Clutter Control With 5 Minute Pick-Ups

Are you overwhelmed by the end of the day when your house looks like a tornado went through it? It is no fun to sit and relax, read a book, watch a movie, or check your email, when you know that there is a big mess waiting for you. Well, it isn’t fun for me…. some people can probably live with it! We try to manage our daily clutter with 5 minute pick-ups. If you do 7 to 10 of these a day your house will stay pretty organized.

Even if your children are young they can participate in the pick-ups. It is a great way to teach them how to clean up after themselves and doing it frequently throughout the day keeps messes to a minimum. I have always believed that young children get overwhelmed with huge messes. It is much easier for them to pick up a few things, than an entire room filled with toys, shoes, bedding, and clothes. Short frequent pick-ups eliminate giant messes (for the most part) and kids learn to maintain their space.
In our house, one or two people are assigned an area to clean up and they work quickly for a few minutes putting things away. If there is a larger mess we will often all work together, but it works well to send the kids off in pairs (if you have enough kids). If you have young children work with them to pick up their area. Make it fun, put on some music, and work together. They might have so much fun they won’t even know they are cleaning!
How do you control clutter throughout the day?