Tips to Keep a Clean House: The Before Bed Pick Up

I can't stand the thought of going to bed with my house a disaster. Even if I am dog tired and just barely going, I still take the time to tidy things up before bed. That way the next morning I can wake up and jump right into my day!

When Aaron and I first married, I was just 20 years old, and still figuring out this whole "adult/wife" thing. I complained one afternoon to my Mom about how I hated having to get up in the mornings and face a dirty house. She gave me the best advice ever, and it isn't something new, and it isn't something that she just magically thought up on her own. And honestly, after she told me, I felt like a dunce for not thinking of it myself.

I call it the "Before Bed Pick Up."

I don't clean anything before I go to bed. I pick up. The natural cleaning products stay tucked away in the cabinet under the sink for this one - unless I have to pull them out. Basically all I do is do a clutter sweep through the whole house (we have a small house, so if you have a larger one, maybe just sweep through the main living areas), taking about 15 or 20 minutes, sometimes longer, depending on the mess, and clear it all away. Part of this "trick," if you want to call it that, is having a designated home or destination for everything in your house. Organization is the key to running a smooth home.

If Aaron has left his dirty clothes laying on the bedroom or bathroom floor, I grab them up and stick them in the dirty clothes basket. I don't complain or wake him up and tell him he should do it himself. He works so hard for me so that I can stay home and do what I love doing- being a wife- so if he wants to leave his dirty pants on the bedroom floor that's fine, I'll pick them up, no big deal. If there are shoes laying in the living room floor I put them in the shoe basket by the front door or in the one in our bedroom. I make sure the throw blankets in the living room are folded and put where they belong, be it over the back of the couch or in the cabinet. I straighten the pillows on the couch and put the remotes in the basket where we keep them. If there is anything out on the counter tops in the kitchen, it gets put away. I never leave dirty or clean dishes out overnight. If they're dirty, I wash them, dry them and put them away. If they've been sitting in the drainer I wipe them down and then put them away. I always start my mornings with empty sinks. (No dishwasher, alas)And I never, never leave things piled up on my kitchen table. Never.

I make sure there is no clutter on the dresser top or on the vanity in the bathroom. There's nothing quite like paddling into the bathroom at 3 in the morning and tripping over things or knocking things on the counter over when you go to wash your hands. I usually always sweep the bathroom floor before bed, just because ours tends to accumulate lots of stuff over the course of an afternoon. That floor attracts dirt, I swear.



You'd be surprised how helpful it is to do this every night. You wake up in the morning ready to hit at the heavy stuff, because you don't have to spend half your morning "picking up" from the night before. It helps my brain to unwind and not have to go to bed with the knowledge that my house is a flipping mess all around me. It only takes 15 minutes. That's nothing. So why aren't you doing it? Your house will thank you! 

So give it a shot tonight before bed! Do the 15 Minute Before Bed Pick Up and see how clean your house feels!