- [Terri] Is your garage a heaping mound of junk,
ready to topple over when you hit the garage opener?
Are there clothes all over your bedroom floor
and suitcases waiting to be unpacked
from the trip three weeks ago?
Has your kitchen counter become the designated spot
for purses, keys, homework, newspapers,
backpacks, and bills?
(uplifting music)
I'm Terri Savelle Foy, your cheerleader of dreams.
Let's talk about eight everyday habits
to keep your house clean and clutter free.
And I wanna ask you a favor, real quick
before we get started.
Would you help me a little this week
by letting me know if you're enjoying
these weekly videos by subscribing.
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and encouraging for you.
And when you subscribe, that's sorta
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So, if you don't mind,
push that little red arrow below right now.
And I wanna say, thank you so much for connecting with me.
It means the world to me.
I wanna mention real quick
This is the last week I'm offering my free book,
"Declutter Your Way to Success" for my subscribers.
I'll show you how to get started
organizing and decluttering.
How all of this is just preparation
for where God wants to take you.
Getting your home in order,
it's more important than you may even realize.
You know, it was my first directive
on my path to success, clean my house.
Can you believe that?
Well, right after I did, nine months later
I was promoted as the CEO of an international organization.
So I'll even show you how to cash in on your clutter.
You know, you could have thousands of dollars
just laying around from stuff that you don't even want.
You'll discover how to profit from your possessions.
So just get the book and get started.
Click the link in the description.
So, your home, it should reflect a place of comfort.
And comfort and clutter do not go hand in hand.
Now when you look around in your home,
how does it make you feel?
Do you feel embarrassed, overwhelmed, ashamed, stressed,
you know, a recent survey found discovered
that one third of respondents said they
avoid spending time at home
so they don't have to deal with their mess.
Well a mess has been defined as
"any disagreement between the way you desire things to be
"and the way they actually are."
So keep in mind, everyone's idea of
a clean, clutter free, and organized home
will be different.
And don't feel guilty about what you decide is
you know, the best for you.
The goal in this video is to create
order, peace, and new behavior patterns
that lead you to a more productive and rewarding life.
Now, why is it so important that we declutter
our lives and get organized?
Well, there's a wealth of reasons
including the connection between organization and success.
So to put it bluntly, clutter blocks success.
Now, I'm all about cheering you on to live your dream,
and giving you the keys to do it.
Well, believe it or not, getting organized
is part of your preparation for success.
You know, I was reading an article where a lady
was pouring her heart out to a professional organizer.
She said this phrase, she said,
"I feel like I could, you know,
"if I could just get rid of all the clutter,
"I could go on and do great things."
Without hesitation the organizer said,
"Maybe that's why you keep the clutter."
The lady was shocked, you know, and a little defensive.
Surely she wasn't insinuating that her
disorganization and clutter was some sort of
you know, internal excuse for underachieving in life.
Or maybe it was.
Now, I'm not saying that about you,
but I am saying, once your home feels in order,
then you do feel a sense of motivation
to go after your bigger goals.
See, when you don't have that nagging feeling
of needing to get that room cleaned up.
You feel free to go invest your time in your future.
But today, I wanna focus on how do you
maintain that order and organization.
Because that's where most of us fail.
You know, we can assign a few days
to deep clean, declutter, sort things
and then give it a few weeks,
and we go right back to where we started.
So we have to establish habits, routines and rituals
that we just automatically do.
So here are my eight everyday habits
to keep your house clean and clutter free.
Number one, put things back where they go immediately.
Now, keep in mind, everything needs a home, everything.
Your car keys, your cell phone, your mail,
your jackets, backpacks, school work,
purses, everything.
Now the reason things pile up is simply
because we don't have a designated spot for them.
The broken watch, the unopened mail,
the stacks of photos, the unused Christmas gifts,
the umbrellas.
You have to find a place for these things.
And again, you can't be vague or indecisive
about it because once you assign a place
for every single thing, then you have to determine to
put things where they go as soon as possible.
