Do you come home every night ready to relax after a long day only to find a disorganized mess that instantly stresses you out? I know the feeling, and it is no fun.
When I come home after a crazy day at work or a busy Saturday of errands, it is so important to me that my house is organized. I’m not going to pretend that it’s always super tidy, but I really try my best because the state of our house has an instant effect on my mood when I walk in the door. I’ve found that I’m extremely unproductive when my house is stressing me out, and doing just a few simple things each morning really helps me keep things in order.
Before we dive in any further, let me be clear that this blog post is not about getting up super early and doing all sorts of deep cleaning. Incorporating these five habits into your morning routine will only take a few extra minutes, but they will have a tremendous impact on how calm and inviting your house feels when you get home later in the day.
If my house is a mess when I come home after a long day, my mood instantly worsens and all I want to do is put on sweatpants and curl up under a blanket for the rest of the night. But if my house feels tidy and inviting when I get home, I instantly feel relaxed and happy. To keep my house from stressing me out at the end of the day, I have developed five simple morning habits that help me feel so much more relaxed in the evenings.
Try incorporating these five morning habits into your routine to make your house feel more organized, happy and inviting when you walk through the front door every evening.
5 Morning Habits For A Happy, Inviting & Organized Home
1. Open your blinds and curtains to let natural light in
No matter the weather, open your blinds in the morning and let the light stream in. It is a great way to start off your day, and your house will feel much more serene and inviting when you walk back in the door after a long day.
2. Make your bed
An unmade bed will instantly make your entire bedroom look messy and disorganized. Take two minutes to make it each morning before you head out the door, and you will thank yourself when you get home later. It’s a quick and simple habit that will have a big impact on your happiness level.
3. Clean off your kitchen counters
Don’t let dishes pile up on the counter. Just don’t do it. Tackle your counters each morning by loading the dishwasher and putting food back in the cupboards. It’s okay to leave a small stack of pots and pans next to the sink if they require serious scrubbing, but clean the bulk of the mess every morning and make sure you wipe down the counters.
4. Wipe down the bathroom
Keep cleaning wipes and supplies handy in the bathroom so it’s super easy to give the sink, counters and mirror a quick once over. I prefer to clean everything with one hand while holding my hair dryer in the other. I don’t usually encourage multi-tasking, but this works really well and doesn’t cost any extra time.
5. Tidy up the main living areas
Use whatever precious minutes you have left before you have to run out the door to straighten things up. This doesn’t mean deep cleaning, rather simply putting things back where they belong. Focus on the living room and the first room you see when you walk in the door at night. You can tackle a lot in just a few minutes, and it will be so much cleaner when you get home later that evening. Clutter causes stress, so do your best to keep that clutter under control by cleaning it up for a few minutes every morning.
I know you’ve heard all five of these tips before, but they really do go a long way toward creating a happy, inviting and organized home. Incorporating these morning habits into your day doesn’t require you to get up at the crack of dawn, rather you need just a few extra minutes before your rush out the door.
Remember that forming new habits doesn’t happen overnight. It will take some practice to make them part of your morning routine, but you can do it and I know you’ll enjoy having a more organized home. To help myself stay on track with a new habit, I like to hang a habit tracker where it can serve as a visual reminder to myself every day. Download my free habit tracker printable and read my seven tips for forming a new habit in this post.
Please leave a comment and let everyone know what habit you’re going to work on this year, or what tips and tricks you have for keeping your home organized and inviting!
It is amazing how the little things can make all the difference! I’m a firm believer in opening the drapes—sunlight is the best medicine! jodie
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Hallelujah, Jodie! Opening the drapes and letting the sunlight in is just the best. Thanks for stopping by!
I love these, especially the simple idea of opening up the blinds to let in the light. For me, that really makes a difference in how awake I feel!
Opening the blinds make such a huge difference in my mood in the morning! I totally agree. Thanks for visiting!
I no longer work outside the home but it’s important for me to be able to do my work during my office hours at home. That means focusing on work, not on housework. Opening the curtains and making the bed are huge morning starters for me. (visiting from Welcome Home Wednesday)
Thanks for visiting, Julie! I can totally understand the need to have the blinds open and the bed made if you’re working at home. I don’t work from home, but imagine it would be difficult to focus on work when the house is really untidy.
Ugh this is me all the time. I love the way my home looks when I take the time to tidy everything up before I go to bed, and it’s even better when I wake up to bright light coming through the windows! Great post!
Isn’t it awesome to wake up to a tidy home and sunshine? The whole day seems better when I start my day off like that. Thank you so much for stopping by, Emily!
Great tips, Emily! I do almost all of these (the bathroom is the one area I neglect) and it does make such a big difference!
I love these ideas! I always have to have my blinds and curtains opened right when I wake up, it helps me get going. I am not great about making my bed daily. I have to have my kitchen picked up the night before so that I can start the day without clutter.
I’m right there with you on needing to open the blinds right away in the morning! It’s a great way to begin the day!
I do most of these but I still cannot get myself to make my bed!! Good thing our bedroom is upstairs 😉 The kitchen one – clean counters especially – is my favorite tip!
Another tip – if you can help it, never pause in doing your laundry or ever allow it to get to the couch! As much as I hate laundry, I’ve found that doing several small loads a few times a week is far easier than big loads! Its also so much easier to do when I only have a few things to put away. 🙂
Oh yes, laundry is a good thing to bring up! It’s so easy to let it pile up and leave it half-done all over the house. I like your suggestion to focus on smaller loads more often. My rule is that I always have to fold and put everything away as soon as it’s out of the dryer.
I completely agree with all of these, especially the making the bed! I was lazy today and for the first time in forever I didn’t make my bed. It drove me crazy when I got home so I made it for the 4 hours before I was going to jump right back in.
Love these ideas! I usually do the picking up and cleaning up at night because mornings around here can be chaos. Definitely makes me feel better!
I think it works best to find the time of day that works and then commit to doing those small tasks daily so things don’t spiral out of control. I imagine most of those that have young kids do the cleaning up at night once they go to bed since mornings are likely hectic. No matter what time of day, I know I always feel better doing those small things rather than letting things pile up for the weekend.