1. Throw It Out

Was your ex a hoarder? Or is your home full of clutter simply because you don’t have the time to sort it all? Regardless of the reason, it is time to throw it out! Have a good look around your home. Take one room at the time and allocate no more than one hour per room. Get yourself a large black plastic bag, two boxes and be ruthless! If you have not looked at it, worn it, used it or admired it in the last six months, get rid of it!

There are three ways you can get rid of things:

Bin It: Grab your rubbish bags
Do it the night before your weekly rubbish collection and you won’t have time for second thoughts! You’ll also feel refreshed when you see your bin empty the next day!

Sell It: Put it in a Box
Get onto this quick smart. Remember, the sooner you put your items on www.eBay.com.au or www.gumtree.com.au, the sooner you have cash in your hands!

Give it away: Mark them as 'Gifts'
I put everything that I want to give away into a box marked ‘gifts’. I put it away in a cupboard and pull it out every November, ready to give the ‘gifts’ to either family, friends, the Kmart wishing tree or the Salvos. 

2. Put it Away

My grandmother had a wonderful saying: ”Don't put it down, put it away!” Teach it to your children. It works. If every time they're about to drop something on the floor, they instead put it away in to the laundry basket, put it away into a drawer, put it away in their school bag, put it away in the dishwasher... your life will be immeasurably easier and tidier.

3. Keep it Clean

Once you've created some order in your home, the trick is then to keep it clean. Before you go to bed at night, make sure you kitchen sink is clean, wiped down and shiny. Put some toilet cleaner in the toilet bowl overnight. A few little tricks the night before, help you wake up feeling more ordered and in control in the morning.

In the morning, always make your bed as soon as you get out of it. Get your children to do the same. It will encourage their sense of responsibility and order. Wipe the bathroom sink down after everyone has washed their teeth. If you leave an ordered house, you come home to a calmer house at night.

Vicki Morrison is the founder of Mothers Moving Forward and is passionately committed to improving the welfare of single mothers and their children. She is also the author of the internationally successful children’s picture book, So Shy, published in eight languages and a contributor to a book of inspiring stories, alongside Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer and Neale Donald Walsch, called ‘In the Spirit of Success’.