5 things that people with tidy homes always have – these essential products and routines helped me realise the organised home of my dreams
I've spent the last year asking my friends and family for their must-have tips (and products)
I am not a naturally tidy person, and I'm always curious (and low-key impressed) how my family and friends manage to maintain a seemingly effortless tidy home.
My New Year's Resolution for 2025 was to become one of these people who always have a tidy home, filled with just the right amount of storage and organisation.
1. A robot vacuum
Buying one of the best robot vacuums transformed the way I clean my home. I put it on in the morning, while working from home, and every floor is clean by the time I have my 11 am coffee.
An added benefit of the robot hoover is that it means I have to keep my floors clutter-free – or the hoover gets trapped between objects and starts beeping angrily until the obstacle is cleared. A quick check that every floor is clear before I go to bed, and I'm good to go in the morning.
And while I'd always suggest paying a little extra for a high-quality robot vacuum with impressive suction power and obstacle avoidance for the best clean you can get, it's still possible to find an affordable robot vacuum like the eufy G50 Robot Vacuum Cleaner (now £99 at Amazon) that'll still get the job done.
Crowned our best robot vacuum for mopping, this model features dual rotating mop pads, making it ideal for homes that have predominantly hard floors. The app also allows high levels of customisation, so you can automate lots of the process. You can read our full review for more details.
This Eufy robot vacuum is the best we've tested, and so far, we've yet to find another model to top it. It offers an impressive 20,000Pa of suction power and has rotating rollers to successfully mop any floors. It's an investment, but a 5-star one - which you can read more about here.
This Dyson robot vacuum is great for suction-only functionality. It offers 22,000Pa and automatically adapts suction power to the amount of debris present. It's a little older than some of the other models we've tested, but that means it's heavily discounted. You can read our review here.
2. A home for coats and bags
Coats on the bannister is a pet peeve of mine – the pile gets higher and higher, and you can't find the coat you're looking for. Plus, it looks messy when you open the door. Despite disliking it, this doesn't stop me from dumping my coat there when I come in.
Talking to family and friends, I realised that my hated habit is rooted in the fact that there is nowhere else to store my coat – except for the wardrobe upstairs, which, to be realistic, I am never going to do as soon as I get home.
Instead, I started looking for solutions. The beautiful hat stands – like this one from Amazon – seemed perfect, but there is no place in my small hallway for furniture. Instead, I started looking at other options and realised that I could tuck a coat rack behind our living room door. It's invisible when the door is open (which is most of the time) and provides more than enough space for our daily coats and shoes.
With space for eight coats and six pairs of shoes as well as a bench, this is a great option for many different styles of home. I love the industrial rustic-looking wood and metal frame.
Simple and understated, this white coat hook offers an ideal alternative to hanging coats on the bannister, giving them a dedicated spot in the house. Just be sure to empty it every so often so it doesn't end up overwhelmed.
If you have a home for your coats – maybe hooks on the wall – this unit is the perfect partner, providing a spot for shoes and bags. The slanted shoe storage offers a more compact alternative to bench-style set-ups and could work perfectly in spots where space is tight.
3. Clear the kitchen island
Whether you have a kitchen island or, like me, have a kitchen table, it will inevitably become a dumping ground. Even if you are good at keeping your worktops clutter-free and have decluttered unnecessary kitchen appliances and tools, a messy island or table will become the focus of attention.
When learning how to organise a kitchen island, I fell on the idea of a catch-all tray. Placing a beautiful tray in the centre of the table (with tall sides) provides a spot for me to put the things that I would usually just dump on the table. Plus, it looks like a decorative choice rather than a practical one.
To keep things looking tidy, I have made a rule: if it doesn't fit in the tray, it has to go away.
An added benefit of this system is that I can easily move the tray when it's time for dinner, so I can focus my time on keeping the rest of the kitchen tidy rather than battling the table.
This pretty wooden tray fits the trend for mango wood pieces in the kitchen and has relatively high sides to disguise anything you hide in it.
With a diameter of 34cm and 6.5cm tall sides, this rattan tray would be ideal for the centre of a table or island. It is also highly durable and ethically made – ideal for those prioritising sustainable living.
If you don't like the look of an open tray, a organiser box brings all the same benefits but can be covered over when you don't want everything on display.
4. Embrace the junk drawer
I have spent so much time trying to clear out the junk drawer and find different homes for all the bits and pieces that gather there. However, often these odds and ends just ended up cluttering my worktops, tables and other drawers.
Instead, I realised I needed to embrace the existence of this cluttered space and figure out how to organise a junk drawer.
Armed with boxes and a label maker from Amazon, I spent an afternoon organising all my rechargeable batteries – putting them in these Amazon boxes so I knew which were charged and which were not – and decluttering my cable collection.
While this is designed for travel, the cable organiser would also be great at home, keeping all your essentials in order. It also stops you from hoarding too many of the same cable.
Another thing that always ends up in the junk drawer are blister packs of painkillers, spare plasters and blister plasters. Keeping them in a single bag – rather than loose – both keeps them clean and easy to find.
This set of felt baskets is perfect for smaller items and, in a natural felt material, merges style and practicality in one.
5. Regularly declutter
I have found that following the best decluttering methods is essential if you want to keep a tidy home. I used to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of decluttering; however, a few small additions have made micro-decluttering part of my daily life.
Adopting the same strategy as Ideal Home’s Deputy Digital Editor, Rebecca Knight, I added one of these £5 KUGGIS baskets from IKEA to the bottom of my wardrobe. It's the perfect place to put things that I don't want and have uploaded to eBay and Vinted. It frees up space in my wardrobe, and I can easily find the item I need when it comes time to pack and post.
And while I love an accent chair, I removed the one in my bedroom – putting an end to the dreaded chairdrobe, forcing us to put away our clothes at the end of the day.
Continuing my decluttering journey, this weekend I am going to make a start on decluttering these easy things that should be cleared out before the new year.
This book is full of quick and easy top tips for decluttering and organising your home, helping you to set up systems that work for every type of personality.
With two compartments, this laundry basket is perfect for sorting out your washing. However, it could also be used to organise your unwanted clothes. One section for things to sell on Vinted, the other half for things to take to the charity shop or recycle.
I love the look of these bedding organisers, they would make the cluttered laundry cupboard much more manageable – especially after a declutter.
Will you be adopting any of my new tried and tested methods to get your home looking neat and tidy in the new year?
