3 Personal Hacks I Do to Maintain The Order In My Home

Hey friendddd!

For this week, I’m popping in to chat about the personal hacks I do in my home to maintain the order, keep the systems going, and make sure that I don’t get overwhelmed with clutter and disorganization.  I wanted to share a few of the things that I do in terms of  habits and routines to maintain order.

Now, before we dive deep, this is not a blog that is going to talk about my most favorite products that I’m using to create systems or anything like that. This is all about some of the routines and habits that I’ve created and adjusted over time to ensure that resetting my home is a quick 20-30 minutes extravaganza.

 I like to think of these tools as hacks, because when you create habits or when you get into the routine of things, they’re very thoughtless. You’re not thinking about it, you’re just doing it.

This is why I call them hacks.

1. Be a solid gatekeeper of your home

The first thing is to be a solid gatekeeper of my home, and that’s the power of having your own space. You get to monitor what comes in and what leaves your home. You get to make the decisions on what comes in and what gets to stay.

You’re in control.

I say to myself, “I’m going to be a great gatekeeper for my home”. This ensures that I’m not bringing in excess clutter nor am I allowing clutter to stay in my space. Over time, I’ve become more stringent with saying, “Kenika, do I really need this?” And, if I do need it, where is it going to live? Where is it going to be? Am I replacing it?

I’ve gotten very good at having this internal dialogue with myself before I bring anything in my home. I’ve also acquired the habit of looking at things objectively in my home and saying, “Okay, do I love this?” “Do I use it?” “Do I need it?” If the answer is NO to any of those things, then I can comfortably part ways with it, whether I’m donating it or giving it away to a friend. You guys know, I recently updated my home and hired an interior designer. I absolutely love what she’s done and love the space I am in. But with all of the other furniture that was here, I could have stashed it, I could have held onto it for whatever reason.  Instead, I let it go and gave it away to someone who could use it and that’s the power of gatekeeping. It’s a hack that I’ve gotten into the routine of or the habit of being intentional about and it’s so helpful!

Do I want to manage the upkeep to store it? Do I want to allow it to take up this space? Do I want to look at it every day or whatever the case may be.

2. create non-negotiables for tidy up sessions

The second thing is that I have created non-negotiables for tidy up sessions.

A non-negotiable is something that you will not back out of. So for me, a non-negotiable I have is that I’m not going to go to bed with an untidy kitchen.

I’m going to tidy up my kitchen. I’m going to clean it. I’m going to unload the dishwasher. I’m gonna do all of that stuff, because what I hate the most in the morning is waking up to a messy kitchen that was not cleaned up or organized. What I can’t the most in the morning is having chores BEFORE I can start my day because I backed out of them the night before. Now, I have to clean up before I can make my smoothie or before I can get breakfast situated. I do not like it.

So, I have created non-negotiables for myself on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, and on a monthly basis so that I don’t aggravate myself when I have to do it at a more inconvenient time. 

I know I’m not a morning person. I don’t want to stress myself out even more in the morning, opposed to just getting in the routine of creating these non-negotiables and getting it done. I’m not going to tell you what your non-negotiables are, only you can do that for yourself. Having a conversation and understanding with yourself on what your non-negotiables are important and will in return make you feel more proud of yourself and more productive in your everyday life when you get them done.

Another non-negotiable for me is making my bed in the morning. When I get up and go, I don’t care how late I’m running, I’m going to make my bed because what I don’t want to do is come back home and look in my bedroom and say, “Kenika, you didn’t make your bed!” That’s a non-negotiable.

My non-negotiables may look different than yours, but again, this is another hack that I’m implementing on a day to day, weekly, and monthly basis to ensure that my home is going to be organized.

3. Just get it done!

The third thing is that I’ve just adopted this idea of, “If I can do it now, just do it.” You know, if I took it out and I used it, just put it back. If I just took my linen or took my clothes out of the dryer, just fold it and put it up. Just do it now. You’re going to be so much more grateful once it’s done than opposed to waiting a week later to fold your laundry. Just do it now, right?

If it’s going to make your life easier later on, when you come back to that task, why not just do it now? When I say hack, I’m really thinking about habits and routines. These are the things just over time that I’ve done to ensure that I’m maintaining the order of my home.

I’m creating a space where I know I can thrive in, and I can be productive in.

Do it now and get in the habit. Get in a routine of doing these things, and over time, you’ll start to look around and see I don’t have much to do. My house is pretty good to go and the systems are flowing. I’m not creating more work for myself. I’m monitoring what’s happening in my home.

These are some of the things that I’ve done to maintain the order so that I don’t get to a point where I’m overwhelmed and flustered.  Hopefully, this is helpful and resonates with some of you beautiful people. Now ask yourself, what are the three things that you’re going to focus on to maintain order in your home?

Peace and love!