How to Create a Cozy Clean Home

Cozy Clean is my way of describing a home that feels peaceful, clean, inviting, yet still livable. If that’s the feeling you want for YOUR home, keep reading for 10 tips to help you quickly create your own cozy clean home!

When it comes to the look and feel of my home, I strive for “cozy clean” — or, by my definition: clean enough to feel restful and relaxing, but not SO clean that we can’t actually kick back and hang out without worrying about making another mess.

More Characteristics of A Cozy Clean Home:

• Clean enough without feeling sterile or cold.
• Relatively clutter-free without feeling bare or minimal.
• Welcoming to guests while still livable for our family.
• Restful yet still full of life and energy.
• It serves our family’s needs without feeling like a burden to maintain.
• A place kids can jump around on furniture and make blanket forts during the day, but that can be picked up and tidied quickly and easily before they go to bed.
• A place we’re eager to come home to!

In many ways, I feel we’ve achieved this balance within our home (most of the time). But it’s always a work in progress. 🥰

In my attempt to enjoy that cozy clean home feeling as much as possible, I’ve implemented various systems and routines that keep our home running smoothly without all that much time or effort.

Things like:

• Picking up before we leave a space.
• Getting the house “back to normal” before bed.
• Changing out the bathroom hand towels each night.
• Making sure my kids know where to put their dirty clothes.
• Keeping the kitchen counters clean.
• Making the beds.
• Decluttering excess on a regular basis

If you want that “cozy clean” feeling for your home, keep reading!

I’m confident these 10 tips to create a cozy clean home will positively impact how you feel about your home without massive amounts of extra work or stress.

Sound good?

Let’s go!

1. Trash the trash:

Visible trash is a huge downer on the cozy clean vibe, so I’m always on the lookout for it.

Clearing all visible trash (and recycling) is an extremely simple way to make quick progress and see instant improvements in your spaces without a lot of brain power or mental stress.

Even your kids can help out!

A Cozy Clean Approach to Trash:

• Walk through your home with a trash bag, filling it with any trash lying around.
• Empty smaller trash cans into this bag.
• Wash or wipe out trash cans as necessary.
• Bring the bag outside to the big trashcan so it’s completely out of your home.

2. Wash (or hide) dirty dishes:

A space cluttered with dirty dishes feels sloppy and uninviting (basically the opposite of “cozy clean”). And since dishes become dirty faster than anything else in our home, this is another area I like to stay on top of.

I have a few simple systems that help us manage dirty dishes with minimal effort.

1. Dishes go immediately into the dishwasher after every meal/snack.
2. I stack large pots or other non-dishwasher-safe items in the sink with a towel over them so they are out of sight.
3. We run the dishwasher EVERY night after dinner — even if it’s not completely full.
4. We wash anything that can’t fit in the dishwasher while the dishwasher runs.
5. The kids unload the dishwasher before they go to bed.
6. I make sure the kitchen is clean and clutter-free before we go to bed.

By following through with these steps we’re able to enjoy waking up to a clean and very cozy kitchen every morning!

A Cozy Clean Approach to Dishes:

To Start:

• Gather all the dirty dishes in your house and bring them to the kitchen.
• Load and run the dishwasher (or wash by hand).
• Put dishes away.

Moving forward:

• Decide on a time of day that works best for you to tackle the dishes and test it out for a week or so.
• Encourage all family members to bring any dirty dishes to the kitchen (make sure you do this too!)
• When you’re in a pinch, stack dirty dishes neatly in the sink and cover them with a clean towel… at least it will LOOK cozy clean!

3. Create a laundry routine:

Although it may sound a little 1950-ish, I have a set day/time for laundry each week… and it has made a world of difference in our home!

I don’t need to think about laundry at all, except during my 2 laundry times. And, best of all, we never have clothing lying around the house because the kids know where to put dirty clothing, and clean clothing is immediately folded, hung, and put away on the days I do laundry.

A Cozy Clean Approach to Laundry:

• Gather all the dirty laundry in your home into one location.
• Start a load and continue feeding the washer and dryer as you have time.
• Fold, hang, and put away clothing as it comes out of the dryer (if you don’t have time to put it away and finish the job, you shouldn’t continue washing and drying more loads).
• Designate a space (or 2) in your home for dirty laundry.
• Consider implementing a specific day or time for regularly doing laundry and vow to not think about it during the rest of the week!

