10 Habits That May Be Messing Up Your House
Start your year right by busting these clutter-inducing habits and creating a tidier interior
Jo Simmons
January 20, 2017
Houzz UK Contributor. I have been an interiors journalist since 1995, writing several books on design and numerous features for glossy homes mags over the years. For Houzz, I cover decorating ideas and trends and interview designers and professionals for their insights. My favourite pieces to write, though, are Houzz Tours, as I love exploring and learning about real homes. Call me curious — or nosy!
Houzz UK Contributor. I have been an interiors journalist since 1995, writing several... More
Routine and habit are at the core of life. Much as we might like to think of ourselves as free spirits, most of us live to a set rhythm dictated by work, family and sleep. We’re often creatures of habit too, but not all habits are healthy. At home, certain lazy practices can lead to a messy home and an unhealthy environment. From not taking off your shoes by the front door to overindulging the dog, here’s a rundown of common offenses and how to resolve them.
1. You wear shoes inside the house. Rather than taking off your shoes as soon as you come through the front door, you get distracted and end up circumnavigating your home in mucky footwear.
Solution: Dedicated storage will encourage you to remove your shoes as soon as you get home. Specially designed racks near the front door are ideal, but a simple basket into which you can toss your footwear is a start.
Turn your home into a shoe-free zone
Solution: Dedicated storage will encourage you to remove your shoes as soon as you get home. Specially designed racks near the front door are ideal, but a simple basket into which you can toss your footwear is a start.
Turn your home into a shoe-free zone
2. You let your pooch sit on the sofa. Letting your dog snuggle on the sofa inevitably leads to hair and sometimes mud transferring from hound to upholstery.
Solution: Create a lovely bed for your dog and encourage him or her to use it. If the message isn’t being received in your furry friend’s brain, then cover your sofa with a washable throw, which you can remove once it’s time for the humans to sit down.
See how to make this dog bed from a vintage suitcase
Solution: Create a lovely bed for your dog and encourage him or her to use it. If the message isn’t being received in your furry friend’s brain, then cover your sofa with a washable throw, which you can remove once it’s time for the humans to sit down.
See how to make this dog bed from a vintage suitcase
3. You pile up used tea bags. If repeated trips to the kettle for your morning brew or a visiting bevy of thirsty friends leads to a mountain of used tea bags piled perilously on your countertop, act now!
Solution: Treat yourself to an attractive — and here’s the trick — lidded container that you can place where you make hot drinks. Toss the bags in there, then compost them later.
Solution: Treat yourself to an attractive — and here’s the trick — lidded container that you can place where you make hot drinks. Toss the bags in there, then compost them later.
4. You dump clothes. From throwing your coat over the banisters to shedding your clothes onto the bedroom floor, dumping clothes makes a big mess — fast.
Solution: Anything you take off should go on a hook, in a drawer or closet, or in the laundry basket. Remove any tempting dumping grounds too, such as a chair in the bedroom, which can easily become a spot for long-term, messy clothes storage.
Find out other ways to avoid a pileup on your bedroom floor
Solution: Anything you take off should go on a hook, in a drawer or closet, or in the laundry basket. Remove any tempting dumping grounds too, such as a chair in the bedroom, which can easily become a spot for long-term, messy clothes storage.
Find out other ways to avoid a pileup on your bedroom floor
5. You store cleaning products badly. Yes, that’s right, it’s possible to do such a thing. If you keep your cleaning products in a mix of locations, a jumbled state or buried at the back of the cabinet, you’re putting up boundaries between yourself and getting on with cleaning.
Solution: Buy a bucket or caddy for all your cleaning gear and keep it where it’s easily accessible. Try storing a separate cleaning caddy in the bathroom, where it’s handy for a quick cleanup, and one in the usual under-the-sink location in the kitchen.
Solution: Buy a bucket or caddy for all your cleaning gear and keep it where it’s easily accessible. Try storing a separate cleaning caddy in the bathroom, where it’s handy for a quick cleanup, and one in the usual under-the-sink location in the kitchen.
6. You don’t finish what you start. You cleaned part of the bathroom but couldn’t face tackling the shower stall. You hung up the laundry, but now it’s sitting in a pile, waiting to be sorted. You vacuumed the living room floor but left the sofa alone.
Solution: Do less, and allow enough time for each task, so you can finish what you start. Not completing a job is almost as bad as never embarking on it in the first place. Half-finished tasks are also deadly for morale.
Solution: Do less, and allow enough time for each task, so you can finish what you start. Not completing a job is almost as bad as never embarking on it in the first place. Half-finished tasks are also deadly for morale.
7. You can’t help collecting. If you’re one of those people with a passion for books or period decor, you may have reached critical mass when it comes to collecting. This can create a messy home that’s overburdened with “stuff.”
