Two big garbage bags of toys just left my home. A man came and whisked them away in some sort of fabulous reverse Santa Claus moment. They were the toys that my eldest had chosen to give away as part of my family’s new “Pick 10″ commitment.

Now, I’m not one to say no to domestic help. That said, I really only hire people to clean my home about once a month for the deep clean benefits. The rest of the time I’m on my own.

I’m not Martha. My living room is not always perfect (the peak messy hour is 10 AM) but it is rarely out of control. A clean home makes all the difference in the world. You know how peaceful you feel when your home is organized vs. when it looks like a thrift store vomited all over it.

Here are Five Tips for Maintaining Domestic Order:

1. Set Limits! Pay attention to how much stuff you own. You don’t need two mini-strollers for your child’s dolls. Give one away. 15 sippy cups? Toss out 11.

2. Give everything a predetermined home. Almost every item in my home has a place of its own. This makes cleaning easy. Different toys have special places where they “rest.” The broom has a place it lives. Books have a spot to hang. My diaper bag has it’s own joint. You get it?

3. Getting control of dishes. Back to tip #1. If you hate washing dishes or notice they pile up quickly, put a cap on how many you own. A family of 4 doesn’t need 86 plates or 20 cups. Bonus points if you take the excess to a deserted area and take them out Duck Hunt style.

4. Make a plan. Do big tasks on the same day of the week. Make Monday floors day. Tuesday can be for the bathrooms. Then have a short routine that you do every night. Mine is: sweep kitchen, wipe down counters, and pick up the living room. Easy!

5. Laundry. To prevent laundry from taking over your life, do a load a day and then put it away immediately.

No one is asking you to be perfect but these five simple steps have the potential to completely change how you feel about your living space.

We say we want to change the world and make a difference. It essential to gain mastery over one’s self and space as a part of making the world better. What you can’t do for yourself you can never do for someone else.

Take back your home.

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