10 Ways to Instantly Make Your Home Look Tidy

If Swiffering your home is low on your priority list, or you don’t have a minute to spare, there are simple, easy actions you can take to whip your home into shape (look at that nice rhyme!). And why care about whipping your home into shape at all? For starters, your home is an extension of yourself, so when you take care of your home, you’re really taking care of yourself. Feathering the nest is about helping you feel your best. Here are some low-lift ways to transform your space:

1. Puff your pillows, fold your throws. Something about the sight of a tidy sofa with a folded throw makes me feel instantly at peace. After a late night TV session swaddled in a blanket, I just give the sofa pillows a good wack and neatly drape the throw just SO onto the sofa (as much as I want to throw it there). This whole fluffing and puffing takes literally less than a minute, but makes your home scream, “look at how NEAT I am!”

2. Declutter your entryway. The entryway is the very first thing you see upon entering your home, so it’s important to make this first impression count. If you’re confronted with a leaning tower of mail and a pile of shoes and coats, take a minute (truly a minute!) to put away things you’re not currently wearing, toss any grody masks, and recycle any junk mail (bonus points for using a mail tray to store mail!).

3. Declutter your bathroom countertops. It’s easy to let the toothpaste, mouthwash, night cream, floss, and all manner of lotions and potions take up residence on your beautiful bathroom counter. Clearing the clutter from your countertop is like giving your bathroom a spa makeover. See if you can corral some of these items onto a vanity tray, or your medicine cabinet. Decluttering this space is a low-lift exercise with incredibly high-impact results.

4. Spot treat mirror stains. A sparkling clean mirror not only allows you to look at your lovely reflection more easily, but it’s also excellent Feng Shui! Mirrors create clarity and open up your space. If your mirrors are covered in smudges and water stains, and you don’t want to play window washer for an hour, simply spot treat. Grab your window cleaner (mine is a spray bottle of equal parts cleaning vinegar and water), target the stains, then wipe clean with a rag. This won’t take longer than two minutes TOPS and your home will look instantly cleaner. Try it.

5. Vacuum up dust bunnies in corners. No time to hoover the whole home? Why not spot vacuum! The most visible of dust bunnies tend to lurk in the corners of your home, so grab your vacuum (the long attachment works best here) and hoover up those pesky grey fluff balls. Not only will your space be more free of allergens, but it will truly enliven your space. Which brings me to my next point:

6. Brighten up your baseboards. The oft-overlooked, lowly (literally) baseboard is begging for your attention! Baseboards love to collect dust, but are just as willing to let it go with some minimal care and attention. If your home is looking a little dusty and drab, grab your duster and run it along the baseboards. (Ideally you’d want to vacuum up the dust afterwards, but if you’re looking for a quick boost, you can tend to that later.) Tell me your home doesn’t look better after a baseboard dusting session!

7. Erase the wall smudgies. I’m not sure how wall smudges manage to materialize so easily in my home (am I sleep-walking/body slamming the walls at night?), but nevertheless, they mysteriously appear all over the house. Grab a Magic Eraser, wet it lightly under water, wring it out, then go on a Magic Erasing adventure. This scrub session takes less than a few minutes of your time, and it’s essentially a free paint job for your home.

8. Light the candle, trim the wick. Never underestimate the power of a chic-looking, divine-smelling candle to uplift your space. Light one in your entryway, or on your living room table. Aside from the immediate fragrant-boosting benefits of candles, they instantly impart it with hotel/spa vibes. A beautiful candle inspires you to treat your home with more care and respect. To keep the wick in tip top shape and prevent it from emitting dusty black smoke, I like to trim it with nail clippers or small scissors whenever I remember to.

9. Buy yourself flowers. Your coffee table might have some smudges on it, but if you put a vase of lilies on top of it, who’s paying attention? It’s impossible not to feel better when looking at a bouquet of your favorite kind of flowers. The mere sight of them might even inspire you to tidy up other parts of your home. Either way, a beautiful bouquet draws focus away from the unkempt parts of the home and only onto the pretty parts.

10. Make your bed! If you do nothing else on this list, do this one thing! Making your bed in the morning takes less than a minute and a half (provided you don’t have 80 throw pillows) and instantly transforms your space. Catching sight of a neatly made bed throughout your day reminds you that you’ve got your stuff together. It’s an easy self-esteem boost and all it takes is pulling the duvet up towards the headboard. You can even make the bed with you in it. Voila.