Solution: Have a clear-out. There are heaps of great advice on Houzz for doing a comprehensive declutter, but you can begin by sorting items into piles for charity, storage or the trash. Then, aim to restrict your collecting habit, or schedule another clear-out in six months’ time.
Can’t bear to part with your precious pieces? Order them instead. This shelving unit is stuffed with vintage radios, but thanks to some thoughtful arrangements, it looks eminently organized rather than bursting at the seams. The same idea can work for ceramics and other collections.
Solution: Have a clear-out. There are heaps of great advice on Houzz for doing a comprehensive declutter, but you can begin by sorting items into piles for charity, storage or the trash. Then, aim to restrict your collecting habit, or schedule another clear-out in six months’ time.
Can’t bear to part with your precious pieces? Order them instead. This shelving unit is stuffed with vintage radios, but thanks to some thoughtful arrangements, it looks eminently organized rather than bursting at the seams. The same idea can work for ceramics and other collections.
8. You go to bed when you’re too tired. You know how it goes.… You’ve nodded off in front of the 10 o’clock news again and wake up only to blearily stumble up to bed. This creates mess. Any glasses, plates, papers or books you were using end up being left on the floor or coffee table. Throws are lazily cast aside in a heap, cushions tumbled onto the floor and crumbs scattered.
Solution: Go to bed 10 minutes earlier, before you’re super tired. Before you go, clear the living room of all dirty dishes or glasses, quickly straighten up the sofa and turn off the lights. It’s never nice to be greeted by last night’s mess when you come downstairs in the morning.
Solution: Go to bed 10 minutes earlier, before you’re super tired. Before you go, clear the living room of all dirty dishes or glasses, quickly straighten up the sofa and turn off the lights. It’s never nice to be greeted by last night’s mess when you come downstairs in the morning.
9. You hoard condiments. It’s very easy to amass a huge quantity of spices, sauces, pickles, relishes and spreads, especially if they’re stored deep within a closed kitchen cupboard. This can gobble up storage space and quickly become a sticky, tumbling mess of jars and bottles.
Solution: Edit your condiments. Toss anything that’s past its use-by date or hasn’t been opened or eaten more than once (a sure sign that you don’t actually like it). Then, routinely clear out your condiment cabinet to prevent buildup, or better yet, relocate all jars and bottles to a neat rack, where they can be seen, used and kept in order.
Solution: Edit your condiments. Toss anything that’s past its use-by date or hasn’t been opened or eaten more than once (a sure sign that you don’t actually like it). Then, routinely clear out your condiment cabinet to prevent buildup, or better yet, relocate all jars and bottles to a neat rack, where they can be seen, used and kept in order.
10. You’re a piler-upper. Piles of paperwork, magazines or books are not the enemy of a tidy home, but messy piles are.
Solution: Tidy and organize your piles — this home office is a perfect example of a relaxing kind of order at play. Stacking your books neatly can turn a jumble of reading matter into a beautiful library. If free-standing piles never stay put in your home, invest in a few simple pieces of storage. Shelves, baskets and boxes will impose order on any errant books or papers.
Tell us: How have you curbed any messy habits in your home? Share your tips in the Comments below.
More: Get Organized: Are You a Piler or a Filer?
Solution: Tidy and organize your piles — this home office is a perfect example of a relaxing kind of order at play. Stacking your books neatly can turn a jumble of reading matter into a beautiful library. If free-standing piles never stay put in your home, invest in a few simple pieces of storage. Shelves, baskets and boxes will impose order on any errant books or papers.
Tell us: How have you curbed any messy habits in your home? Share your tips in the Comments below.
More: Get Organized: Are You a Piler or a Filer?
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i feel you
atw016: Gonna use that if I ever get a new house. Right now...it needs a complete gut job! :)
I'm about to join the limit shoes in the house camp after 67 years of never seeing this in action. It is a great idea.
I recently got a simple/non programmable Roomba. I love it so much. $200 has changed my life. I have a very big shedding dog who has a dog bed in the bedroom. My significant other objected to the hair. I did vacuum with an old fashioned vacuum but you can't do a good job if you have a lot of furniture low to the ground and it was just backbreaking and time consuming . And it did a poor job in the corners and along the baseboards. That Roomba scoots under everything with real dedication and has these little whirring brushes that make quick work of the edges and corners. It's a miracle.
The dog is not allowed on the beautiful ecru cotton mattlessae sp? couch. Dogs are trainable. Cats would ignore you certainly.
I don't get it about the teabags. Do people pile them up to reuse them ?
I'm a piler not a filer-enough said. It's the bane of my life because I think anything that I read is either interesting or important. I keep the file folder people in business. Someday I will rent a dumpster and set it all on fire. My children will be happy.
I make sure to go to bed in a clean peaceful bedroom and to do the dishes before bedtime. This hardly creates miraculous order though. I really think that some people are neat by nature and that for others it is an enormous effort.
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