We all have bad habits, but if you’re a homeowner your nasty habits could be taking a toll on your home. Here are ten ways you might be making a mess in your home, and stylish, design-savvy ways to change them!

1. You Pile Paper

From junk mail to reading material that you’re committed to getting through, piles of papers, books, and magazines can distract from your home’s decor. Instead of piling, make an effort to go through your mail every day, and then sort it, toss it or file it depending on what it needs. Install book and magazine racks where you tend to keep your piles so that reading material will always be on hand when you have time to catch up.

2. You Stay up too Late

Waiting until you’re half asleep before you head to bed means that you’re probably too tired to pick up after yourself. This leaves food, beverages, crumbs and other detritus just laying around. Not only could it bring pests into your home, no one likes to come downstairs to a mess in the morning. Instead, try going to bed before you fall asleep, 15 minutes before you usually do. This gives you time to clean up the evening’s activities and make sure everything is back in its place.

3. You’re a Condiment Collector

Everyone loves condiments, but keeping too many of them in your pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator can reduce your storage space and make it more likely that you’ll have spills or sticky messes to clean up. Try to keep track of what you have on hand and use up all the mustard before you buy more, or be sure to toss items once they’re past the best buy date.

4. Your Cleaning Products are Messy

Cleaning products can be toxic, and storing them improperly can make a huge mess out of your storage areas, even doing damage that has to be sometimes repaired! Store cleaning supplies in a plastic caddy and always make sure they are upright and not expired. If a spill has already done damage to your floors or the inside of your cabinets, have a renovation company like Alair Homes North Island take a look at the damage.

5. No Clothes Hangers in Sight

Piling clothes up at the end of the day is tempting, but with a beautifully designed closet, you won’t want to! Making sure there’s enough room for all your items, and tidying up at the end of the day will allow you to keep on top of the task, and it will never get out of hand.

6. You Keep Your Shoes on Inside

Keeping your shoes on in your home can bring damaging dirt and water onto your floors. It can also spread germs from outside into your house. Rather, try creating a storage solution close by the door to make sure shoes are put away neatly, and never in the way. You can also leave your slippers there too, so you always know where to find them when you get home.

7. Your Best Friend is a Couch Potato

We love our dogs, but letting them on your furniture can age the furniture much faster, due to their nails, natural oils and the fact that generally, dogs are pretty dirty. Try giving Fido his own decorative, but comfortable, place in the living room that matches your decor.

8. You Don’t Toss the Tea Bags

Leaving used tea bags on the counter or in the sink can stain your surfaces. Try placing a lidded container near where you brew your tea so that the bags can be easily tossed in, and hidden!

9. You’re a Confirmed Collector

Collecting is a great pastime, but many people don’t know when to say when and this can lead to a home that looks cluttered, and also doesn’t show off your collections as well as it could. Try culling your purchasing habit, and get rid of items that aren’t all that special.

10. Finish Up

It’s easy to get distracted when working on home projects, be they big or small, but whether it’s doing laundry, mopping the floor or refinishing the woodwork, make sure you go the final stretch and finish the job. A half-finished task often looks worse than a task that was never started.