9 Old-Fashioned Habits That Secretly Keep Your Home Clutter-Free

Memories of my grandmother’s home flood my mind as I recall a place that was reliably neat and tidy, even as a child who spent a considerable amount of time there. Without making any claims that my grandparents were particular neat-freaks, I think it’s fair to say they had a typical home for their generation—and one that stands in stark contrast to many homes I’ve seen today.

What’s changed

For one, the past few generations have adopted a more carefree approach to housekeeping, deciding it’s worth trading some clutter for a bit more leisure and fun. But I think there’s more to the story than that.

We’re also a far busier bunch than past generations. Not much leisure or fun to be found.

We’ve also pared down our cleaning rituals to the bare minimum. It used to be the case that households underwent a yearly spring cleaning, and that cabinets and bookshelves were routinely wiped clean. Now, those things remain wiped only of the memories of the hands that still hold them.

In our pursuit of more—more stuff, more activity, more opportunities—we’ve squeezed out some of the old-fashioned rituals that made life possible. It’s possible that we’ve gone a bit too far down that road.

Don’t get me wrong, I think there are seasons of life where we knowingly accept a little more clutter, because there are more important things to do. But for far too many people, this has become a way of life from which they can never break free.

I’d like to share a few simple cleaning rituals from past generations, and encourage us all to bring some of them back. If you live in a home with other people, the key is to break down the walls between cleaning and your ordinary routines, so that one is just an extension of the other.

Use It, Put It Back

My wife and I go back and forth with our kids about this seemingly obvious rule. If you take out a board game to play, then when you’re done, put it away. If you take out your violin to practice, when you’re done, put it away. I think this rule can be applied not just to kids, but adults, too. When we take out the tape measure, a snack, or a book, they don’t need to sit out for the rest of the day.

Complete the Job

This is a similar rule to the one above, but applies to entire tasks instead of single items. How many times do you leave the job 99% done? You might, for example, clear the table but not wipe it down. Or wash the bath towels, but not fold them and put them away. Or get the mail but not open it or go through it. There’s an old-fashioned wisdom in deciding that a job is not done until it’s 100% done.

Trim Belongings Annually

Spring cleaning was a ritual that every family used to participate in. It wasn’t just about cleaning every nook, cranny, and surface of your home, but a chance to take stock of your belongings and thin out anything that you didn’t need. After all, if you didn’t use it in the previous year, would you need it in the next? This mentality of keeping your home light and nimble is one that helps make those daily tidying jobs far easier.

Wipe Down Surfaces

Back in the day, you could regularly see people cleaning the front porches of their homes, or wiping down the surfaces of their stoves, refrigerators, shelves, and counters. I don’t see this as much anymore. Of course, stains and crumbs probably still get wiped up, but not with the regularity that prevented grime from developing in the first place. When you make wiping surfaces a regular task, your house stays looking nearly spotless, with minimal effort.

Wash the Dishes by Hand

While I’m certainly thankful for modern conveniences like the dishwasher, I do think it’s come with some unexpected consequences. I’ve noticed, for example, that it’s common for today’s kitchens to have dishes piled up in the sink, on the counter beside the sink, and even in the dishwasher, waiting to be cleaned. I get the sense that in the past, because washing and drying dishes was just part of the family ritual after a meal, that the sink was probably more likely to remain empty. Maybe this is an old-fashioned habit worth bringing back, at least on occasion?

Make Your Bed

If you’ve ever spent the night at another family’s home, you’ve probably noticed that some people make their bed everyday, and others don’t. It’s not too hard to guess which homes are the tidiest. Little rituals like making your bed in the morning, or putting your clothes in the hamper at night, are what separate a clean bedroom from one that feels a little chaotic. These little acts don’t take more than a minute or two, but over time, they build up into a spirit of strong habits and self-discipline.

Wash and Fold Laundry Daily

It used to be that families were larger than they are today, but homes were certainly no larger. In fact, it’s not unusual today for a washing machine to reside on the main floor of the home, whereas in the past, it was more common for it to be banished to the basement. Washing machines are louder, with longer cycles than a typical dishwasher, and so they certainly take up more space. For this reason, families used to keep the amount of dirty clothes in the house to a minimum, by regularly washing them and putting them away. That’s a good rule for keeping any clutter in your home under control—don’t just find ways to move it to new places, make sure you’re regularly dealing with the source.

Bake It Away

This is a rule my wife and I adopted many years ago, as a way to keep our kitchen and eating area tidy. If we use a dish or pan, or make any kind of mess while cooking, we try to get that cleaned up as soon as possible, ideally before sitting down to eat. That way, when the meal is done, there’s only one last round of dishes to clean up. It’s easy to let this kind of clutter accumulate throughout the day, so we like to keep it under control with regular maintenance.

Use Your Broom

There’s a reason that you picture witches with brooms—it’s because brooms represented a kind of practical magic. Instead of waiting until crumbs and dirt build up on your floor, or trying to manage the hassle of pulling out the big vacuum cleaner, brooms allow you to quickly sweep up a mess before it becomes a bigger problem. They are a powerful symbol of what it’s like to keep a house neat and tidy, a little bit at a time.

In The Battle Against Clutter, Don’t Forget the Old Ways

Maybe it’s old-fashioned of me, but I think we solve too many of our problems today with money. Instead of living with a little clutter, we rent a storage unit, or buy another piece of furniture. Instead of embracing the beauty of the world that naturally fades and tarnishes and wears out, we buy new things more frequently, or don’t use the nice things that we have.

Is there room in your life for less, instead of more? Maybe, instead of rushing out to spend money, you can adopt some of these old habits that have become less common. While money can buy some convenience and comfort, adding money to your life rarely makes it simpler. But old-fashioned values and practice—the kind that worked for your grandparents—still have a part to play in making life better today.