For example, as soon as you take your coat off
hang it right then in the coat closet.
As soon as you walk in the door, hang your keys
on the designated key hook.
As soon as you get the mail, put it in the box
or the bin labeled for mail.
Don't throw socks on the floor, or leave jeans on a chair,
or toss your shirt across the bed.
No, always put them where they belong immediately.
And when you do this over and over again,
you'll get it ingrained in you and you'll start
to feel weird if things aren't where they belong.
This helps you maintain a standard of excellence
in yourself and in your home.
Number two, make your bed everyday.
I know everyone says this but bare with me.
Just this simple action, right here
can effect your whole mood for the day.
It starts your day feeling productive
before you even leave the house.
You know, Admiral Bill McRaven,
a 36 year Navy Seal, he said this,
He said "If you want to change the world,
"start off by making your bed."
Now, here's why, he said,
"If you make your bed every morning
"you will have accomplished the first task of the day
"and it will give you a small sense of pride,
"and it will encourage you to do another task
"and another, and another."
So you can see from this, its not just about housekeeping.
It's about your personal standard,
your level of respect for yourself and your family.
It shows up in your surroundings.
In fact, your whole house will feel cleaner and put together
just by making your bed.
So start a new habit of never leaving your house
without the bed made.
Number three, load the dishwasher every night after dinner.
Think of cleaning up the dishes as just
part of the meal process.
It's not done until it's clean and put away.
And do it as soon as you finish dinner,
this way it's not nagging on you all evening
that you still need to go load the dishwasher
and clean the kitchen.
Now, getting this done makes the whole kitchen
feel clean and orderly.
And you will love waking up to a clean kitchen.
Number four, clear all counter tops.
You know, having a clear counter just makes
everything look clean and organized.
Again, the way you keep the countertops clean
is by designating a place for everything.
Let's go back to the keys, the mail, magazines, pursues.
You know, some items just don't need to be on the counters.
So look at your kitchen counters, your bathroom counters,
desk, night stands, what could be removed?
Do you really use that panini maker
(laughing)
enough to leave it out every single day, taking up space?
If you only use it once a week, then hide it.
Put it in the cabinet or in the pantry.
Do you really need that blender out all day every day
if it's only used on Saturday night,
when the family makes milkshakes?
Then hide it.
See, too much stuff on the counters makes
the whole area just look cluttered.
So could you put away laptops or binders,
instead of leaving it out on the desk?
Clean off bathroom countertops.
Use bins, baskets, or utensil trays
to organize your toiletries.
In fact, watch this video where I shared
25 ways to organize your home
by purchasing creative organizers from the Dollar Tree.
You're gonna love how streamlined
everything looks with those tips.
Now, while we're discussing having to clear
a bathroom counter, I'd also like to add
why not clean your sink every morning?
It just makes you feel organized and clean.
And the best way to make this a habit
is to get small bucket,
get your cleaning supplies and a brush,
and keep it right under your sink.
When you have to walk all the way to the laundry room,
or the kitchen to get the supplies, you'll put it off.
So do it right after you finish getting ready.
Number five, designate a spot and a day for laundry.
Now obviously, you need laundry baskets for dirty clothes
to be tossed, but here's the key.
It needs to be communicated with each family member.
(laughing)
That that's where it goes, right?
I still don't understand why, after 28 years of marriage,
my husband still drops his dirty clothes
in front of the laundry basket.
I will never comprehend that reasoning!
(laughing)
But you choose your battles, right?
I've learned just pick it up,
don't complain, and toss it in.
He does so many other wonderful things for me,
this is the one he may never change
and I've learned to adjust.
I don't understand it, but I've adjusted.
Anyway, in addition to having designated spots
for laundry to be stored, choose a day to do laundry.
Now, I learned this years ago, when I was stressed out
about everything in my life.
