For easier spring cleaning, I like to be in the habit of decluttering and purging on a regular basis. I would rather spend a little extra time daily, weekly, and/or monthly doing these things than to let everything build up and then do a huge one-time spring cleaning.
These simple tips will cut down on clutter and make deep cleaning easier in the long-run. These are things I try to do because they make sense for us.
They are meant to be ideas to inspire you to find what works for you, your family, and how your home functions. The point is to find those areas that make sense to you to work on regularly in order to stay on top of the clutter.
My Top 5 Decluttering & Purging Tips
- Make a habit of putting everything back where it belongs, every time. Train your children to do the same! This applies to the items from the kitchen cupboards, counters, fridge, the garage, bedrooms, bathrooms, bookshelves, etc.
- Always put socks and clothes directly into the dirty clothes hamper as soon as they are taken off of the body. This is especially important for socks since they are small and can easily be lost if left on the floor.
- Purge weekly, or at the very least monthly. Just grab a garbage bag and tackle one area: toy box, kids’ clothes, your own clothes, husband’s clothes, kitchen cabinet or drawer, bathroom cabinet or drawer, etc. It is less overwhelming and easier to do it one small section at a time every week. It takes less than 15 minutes to do in most cases!
- When folding laundry, throw away items with holes in them or put items the kids have outgrown into a designated bag or basket right at that moment, so that they are not stuffed back into the dressers and closets to make purging them later more work.
- And finally, a trick I learned from my mom, scrub out the fridge when you are down to bare minimums in groceries and planning a big grocery shopping trip. It will take a lot less time to go through the fridge and wash it all down when there is not much in there and it will keep you from buying items you don’t need since you can easily take inventory while cleaning. And, this works great for your pantry or kitchen cupboards, too!
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Mary Beth Elderton says
February 27, 2017 at 3:17 AMOne of my biggest challenges is that I don’t do well with meticulous meal planning. I tend to decide on beans or a roast when it is too late tp prepare them, chicken breasts when they are still frozen. I think I would love an Instant Pot! I grew up with my grandmother who used an old school pressure cooker—everything taseted so good.
Wanda says
February 27, 2017 at 3:22 AMI like the thought of the instant because I make a lot of broth..having it going for days at a time..to think I could ge the same good broth in less time sounds so profitable for me:)
Donna Cress says
February 27, 2017 at 3:33 AMBiggest challenge: not enough time
Debbie Clauer says
February 27, 2017 at 4:01 AMThe hardest part is getting all 5 of us to the dinner table at the same time.
Sheila Ressel says
February 27, 2017 at 4:25 AMMy biggest challenge is finding something to make that everyone will like.
Marci says
February 27, 2017 at 5:06 AMfinding meals the whole family likes
Lori H says
February 27, 2017 at 5:32 AMIt is the prep time for our meal planning as well as the meal planning itself because I have picky eaters.
Teresa Locklear says
February 27, 2017 at 6:48 AMThe biggest challenge for me is to plan and make sure I have all the ingredients. When I do my planning then it’s super easy 🙂
Tracy says
February 27, 2017 at 6:59 AMLove this article. Amazing giveaway! I think the biggest downfall in my meal planning is that my energy is low at the end of the day…. less healthy options sometimes seem faster and easier.
Erin O. says
February 27, 2017 at 7:27 AMThanks fir the tips!
Marilyn Nawara says
February 27, 2017 at 7:53 AMTime is my biggest challenge. When I get home from work at 5:00 everyone is hungry — I have about 1/2 hour to get food on the table.
Gigi says
February 27, 2017 at 8:07 AMingredients being too expensive…. 🙁
Lorie says
February 27, 2017 at 8:58 AMHello –
You’ve got a great site here to help families better manage life! As a long-time, busy, homeschooling mother, dinner challenges for me often include various dietary restrictions for different family members. So far no one has starved 🙂
Thanks for a great give-away.
