Daily Rules that Will Keep Your Home Clean
I am not a fan of cleaning, and if you are here, you may not be either. Today I will walk you through my daily rules that will keep your home clean so you can have a shortcut to a neater space.
I love home cleaning tips that help to put cleaning on auto-pilot so I can spend more time doing things I enjoy. If you are anything like me, stick around because we are going to change the way you clean.
Having a daily, weekly, monthly cleaning routine that you can easily keep up with will go along way to creating a home you love.
I used to hate rules
When I was younger, I hated rules. Honestly, who hasn’t felt that way at some point? And trust me, I get it.
The fact that you’re reading this says something.
But here’s the thing—those same rules that used to drive us crazy as kids often start to make a lot more sense as we grow up.
Why? Because of what they promised us.
Rules promised something we didn’t think much about back then—order. And order is a concept you can really hold onto.
It means a neater home. It means sticking to a budget without piling up debt. It means having a schedule for the day so you are not constantly running around putting out fires.
Turns out, the rules we resisted might have been setting us up for the things we value most as adults.
Order means a cleaner home
When I say order I am not talking about a Donna Reed family room with plastic-covered furniture and not a single thing out of place. Anywhere. Ever.
Living like that isn’t just unrealistic—it’s downright miserable. Why?
Because when order starts to overshadow living, especially when you have a family, you lose sight of what really matters. And living? That’s the heart of it all.
But hold on—what does a healthy dose of order look like? It’s just enough to keep your home from spiraling into chaos.
Maybe that’s exactly what you’re craving right now, and honestly, I get it. A healthy balance can make all the difference.
For this simple (and dare I say life-changing) list, we’re going to use rules as tools—not restrictions—to bring just enough order into our lives in ways that feel natural and doable.
The payoff? A transformed home and a little more breathing room to actually enjoy living.
Daily Rules that Will Keep Your Home Clean
These are rules I have used for years because not only are they easy to implement they actually work. Start with one and add in more as you get used to each one. Oh, and watch your home transform before your eyes.
Rule #1 Always Keep Your Bedroom Clean
This one rule right was an absolute game-changer for me. There is nothing better than heading off to bed after a long stressful day and being greeted by a neat and tidy bedroom with a lovely made bed. I can almost hear the stress of the day leaving my body as I enter that room.
Always neat and put away.
This is my number one rule, and even if you ignore the rest, I hope you don’t ignore this one.
If you want to get a good night’s sleep, you need to have a room that is clutter-free, and mess-free, so it is stress-free.
Close your eyes in a neat and tidy room, and I guarantee you will sleep more soundly. Try to fall asleep in a messy and cluttered room and it’s like trying to fall asleep next to an airport.
The noise of the chaos all around you keeps your mind moving and turning all night long. This is usually enough to make sleep time poor and interrupted.
The same is true for when you wake up.
Wake up in a neat and tidy room and you are taking the first step to getting out on the right side of the bed.
If the first thing you see in the morning is piles of junk, strewn clothes, and opened messy drawers, your mind does a shift. One from waking up peacefully to waking up irritated as you are reminded of the state of your room.
The best part of keeping your room clean is this is YOUR room. That means any mess in there is all yours. And that, for me at least, makes it so much easier to deal with.
When I constantly clean up after the family, I tend to get frustrated—but cleaning up after me? That I just do. Without even thinking.
Rule Reminder: Keep your bedroom neat and you will end and begin your days on the very best foot.
Rule #2. Give Things a Home so You Can Put Them Away
If you ask me what clutter is, I’ll tell you this: it’s anything that doesn’t have a home. Honestly, it’s as simple as that. It doesn’t matter what your house looks like right now or how your rooms are arranged.
When your things have a place to belong, you can put them away—and when you start putting them away, something magical happens. Your room begins to change, almost like it’s coming back to life.
This concept works for just about everything. Let’s break it down a bit further so you can see exactly what I mean.
Now that you know what clutter is, the next part is making it all easier to keep it put away off of the counters and off of the floor.
For that little task, I have a simple and timeless tip I learned from my grandmother. Never leave a room empty-handed. Such a simple tip that, for me at least, has been life-changing.
How it works.
Every time you leave a room, no matter what the reason, be sure you have something in your hands to put away.
- If you are leaving the family room to get a glass of water, be sure to take a few dishes from the coffee table with you.
- Heading to the bedroom to grab a sweatshirt? Why not take those new magazines you got in the mail today and put them on your nightstand?
- Did you just wake up and are heading into the kitchen for a cup of coffee? Gather up any used tissues or water bottles and take them with you.
The more you do this – the more this helpful tip becomes second nature. And the best part is you can easily teach this tip to your family. When you see someone heading out of the room, simply remind them to take something with them.
- Kids can take a handful of toys to their bedroom.
