Well, here’s my trick – if you want to call it that. I am really good about keeping my main living areas picked up – Living/Dining Room. These are what you seen when you first walk in and give a sense of peace vs. chaos.

The kitchen is hit or miss, but I try to stay on top of that too. I have a little table in there that is always ‘staged’ so that adds to the disguise of clean. )

My office, well, I clean that up about once a week – but it is an office, stuff has to be out. I have very little closet space and plaster walls, so storage is a bit of a headache, although I’ve made the most of it for sure! I purchased Elpha (storage solution from The Container Store) for every closet in my house (pantry, linen, and the two ‘bedrooms’ – one used as an office) it has increased the efficiency of my closets tremendously, however, that isn’t enough in this house. So, for my office ‘stuff’ (bills, coupons, circulars, not to mention everything needed for the biz – Mom’s Originals) I got another system and attached it to one wall in the office and it has been a storage blessing! Elpha is expensive, but with family working there part time, I got a NICE discount. The systems are heavy duty but classy – not bulky and cheap looking, so having it in the middle of a wall doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb, it actually looks nice.

Think about your space, how can you add storage to ‘that corner’ or ‘under that table’, etc. Be creative and think outside the box!

As for the bathroom, well, it gets cleaned… but keeping things off the counters, shelves, etc. and having a couple decorative items (like a clear vase with color coordinating beads in place of a stack of tp) really helps add to that disguise I mentioned earlier.

The bedroom…well, that’s just a lost cause. I HATE putting my clothes away, end of story. I want to be better, but with NO room, I do what I can. I can walk around, it’s not terrible, but if asked, that would be the messiest room in my house. And of course, I’m my own worst critque.

The less you have out, the less you have to worry about. Doing a quick 10 min. pick up during the day will ensure that disguise. You don’t have to scrub the floors daily for you, your family, and your guests to feel clean.

Again, the things you see when you walk in, and the places you want to see clean can be done by just picking things up and removing unnecessary clutter.

Relaxation awaits!

Woah—maybe I should get into this blogging thing—who knew I had so much to say?! Ha ha I love it Amanda, keep ‘em coming!