4. Keep floors crumb-free:

I think we can all admit that walking barefoot on a floor covered with crumbs, dirt, dust, hair, etc. doesn’t exactly give off that cozy clean feeling… so while I rarely mop my floors, I do put forth the effort to keep them crumb-free!

For starters, we don’t wear shoes in the house and we rarely eat anywhere but in the kitchen or dining room.

I use a cordless vacuum on our hard floors multiple times per week and I vacuum the entire house (and shake out the rugs) on Monday mornings after the kids leave for school.

I use a Swiffer on our other hard floors and spot-clean any bigger messes as necessary throughout the week.

It only takes a few minutes each day, which I feel is worth it considering my children love to play games, read, and do crafts on the floor — and I don’t want to walk on crumbs all week!

A Cozy Clean Approach to Floors

• Shake out rugs (wash them if you can).
• Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum floors.
• Use a damp cloth to spot clean specific areas.
• Place clean rugs back in their places.
• Consider other areas of your home that could benefit from an extra rug to cozy it up a bit (I love these braided rugs!)

5. Make the beds:

I’ve been a stickler for “always making the beds, every single day” for as long as I can remember.

Truthfully, I can’t remember a single day in my entire life when I haven’t made the beds — even in college, even on vacation, even when I have a newborn.

A nicely made bed takes me 2 minutes, and it instantly creates that cozy clean feeling in our bedrooms. (Have I “sold” you on making your bed yet?)

With a nicely made bed as the focal point of your room, you might be inspired to cozy clean the rest of your bedroom as well…

A Cozy Clean Approach to Bedrooms:

• Make the beds… no excuses, friends! 😉
• Open the curtains.
• Pick up all clothing on the floor and put it away (in the closet or in the hamper)
• Neaten any flat surfaces (nightstand, dresser, etc.)
• Dump anything that doesn’t belong in that room into a box or clothes basket and put it away later.
• Dust, sweep, and/or vacuum if necessary.

6. Touch up bathrooms daily:

As much as I love the look and feel of a freshly cleaned bathroom, that’s just not a realistic goal for a home with 4 young children.

Instead of stressing over thoroughly cleaning our bathroom every day (or multiple times a day), I decided that a quick bathroom touch-up after the kids go to bed is sufficient for this season in my life.

It only takes me a few minutes per bathroom and it keeps them from getting too disgusting in between my more-thorough weekly cleans.

A Cozy Clean Approach to Bathrooms:

• Clear off countertops.
• Wipe down counters, sinks, and toilets.
• Replace the hand towels.
• Sweep if necessary.
• Empty trash if necessary.

7. Keep kitchen surfaces clear:

The kitchen is truly the heart of the home in so many ways — even if you don’t enjoy cooking, you likely spend more time in your kitchen than you realize.

When the kitchen is clean, cozy, and relatively clutter-free, it positively impacts how I feel about our entire home… can you relate?

The good news is… having a “cozy clean” kitchen is not necessarily about what’s inside your cabinets (don’t worry, this won’t be a massive week-long organizing project).

Instead, I encourage you to simply focus on the surfaces — counters, table, sink, appliances, etc. Keeping those spaces clean and clutter-free is much more than half the battle!

A Cozy Clean Approach to Kitchens:

• Dump everything that doesn’t belong on your counters and table into a large box or bin.
• Load the dishwasher or wash the dishes (see #2 above).
• Wipe down counters and tabletop.
• Scrub the sink.
• Wipe down large appliances (hello sticky fingerprints all over the fridge!)
• Light a candle and enjoy the scent while you work through the contents of your box.

8. Minimize toys:

Toys are tricky for many families because they are often gifts from friends and well-meaning relatives. But the truth is, too many toys just end up overwhelming our children, making it more difficult for them to play and be creative.

Time and time again, I’ve found that my children actually play better, nicer, and longer after I’ve removed a bunch of their toys — leaving only the favorites.

Sometimes they willingly help me declutter; other times, I do it while they’re at school and they NEVER notice!

