22 Decluttering and Cleaning Hacks

We live in a small homestead. With two kids under two, it’s easily for our house to easily get messy, disorganized and super chaotic. I used to be proud of my once tidy clean home, and got really overwhelmed with the disfunction. At the end of the day after caring for two babies, cows and chickens the garden and the house I was exhausted.

I needed a way to manage it all, to get stuff done quickly and get back to doing what I love! Being productive feels good, and its totally achievable- even on a homestead with toddlers running around.

Here are my top 10 tips to help you declutter, organize and clean quickly so you to can move on!

DECLUTTERING AND CLEANING HACKS

DECLUTTER AND CLEAN KIDS STUFF

Babies and kids have a ton of stuff for how little they are. Get productive by having systems in place to deal with it all as they grow and develop.

Organize toys in bins and only take a bin or two out at a time. We will do blocks day in and out then switch to trucks. If they are all out at the same time it’s overwhelming.

Store clothes in diaper boxes or clear plastic totes by size and season. Only have current size and season out.

Have a Donation bin at the back door. Fill it unused toys, books and clothes for charity. I love the Diabetes Canada program. Just register online and choose a pick up date. Label donation and set out on porch to be picked up. So easy, I always have a box in the basement, when it starts getting full I’ll schedule my next pick up.

You could also bring these items to a consignment store for credit. Another fun frugal idea for getting rid of the old is hosting a swap party. Everyone brings clothing or toys they no longer use and leave with something new to them.

Store seasonal attire in bins per family member in mud room. In the summer everyone has a tote with their hats and sunglasses. In the winter it’s mittens and toques. I also have a seasonal bin in the car with extra snacks and seasonal clothing we may have forgotten at home.

Have a daily tidying plan. I’ve chosen to tidy the toys only twice a day. I was tidying all day long and it didn’t make a difference. So, instead of tidying constantly as they play we tidy before going outside, and before bed. These times help with the overwhelm. Waking up to a tidy house, and entering a tidy home are very important to me.

OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION

Shops, sheds, barns, any outdoor building other than your house is a chaotic place waiting for a mess to emerge. Seasonal spaces from storing hay and feed, tack, tools, equipment, gardening supplies etc. it can easily get disorganized and messy.

Choose 2-3 times a year to do a big overhaul clean up. In the spring, when the cows go to pasture and just before hay season we clean out the barn. We sweep and blow it out. We pick up those hay seedlings and spread them on the field. Any maintenance projects for the summer months are completed.

FAMILY MEMBERS CAN HELP DECLUTTER AND CLEAN

Start including the kids young in learning to tidy up. In our house, before bedtime, I have the kids put their books and toys away. It’s becoming part of our routine. We sing the clean up song together and they like helping. One of my sons first words was “away.”

Use a Chore Chart

As a homesteader/farmer you’ll be in your barn at least once a day. Have a system and routine that ensures your work are stays functional and tidy. Use a framed chore chart as a dry erase board to get farm chores, kids chores or cleaning chores done every week.

For existing members, click here to log into the library. You can download the printable labels in our members only area. Password included in every newsletter!

A day planner is a must for staying productive and keeping your house organized and tidy. Use a printable cleaning schedule to do a little bit every day and schedule in when you’ll do a 10 minute tidy or your morning clean up routine.

I absolutely highly recommend the Erin Condren Life Planne r for all my friends! It’s the best-selling planner that’s proven to increase productivity and time management. Track your goals in style with the completely customizable LifePlanner™!

Keep paperwork organized

Tidy up the newspaper, mail and homework papers every night. Use a homestead management binder. Reformation Acres has a great sample to get you started.

Have a receipt system come tax time. We currently throw all farm receipts in a large envelope and hand them to a bookkeeper at the end of the year. But I’d like to take on that task soon. Anna from Celebrating a Simple Life has a great system for farm paperwork I recommend you check out!

Schedule tidy reminders on your phone until you’ve made new habits

When you wake up, start by making your bed. Before you leave for work/school/outside chores, clean up after yourself first. Tidy up toys before bed. Empty the dishwasher at the end of the day.

Do a 10 minute tidy 1x a day. Grab a laundry bin, go throughout every room and collect the things that don’t belong there. Then go around the house putting things away, in the garbage, recycling or donation bin.

Choose a Disaster Zone to focus on. What is one area or stop that you know you have to deal with but don’t have the time to do it? Give yourself an hour to just get started, haul the pile out, put it in the basket and go nuts.

Change your mindset. Most people find the worst part about tiding and cleaning up is the dread of actually doing it. There’s a few ways to kill that dread that help build up some motivation to actually get it done.

Be grateful, honestly thinking about what you’re tidying up and what it means for you and your family can work wonders to kill the dread. Dishes are the worst, but having a family meal together is something I really cherish. Thinking about the meal instead of the dirty dishes why cleaning the dirty dishes helps!

A few fun ways to find joy in tidying and cleaning up is preparing for hosting a fun event, using new cleaning products or getting ready to decorate for the next holiday season. Once you’ve cleaned up, take a picture. Why not go pick some fresh flowers and throw them in a vase?

DO WHAT YOU REALLY WANT!

Now that you have extra time, go ahead and do something you really want to do!

bake some cookies

get out and plant the garden

Knit a blanket

make some handmade greeting cards

Just remember to pick up after yourself always, quickly clean up before you move on to the next task and if it only takes a minute just do it then and now!