I recently discovered Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Checklists, which have helped me a great deal in terms of organizing the household chores.

Here’s Martha’s checklist for 6 Things To Do Every Day:

– Make the bed (“A crisply made bed makes the whole room seem more orderly”)

– Manage clutter (“Whenever you leave a room, take a quick look around for anything that isn’t where it should be”)

– Sort the mail (“Open, read, and sort mail as soon as you come inside”)

– Clean as you cook (“Wash [dishes] or put them in the dishwasher as you prepare a meal”)

– Wipe up spills while they’re fresh (“Almost anything is faster and easier to remove if you attend to it immediately”)

– Sweep the kitchen floor (“This will keep tough-to-clean dirt and grime from building up”)

I do actually do these things every day (well, except for sweeping the kitchen floor; I figure that’s what I have a dog for), and it does make life feel much more manageable. I can’t relax in a messy living space, and doing just these few things makes our apartment feel like a home.