- Teens can take their dirty socks to the laundry room.
- Hubby can take that bag of chips to the kitchen.
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Teamwork is what is going to really make this tip shine, so just give a gentle reminder to your family, and before you know it, your room will begin to transform.
Rule Reminder: Never leave a room empty-handed.
A clean home starts with small, consistent habits! A Daily Cleaning Schedule makes tidying up second nature.
Rule #3. Do a room Reset every single day
This might just be my very favorite tip. EVER.
What is a room reset? A room reset is when you take a room back to start, aka neat and clutter-free, before you end (or begin) the day. This is when you do a full swoop of all the things.
To make this easier, I like to use a laundry basket. This way, I can gather up all the things in one pass and then walk my home to put all those things away.
This tip is now a part of my nightly routine. Just a few minutes in each of the main rooms our family uses, and I am able to wake up to neat and tidy every single day.
Rule Reminder: Take a few minutes to reset each room to neat before heading off to bed.
Rule #4. Have a Weekly Planning Day
For me, the week officially kicks off on Monday, so Sunday has become my dedicated planning day. It’s the time I set aside to organize everything—my home, my family, and my work.
Having a specific day to map out my week makes such a difference.
It keeps my schedule streamlined, manageable, and way less overwhelming. Honestly, it’s a day I’ve come to enjoy.
It feels like a mini-recap of the week that just ended. Each Sunday, I go through my list, check off what I accomplished, and build a more realistic, actionable plan for the week ahead.
It’s a system that works—no more hiding from my to-do list like I used to.
And I know I’m not the only one who’s struggled with this. Overwhelming to-do lists seem to be one of the most common complaints I hear.
There’s always so much to get done, and creating daily and weekly schedules can feel like an impossible task. But trust me, dedicating just one day to thoughtful planning can make a world of difference.
The easiest way to create a to-do list you can work with is by having a weekly planning session.
A time when you grab all those random scraps of papers, half-made lists, paper clutter, mail, magazines, school papers, and anything else you can find scattered around your home and tackle it all at once.
All on the same day, at the same time, every single week.
At first, this session may be a long one, but as time goes on and you widdle down all the scraps and paper, you will find it something you can do in just an hour rather than an entire afternoon. And by having this set time every week, you will be able to make a realistic list and one you are much better able to fit into your days.
If your to-do list is all over the place, it’s time for a change! A Weekly Planning Basket makes organizing your tasks quick and easy.
Once your list is done, you can just follow along every day and let your mind relax as you start checking things off of your list. Maybe even more than you have ever done before.
Rule Reminder: Have a weekly planning session to create a to-do list you can follow along to without stressing out.
Rule #5. Have a Weekly Menu Planned
This rule, above all others, tends to get the most eye rolls, but for the life of me, I can never understand why.
Dinnertime chaos is a real thing, and I know many of my friends and family HATE to come up with dinner on the fly.
Let’s face it if your day has already been a hectic one, coming up with a fast meal in minutes is going to be pretty much impossible.
Struggling to keep up with household tasks? A Home Reset Checklist makes it simple to get organized and stay that way.
When I started meal planning years ago, I was able to know ahead of time what was for dinner and, in some cases, even prep things in the morning. That one step was a game-changer when it came to keeping my kitchen neater.
When you are rushed, you tend to be a bit messy. Simply because you do not have time to put things away.
The same is true when you are guessing, like…what should I make for dinner? When your mind is working to solve that problem, it is not there to help you solve the others, like, where do I put all this stuff in my arms?
Oh yes, on the kitchen table for now. And sure, your intentions are reasonable, you completely plan to come back to those things later on and put them away.
But more often than not, they just get pushed off to the side to make room for more things and more stuff after that until your kitchen looks more like a battlefield and not a space where your family gathers to eat.
If meal planning sounds overwhelming, don’t worry. It’s easier than you think. Learn How to Make and Use a Weekly Menu today.
Give yourself the gift of a weekly meal plan, and you will instead be able to put the things in your arms away because you know exactly what is on the menu.
Relax, knowing dinner for tonight is already made because you put it in the crockpot that morning.
Now you can be sure you are putting things where they belong and, in turn, keep your kitchen neater. Tidier.
Rule Reminder: Set up and use a weekly menu to keep your head calm and clear and your kitchen too!
If you want a neater home, one that is inviting and one you love to be in, then setting up just a few rules might be all that is standing between you and that goal.
Simple rules that you can incorporate into your day, making them a habit and not a chore. 5 Daily Rules that Will Keep Your Home Clean (er).
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Great tips. I love the evening reset. I do that as well. I do not make a weekly meal plan but I think I will add that to my to-do list for 2023. Thank you for sharing at #omhgww. See you again next week. Pinned and tweeted if buttons are available.