Karen Giasson says
February 27, 2017 at 12:08 PMMy biggest challenge used to be time. Now I only cook big meals on the weekends, because the kids are all grown.
kelly tupick says
February 27, 2017 at 1:19 PMMy biggest challenge is coming up with recipes to make. I seem to cook certain things the same way and i need to learn to cook different ways.
Andrea Williams says
February 27, 2017 at 4:21 PMMy challenge is making enough food to feed a family of hungry boys without spending all day in the kitchen.
richelle cucchi says
February 28, 2017 at 4:39 AMMy biggest challenge is finding something to make that everyone will like
Kimmy Ripley says
February 28, 2017 at 8:00 AMMy challenge is avoiding fattening foods like cheese and cream-based sauces. I love that kind of food but I want to be healthy and fit this year.
Melissa Storms says
February 28, 2017 at 10:49 AMMy biggest challenge is definitely time. I love that the Instant Pot lets you make healthy meals quicker and that you can cook from frozen in a reasonable time frame.
denise low says
February 28, 2017 at 11:41 AMMy biggest challenge is to be able to put a meal together that everyone would eat.
Shannon says
February 28, 2017 at 6:51 PMMy biggest cooking challenge is finding new meals to make. My family gets tired of eating the same old meals so I want to try new foods but it’s hard to find something everyone will enjoy.
Fiona N says
March 1, 2017 at 8:40 PMOne of my biggest challenges in making homemade meals for my family is finding the menu that everyone likes
Thank You
Liz N says
March 3, 2017 at 10:26 AMThe different tastes are the hardest challenge! What I want, hubby doesn’t like. What he WANTS to eat isn’t very healthy. Round and round we go!
Tesa Nicolanti says
March 5, 2017 at 8:31 AMMy biggest challenge in making homemade meals is time. I’d love to cook more and think the Instant Pot looks amazing and could really help with this!
April says
March 5, 2017 at 2:36 PMOur biggest challenge is the time it takes to make many meals, we are crazy busy and it seems like we end up eating out or eating something unhealthy often because something didn’t go as scheduled and now we are running short on time.
Richard Brandt says
March 5, 2017 at 8:42 PMVariety! Much as everyone likes the old standbys, too much of the same old gets dull after a while.
Priscilla says
March 6, 2017 at 3:43 AMActually using my meal plan. I find I do best if I make a list of meals and then pick one the night before.
Melissa says
March 6, 2017 at 5:39 AMMy biggest challenge is follow through. Or procrastination or failure to start because of fear.
Kymi A says
March 15, 2017 at 4:52 PMOne of my biggest challenges is Time. We’re on the road a lot since we live in the country the commute with traffic some days it shortens my cooking time.
rebeca villanueva says
March 17, 2017 at 7:53 AMOur biggest challenge is barley being home and running from different places to get somewhere else. We are a family of 5 and are trying to meal plan better
Elizabeth Brooks says
March 25, 2017 at 6:55 PMFinding something everyone will like
Alisha Sienkiel says
April 3, 2017 at 7:51 AMBiggest challenge is finding time to do it.
Amy C says
April 9, 2017 at 2:53 AMComing up with new ideas.
crystal mccord says
April 9, 2017 at 11:21 AMI would have to agree with time.
Robin Abrams says
April 11, 2017 at 3:21 AMMy biggest challenge is having the time to get things cooked through. These instant pots work wonders. I love that you can do everything in one pot and quicker
Helen says
April 14, 2017 at 4:31 AMMy biggest challenge is to think about dinner early enough in the day to go out to the freezer and get meat and have enough time for the meat to thaw.
Crystal Young says
April 14, 2017 at 5:03 AMMy biggest challenge in making meals, is that it is just me. I like the fact that I can cook a meal and eat it all week, saves time and dishes, but most of the time, I am tired of eating it by the time the food is gone!
Karrie says
April 22, 2017 at 3:49 PMa huge challenge is time..I cook quick easy meals too much