The importance of an organised home
The Real Reason Your Home Is Making You Less Productive
You’ve just wrapped up a long day. You walk through the front door, or shut your laptop if you’re already at home, ready to switch off… and instead you’re greeted by a pile of laundry (it’s never ending!), a kitchen that needs sorting and reminders of a whole host of other stuff you have to deal with.
The state of your home isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s directly affecting how well you work, how clearly you think and how easily you switch off at the end of the day. I’ve been talking about this for years, but it’s well backed up by research too.
In my last blog post I shared five strategies for achieving a better work/life balance, and I mentioned briefly the importance of your work environment (read the full article here). Whereas in this article, I want to explore your home environment.
By cultivating an environment that nurtures order and efficiency, you can lay the groundwork for enhanced productivity, reduced stress and ultimately, a more fulfilling life.
I previously shared some thoughts on home organisation on my Instagram (see photo above), and Holly Tucker agreed with me that before jumping into systems and solutions for work, the first place to start is your home.
“With my home life in order, it certainly makes my work life less stressful.”
Does a Cluttered Home Really Affect Your Productivity?
Yes. Visual clutter drains cognitive resources, raises cortisol levels, and makes it harder to focus, rest and make good decisions.
“Cluttered spaces can have negative effects on our stress and anxiety levels, as well as our ability to focus, our eating choices, and even our sleep.” - Libby Sanders, Harvard Business Review
Removing clutter from your environment can lead to a sense of calm and reduced stress levels as a tidy space promotes relaxation and mental clarity. It’s. been scientifically shown that ‘constant visual reminders of disorganisation drain our cognitive resources’ (source) and that when we clear the clutter we are able to focus better.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly feel better when my home is clean and clear rather than cluttered and chaotic! And I do better at work when my desk and office space are organised and tidy. Let me know in the comments what your preference is.
Where Do You Start When Organising Your Home?
Start by decluttering before you organise, and tackle rooms you use every day first so you feel the benefit immediately.
This is one of the biggest mistakes people make: they buy a load of storage boxes and start organising before they've cleared out what doesn't belong. You end up with beautifully organised clutter.
STEP 1: declutter
The first step before you begin organising, is to declutter. There are so many different approaches to decluttering, and it might feel overwhelming to get started. Experiment and see what works best for you… e.g. little and often, or carve out a day to blitz a few rooms. It might be tempting to start with a room that doesn’t get used often, like a guest bedroom perhaps, but you want to be able to notice and appreciate the impact you’re making - especially at the start - so I’d target instead a room that you do use. I’ve written a few posts on decluttering before, so you can hit up my blog archive here.
step 2: Assign your belongings a home
This is a principle I come back to again and again. Every item in your house should have a designated place it belongs. This makes tidying faster, finding things easier and cleaning far less of a faff. The statistics on time wasted searching for misplaced items are genuinely startling. (And let's not mention the money spent replacing things you couldn't find.)
step 3: build Simple home systems
You probably already use systems and workflows in your business. The same logic applies at home. A laundry workflow, a meal prep routine, subscriptions set up to auto-deliver household essentials. These are small decisions made once that save you repeated thinking. I have my pet food, cleaning products and a few other regulars on subscription. One less thing to remember.
What Are the Best Home Organisation Habits for Busy Founders?
The most effective habits are simple, repeatable and reduce daily decision-making rather than adding to it.
Here are the ones that make the biggest difference:
The "one in, one out" rule — before something new comes in, something goes out. It keeps the baseline manageable.
A Sunday reset — 30 minutes at the end of the week to reset the home, prep for the week ahead and start Monday with a clear environment.
Designated drop zones — keys, bags, post, shoes. Everything has a home.
Automation where you can — subscriptions, recurring orders, calendar reminders for things like changing batteries or deep-cleaning the fridge.
None of this needs to be complicated or expensive. Often the most effective home systems are the simplest ones.
Does Home Organisation Actually Improve Focus and Productivity?
Yes. Reducing visual clutter frees up cognitive bandwidth, making it easier to concentrate, rest and show up with more energy for work.
This is where the personal and professional intersect. If you're a founder, a consultant or running a business from home — even part of the time — your home environment is part of your work environment. The lines have blurred, and that means what happens in your home affects your business performance more than you might think.
I have a clear desk policy and always have done. My home office is the one room that gets the most attention. But over the years I've also learned that it's not just the workspace that matters. When the rest of the house is in order, I arrive at my desk feeling ready. When it's not, I arrive distracted.
The two are connected.
Ready to Take This Further?
If you're a business owner who knows your time is precious and you're tired of wasting it on things that could run more smoothly, my free personalised mini-course is a brilliant place to start.
And if you want to look at the bigger picture of how you're managing your time across work and life, the Get More Time course takes you through the full framework.
Because you deserve a life that works — not just a business that does.
FAQ
Does decluttering actually reduce stress? Yes. Research consistently links reduced clutter to lower cortisol levels, improved sleep, and better focus. The physical act of clearing space also creates a sense of control and calm.
How long does it take to organise a home? There's no fixed timeline. Starting with 20 minutes a day in rooms you use regularly is more sustainable than one overwhelming clear-out. Consistency matters more than speed.
What's the first thing to organise at home? Start with the room you spend the most time in. The kitchen or your main living space are good choices because you'll notice the difference immediately, which keeps motivation high.
Can home organisation improve sleep? Yes. A clear, calm bedroom environment signals to your nervous system that it's safe to rest. Visual clutter keeps the brain in a low-level state of alertness, which interferes with sleep quality.