Frugal Tip 28: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Earlier this year, I started posting a more in depth look at each of the frugal tips. Over the next few weeks I will publish the frugal tips that I have collected. Please note that not every tip will work for everyone. Chose as many of the tips that will work with you and your family and start implementing them. Today we will proceed with Tip #28 is keep your house clean and in order, less likely to misplace or forgot thing

Okay, so this is one area that I have trouble. In fact it is probably the most problematic for me. That being keeping my home office organized and clutter free. The problem is if your home is cluttered then probably so is your finances. We all must become more organized in all facets of our lives. To help us get a handle on this, lets take a look at some ideas that could help us become more organized. Again, as I have said in previous posts, the key is to actually apply these things to your lives.

1. Assign: When fixing up your room, you have to keep everything in the place where it belongs. This place should be known to you and others we occupy the place. When everything has a particular place, you can easily start moving your things.
   - Ezine Articles
   

   
   This is the first step. The Ezine Article that I referenced above is hard hitting and is clear that giving everything a home is the first step to get your home clutter free.
   
   
2. Along the same lines the same article suggests writing out a plan.
   

   Outline and plan: You will run into problems early on, if you do not take some time to think about how the room should look. If you start moving things, you may not know where to put certain things that occupy similar spaces. If you have a paper, quickly draw an outline of the things you want and where. This will allow you to fix up according to what you have planned.
   - Ezine Articles
   

   Much like a budget is our written plan for our finances. A written plan or outline can help us determine a place for everything in our homes. In this case each room would be the different categories of the plan. With closets and cabinets being the sub categories.
   
3. The next step is Time. Consumer Reports put it best when it said it this way:
   

   Many people find that a schedule lets them take control over housework, rather than the other way around. Start by making a list of cleaning tasks in your home. Then note how often each chore needs to be done--daily, weekly, monthly, or seasonally. Devise a schedule that spaces your daily chores evenly over the course of a week and your weekly chores evenly over the course of a month. Happily, few chores need to be done on a daily basis.
   - Consumer Reports
   

4. Throw It Away (or sell it)
   

   If you don't need or like something in your house, give it away, throw it away, or recycle it rather than clean it. The fewer things you have, the less clutter you have. And, of course, the less you have, the less there is to dust, polish, shine, vacuum, and otherwise take care of.
   - Consumer Reports
   

   Great advise. In fact I like what Dave Ramsey says. "Sell so much stuff the kids think they are next." The idea is to fold really. First you re decluttering and getting rid of things you don't need, second you are getting a handle on your finances. So why not start getting your house organized today?
   

--- go ahead share your thoughts with me now, my ears are open. I'm always eager to hear what you think. follow me on Twitter and facebook

---

---