Feeling overwhelmed by chaos? Stay organized and tidy with these four tips

What are the best ways to create and maintain order?

Our research, as well as that of others, may provide useful insights.

In our ongoing research, we have analyzed thousands of comments on YouTube and the most popular videos about cleaning and decluttering. In addition, we conducted 18 in-depth interviews. We also conducted 18 in-depth interviews.

Our research has shown that maintaining tidiness requires both a systematic approach and the ability to adapt.

Tidiness can be a victim of life.

Shoppers are conditioned to shop from an early age.

This shopping culture is at odds with the desire to keep our homes tidy and clutter-free.

Families with members who have different standards of cleanliness and are at different stages in their lives can also cause chaos.

Read more: Swedish death cleaning: how to declutter your home and life

As one young couple said:

We have always wanted a really organized home, but it’s just not possible. We feel discouraged every time we try, and it just goes back to being messy a few short days later.

Some respondents described feeling as if they were prisoners of their possessions.

Two young parents with two children explained.

More stuff entered our home as our family grew and our income increased. We are not hoarders, but I noticed that at one point, we were spending a lot of time and money on cleaning, maintaining, and storing things.

Even the systems that are used to keep a home tidy and clutter-free can lead to disorganization.

A professional woman with whom we spoke described creating a system in which every item of clothing was assigned a specific spot in her wardrobe based on its color, type, and season. This became difficult to maintain and undermined the entire approach.

What can you do to keep your home tidy?

Reduce the number of things in your home. Getty Images

Four strategies for keeping your home tidy

We have identified four strategies that will help us achieve long-term cleanliness.

1 – Simplify

You need to simplify your organizational methods in order to achieve a lasting, tidy home.

You can do this by removing any areas or spaces in your house that encourage you to organize further and classify your possessions, such as extra storage units or dressers.

Read more: Clean your way to happiness: unpacking the decluttering craze

One retired couple we spoke with did just that.

It was a dresser […], and it always seemed to invite more stuff. It was hard to get the space that we wanted. We got rid of our dresser […], and the area opened up.

The clutter will be less likely to build up in a smaller space. This makes it easier to keep a clean living environment.

2 – Create groups

One way to maintain long-term order is by simplifying the way you group and categorize things in your house.

By replacing several small items of decor with a larger entity, you can create fewer distinct categories around your home.

Read more: So you’ve KonMari’ed your life: here’s how to throw your stuff out.

One mother of two kids we spoke with switched out several small teddy bears in her lounge for one big one.

We interviewed a married couple who arranged their smaller knickknacks on trays. This made it easier to keep things in order and track. All of their trinkets were in one spot, which made it easy to clean.

3: Manage Numbers

It’s important to keep your home tidy for a long time.

You can achieve this by encouraging family and friends to share items or following the rule “one in,one out,” where you dispose of a thing for every new one you bring into your home.

Renting camping tents is a great alternative to buying items that are rarely used.

A married couple that we spoke to described a kitchen cluttered with many pots used for different cooking tasks. To reduce clutter, the couple switched to a cast-iron skillet that could be used for many other jobs.

One family with two children spoke of sharing hair products in order to reduce clutter.

We used to use a variety of products, but now I use the same product that [my husband] does. We use the same product. We used to buy different brands of shampoo. We simplified the development […] and reduced the number of products by half. Now we are much happier, and our bathroom is easier to maintain.

4: Adapt to and evolve

To maintain a clean home, you need to be flexible and willing to adjust your routines to reflect the changing circumstances in your life.

An elderly couple that we spoke to described the process of moving into a smaller space. It was necessary to get rid of many things and change the way they lived in order to maximize the space that remained.

Decluttering and tidiness are processes that take time and require flexibility.

These strategies will help you create and maintain a tidy environment that will enhance your life, not only in terms of physical order, but also mental clarity.