We also make a point to keep 95% of our toys UPSTAIRS, away from our main living areas. That way, the kids can have fun making a big mess with their dolls, dress-up clothes, and legos, while I enjoy a visually calm, cozy, and clean atmosphere on the main floor.

A Cozy Clean Approach to Toys:

• Remove any toys your kids are willing to part with (even if they are new). There is no sense keeping toys they don’t want.
• Remove any toys YOU don’t want (too many pieces, too messy, always causing fights, etc.)
• Store these items in opaque garbage bags or tubs in the garage or basement (wait a few weeks to see if the kids notice they are gone).
• Create designated spaces for the rest of your toys — preferably NOT in your main living areas.
• Show your children where and how to put their toys away.
• Continually remove unused toys, books, and games (or anything that YOU don’t want them to have). I promise they will enjoy the toys they have more with fewer options!

9. Eliminate excess paper piles:

Despite my best and most diligent efforts to “go paperless” a constant stream of paperwork enters my home on a daily basis.

Mail, permission slips, artwork, school projects, homework, birthday cards, receipts, etc. etc.

It piles up quickly if I don’t stay on top of it… cluttering up my kitchen counters, my office desk, the dining room table, and almost any other flat surface (I know you can relate!)

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will always need to deal with paper… and thanks to a few simple systems, it no longer detracts from the cozy clean feeling in our home.

A Cozy Clean Approach to Paper:

• Collect all visible paper clutter from your entire home (kitchen, office, bedrooms, etc.) and put it into a box or bin
• Listen to your favorite podcast, an audiobook, or music while working through the bin (file, recycle, or take action on each item).

Moving Forward:

• Designate an area for incoming paperwork (The Sunday Basket is an excellent option)
• Put all paperwork in this space throughout the week.
• Set aside a specific time each week to go through the box/basket and deal with each item.
• Unsubscribe from magazines and newspapers you no longer want or need.
• Take steps to reduce the amount of junk mail you get.
• Create a Family Emergency Binder for all your important papers and information.

10. Declutter regularly:

I started with trash, because that’s probably the easiest (in my opinion).

I’m ending with clutter, because that’s probably the most challenging — mentally, emotionally, and even physically.

However, I truly feel that decluttering is an essential piece of a cozy clean home.

Don’t worry, it won’t be as bad as you think! 😊

A Cozy Clean Approach to Clutter:

• Pick one space to start (a main living area — not the guest bedroom closet!)
• Grab a clothes basket and fill it with any visible clutter (don’t worry about inside the cabinets and closets yet).
• Put items in the basket away (wherever they go in your home — or in the trash or donation pile).
• Repeat with remaining rooms and spaces as you have time and energy.

Moving Forward:

• Create a designate spot for items you want to sell and/or donate (an extra closet, behind the couch, etc.)
• As you work through the spaces in your home, honestly evaluate what you don’t need, use, or want… and move it OUT of your house!

Tour Our Home:

Our home is always a “work in progress” as we arrange and rearrange spaces to best fit our current needs (something I always encourage families to embrace).

However, if you’d like to see how I try to create “cozy clean” spaces in our home, you may use the links below to take a virtual tour of our home.

Bonus: most of the posts contain video content!

• The Den
• The Dining Room and Living Room
• Our Master Bedroom
• The Girls’ Bedroom
• The Boys’ Bedroom
• The Landing Area / Reading Nook (this has since changed)
• The Kitchen

Certainly, there is no “right way” to give your house a cozy clean vibe.

Maybe you’re more minimal, maybe your decorating style is more modern… or you don’t really have a decorating style! Maybe you need more function and practicality… or maybe you like things to be overly-decorated and full of character.

Instead of strict “rules” that define a cozy clean home, I encourage you to consider the characteristics I mentioned earlier in this post…

Characteristics of A Cozy Clean Home:

• Clean enough without feeling sterile or cold.
• Relatively clutter-free without feeling bare or minimal.
• Welcoming to guests while still livable for your family.
• Restful yet still full of life and energy.
• It serves your family’s needs without feeling like a burden to maintain.
• A place you’re eager to come home to!

Whatever that means to you… that’s how you can achieve a cozy clean feeling in YOUR home!