The 3 Secrets of People with Always-Clean Homes

As someone who is generally considered pretty clean, I get a lot of questions about how I keep certain areas of my house or life clean. How is your kitchen always so clean? How do you organize your car? Where do you keep all of the toys? And so on… But I sometimes struggle to know how to answer these questions, because when it comes to tidying up, I don’t really have to think about it; it just seems to happen!

Of course, spaces don’t magically clean themselves up around me (we don’t have a magic coffee table—haha!). I’m definitely doing the tidying. But my methods for cleaning up have become habits that are naturally ongoing in my day-to-day life, so they have become second-nature rather than a conscious effort. And the more I do them, the less they feel like work, and the easier it is to do them all of the time.

Now, I certainly don’t have a perfectly clean home all of the time, but I do have a few family members and friends who come close to it, and I’ve noticed that they all seem to have similar habits. So today I am sharing with you what I have discovered to be the three main habits of people with always-clean homes. (And yes, you can do it, too!)

1. Clean up after yourself

In all honestly, this is something that we all should have learned in kindergarten. Before moving on to a new activity or new location, clean up after yourself. Put items back in their spots and throw away trash. If there are things that will take longer than the time than you have (ex. dishes, mail), just put them in a pile that you can do later. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

And if you have kids or company, do your best to pick up after them, too. This is obviously harder to do, because it’s more work to clean up after more people, but that should be even more reason to get started on the mess rather than procrastinating it. If you have company, they may join in and help you. And if it’s kids you’re cleaning up after, it’s better for them to witness the process because they can slowly learn how to contribute.

2. Make sure everything has a spot

Take a quick look around your room… What is sitting out? And more importantly, why is it sitting out?

We jokingly have a saying in our house that an item is “on the move”, meaning that it is sitting out with the intention of going somewhere, such as upstairs, to work, into storage, in the mailbox, etc. This is normal. There are always going to be items moving all around your house—this is what living in a house requires!

But, if there are items sitting out without a clear end in sight, it’s probably because they don’t have a spot. And this is how clutter begins.

Every item should have a home within your home. And, preferably, as many items as possible should live in a spot that is out of sight—in a closet, cabinet, bin, shelf, etc.—because that will keep your main areas simpler and cleaner. If you cannot find a good spot to keep something when it’s not being used, you likely need more storage or less stuff.

You don’t necessarily need a bigger house or apartment to create more storage. Here are a few ideas to help you get creative with the space that you have:

1. Think vertically: Can you store things more vertically than horizontally? Can you add another shelf to a space? Do you need to adjust the shelf spacing within cabinets?
2. Nest items: Can a smaller pot fit within a larger one? Can you use your empty suitcases to store other bags or travel items?
3. Use every inch: Get an over-the-door organizer to stores shoes, or even other small items. Add hooks to the inside of cabinets or doors.
4. Add baskets or bins: Check out my recommendations for affordable bins and baskets in my post My Favorite Budget Storage Solutions!
5. Get storage furniture: Instead of just a regular bench or coffee table, get one that opens up for more storage space.

And there are hundreds of more ideas floating around the internet, so give that search engine a whirl! But, after a while, if you’re still struggling to make space, it’s time to declutter, which brings me to my last point…

3. Get rid of stuff quickly

You do not need as much stuff as you think you do! Don’t be afraid to throw things away or give them away. I struggle with this a lot myself… It’s human nature. We are so prone to hold onto things because we fear what might happen if we get rid of it. But have you ever thought about it the other way around? What might happen if you hold onto something for too long?

Oftentimes, keeping an item past its usefulness costs us more than if we were to just get rid of it early on, because we use our resources—energy, brain-space, physical space, and even money—to maintain it. Just because you own something doesn’t mean it’s still free! Decluttering is extremely freeing, and the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Rather than occasionally doing big, one-time decluttering sessions, I like to keep a “donate” bin or basket that I can throw something into at any point. This helps me stay in a continual mindset of decluttering. Then, whenever it gets full, I give it away to friends or a donation center. I also like to use Poshmark, Mercari, or Facebook Marketplace to sell valuable items (I have found that it becomes worth it for items over about $20).

No matter who you are, a continually clean space is attainable. You don’t necessarily have to be a “clean” person at birth to achieve it. It just takes a few small habits. You don’t have to be perfect at them, and the more you do them, the easier they will be. I believe in you!

What other habits do you think are important for keeping your spaces tidy?