Working a full time job, being a youth pastor at the time,
raising a four year old, paying bills, doing laundry,
grocery shopping, dance and ballet classes for my daughter,
ministering to the youth, you can see I was overwhelmed.
I remember driving home, collecting the mail
from the mailbox, and feeling overwhelmed.
Thinking, oh my gosh, I need to pay the bills after dinner.
Then I walked into my daughter's bathroom and saw towels
on the floor and I thought, oh my gosh,
I need to do laundry.
Finally I learned: designate certain days to certain tasks.
For example, laundry is done every Saturday morning.
Bills are paid every Sunday night.
Grocery shopping is every Tuesday.
And so on!
Well this just freed me up and it alleviated so much stress
when I would pick up the dirty clothes off the floor
Wednesday night and think, don't stress about it!
Laundry is Saturday, so don't think about it on Wednesday.
Now some people recommend doing one load each day,
five days a week, so you're not overwhelmed with
doing it all in one day.
So do what works for you, but the easiest solution
is to make it a part of a routine.
Every night during dinner, start one load.
Do what works for you.
Number six is mail.
Now when it comes to organizing your mail,
put it all in one place.
As soon as you collect it, sort through the pile
and immediately throw away the junk.
Do it right then.
Don't leave it on the counter
to have to be dealt with later on.
Put only what you need in the box or bin labeled for mail.
23 percent of Americans don't pay their bills on time,
and pay late fees because they've lost the statement.
They don't know where their bills are.
Well, if all your bills go in one designated spot,
you'll never lose them again.
Then, decide a certain day you will pay the bills.
Put it on your calendar.
What is scheduled, it gets done.
So store your bills in one spot,
and designate one day to pay them each week.
Number seven, the do it now rule.
Here's what it is:
if you can finish something in less than two minutes,
then do it now.
When you take your clothes off at the end of the day,
complete the ritual by either putting them
in the dirty clothes hamper or hang them back up.
It's a one step process when you follow up immediately.
Otherwise, you throw them in the floor
or across a chair, only to be attended to another time.
Do it now!
Just get that ingrained.
You know, it's the same with the dishes.
Don't stack the dishes in the sink after dinner.
You're making it harder on yourself
by having to return to that chore
at a later time and tidy up.
Load plates in the dishwasher as soon as you finish dinner.
It's done!
So don't create extra steps for yourself
that only welcome that overwhelming feeling
of so much still to do, just do it now.
That's the same with the mail tip we gave in number six.
When you bring in the stack of mail from the mailbox,
immediately toss the junk mail in the trash can
and sort the bills to be placed in the spot meant for bills.
Don't store the junk mail only to be sorted through again.
Just do it now.
So this behavior will instantly reduce
clutter and stress from building up.
And number eight, the five minute tidy up.
Now before you go to bed for the night,
just do a quick walk through the main areas
and do your best to tidy things up.
So you wake up to a clean home.
Now the living room is called that for a reason.
We do most of our living in that space,
and although it's not difficult to get organized,
it can be a challenge to keep it organized.
So if your couch has a console,
then just get into the habit of putting newspapers,
remote controls, coasters, in that storage.
If you have cabinets, store blankets, pillows,
and games in a neat, hidden place.
Put the blankets away, fluff the pillows,
and go to bed.
Now let me stress again why this is so important.
One organizing expert says "clutter matters because it
"takes up space not just in your surroundings
"but in your head.
"Of the two," she said "the psychological effect
"of clutter is the most important."
The mood, the atmosphere, the emotional state
changes instantly.
So the organization of your surroundings reflects
the organization in your life.
Where there's clutter in your home,
there will be a degree of clutter in you.
So I want to help you so much more
by giving you my book, Declutter Your Way To Success
absolutely free this week.
All you have to is you pay the shipping
and I will send it right to your house.
So click the link in the description
to access your free book today.
I hope this helped you, and I want to say
thank you again for subscribing,
I truly appreciate it and remember,
I'm cheering you on to live your dreams.
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