putting things away rather than moving crap around!

AIR YOUR HOUSE DAILY OR EVERYONE WILL SHUN YOU!!

I agree about the de-cluttering before moving in.

ninedragons , I don't understand what you said about stockpiling items that are on special offer - the OP will have to pay rent / mortgage anyway, so why do you need to take that into account in your toilet roll example? I'm genuinely interested, as I've seen that given as an argument before!

Arf at debka .

I air my house every day now thanks to you!

Because 2BR flats can feel very cramped very quickly, so if you're filling them up with almost-commercial quantities of consumables, storing them is costing you space that could be used for living.

An extra bottle of washing-up liquid that was on BOGOF is fine, but ten packets of this and six months' supply of that of that adds up to a lot of clutter.

Every time you get a charity bag put something in it - even if it is just old vests from the DC, worn out jeans or a couple of grey t-shirts.

De-clutter before you move and then get rid of stuff regularly.

Don't listen to DH who tells you that the old kettle/square of carpet/piece of wood/six pairs of golf shoes should be kept in the loft/garage Just In Case.