Clean Sweep: Mum’s 40 minute trick to keeping family organised

Maintaining order in a busy house with kids is hard, but this Sydney mum has it down to a fine art, and all she needs is 40 minutes.

Welcome to Clean Sweep, news.com.au’s home organisation series featuring exclusive advice on how to declutter your home direct from Aussies who have spruced their way to success.

When Amira Youssef was in high school, she wanted to achieve the highest marks she possibly could.

To do this, she knew she needed to be thoroughly organised, so she co-ordinated her books and colour-coded her filing systems, in the same way as she highlighted her study notes.

Ten years on, Youssef, now 28, has transplanted this love of organisation into the home she shares in western Sydney with her husband and three children, aged 9, 8 and 3.

She said being thoroughly organised helps her maintain her sanity.

“We have such a busy week with the kids’ schedules and after school activities,” Amira said.

“As a mother, there’s a lot of stress and pressure to get everything done.

“If things weren’t organised and we didn’t have systems, then I think I’d have a meltdown every single morning.”

Amira organises everything from school lunch boxes to pantry cupboards. Picture: Instagram

According to Amira, if she didn’t pack her kid’s lunches the night before, pre-plan meals for the week or make sure the school uniforms were ironed, her anxiety levels would “skyrocket”.

“I wouldn’t be able to be the best version of myself for my kids,” she said.

“I’d just focus on the stresses and rushing rather than enjoying my time with them.”

AMIRA’S FAN FOLLOWING

Photos of her incredibly tidy home have won her a legion of followers on Instagram.

The young mum began dabbling with the social media platform many years ago, but never dreamt that one day her Dusk2illDawn account would amass over 34K fans.

She is now considered a legitimate influencer and is collaborating with some major Australian brands.

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KITCHEN AND PANTRY

It all started when she posted photos of her meticulously organised kitchen — but the busy mum is particularly proud of her pantry.

Amira explained she decided to carve out a space for her dry goods inside a random “closet, located between the kitchen and dining area”.

“One night my husband and I were having a chat and I said, as our family was growing, the number of groceries we had to store was increasing also,” she said.

“The existing pantry in the kitchen wasn’t working and I realised the closet would make an amazing walk-in pantry.”

Amira converted an old closet into an amazing walk-in pantry for her growing family. Picture: Instagram

It took an entire week to empty the closet, that had accumulated nine years worth of junk inside of it.

But now she says her new and improved pantry, with its array of beautifully labelled canisters, brings her so much joy that she rarely closes the door, just so she can look at it every time she walks past.

THE FRIDGE

Amira’s artfully arranged fridge has also inspired many of her followers to reorganise their own at home.

“We got a new fridge last year … before that we had a 10-year-old fridge that was leaking and had no freezer space,” she said.

Amira knew straight away that once the couple invested in a new fridge, she needed to create a system to keep everything ordered.

“I really wanted plenty of freezer space so I could make things in big batches to help with

meal planning,” she said.

“Grocery-wise, we can budget so much better now (because of it).”

She said her family had shifted to a more conscious approach to food storage, by using glass containers instead of plastic.

“We are not wasting nearly as much food and we’ve gone eco-friendly,” she said.

“It was originally a bit pricey, making the changeover from plastic to glass, but it’s been an amazing transition that is paying off.”

COFFEE STATION

Another source of pride in Amira’s kitchen is her custom tea and coffee station.

“This project had been on my mind for such a long time, ever since we bought our new coffee machine,” she said.

“The way we had it originally wasn’t working. It was becoming cluttered every time we bought new teas or coffees.”

One night, Amira decided to create a station by hand, and carefully measured the space before taking a trip to her local Bunnings.

“I bought wooden planks, measured to size, then painted them and assembled them to make a custom shelf,” she said.

Her Bunnings trips left her just $20 out of pocket.

Her next stop was Kmart, where she bought some jars for $3.50 a pair and a bamboo office organiser for $15 she thought would be “perfect for storing coffee pods”.

“The final addition was a cookie jar from Ikea,” she said.

All up, her homemade coffee station cost her just $50 and the final result received hundreds of likes and comments from her fans.

KIDS PLAYROOM

Amira said it’s not always easy to keep things tidy with three children under 10, though she’s doing her best to teach them to clean up after themselves.

“We’ve put in systems around their toys and the things they play with to make it easier for them to pack away when they are done,” she explained.

The family uses the popular Ikea Trofast system to store toys, though Amira admitted she made a couple of changes to it.

“I painted it and put handles on the actual tubs to make it easier for my young son to take them out and put them back in again,” she said.

“After he is finished playing with his cars, he is encouraged to put them away neatly.”

But Amira said, at the end of the day, “they are kids and I don’t like to overly pressure them.”

MAINTAIN A ROUTINE

Amira insisted that people don’t have to be cleaning their homes “24 hours a day” to have one like hers.

Again, it just comes down to keeping a routine (though she points out her system may not work for other families, and the key is finding a routine that works for you).

“Basically I just maintain the house from Monday to Friday, because the week is so busy,” she explained.

“I give myself a limit of 40-minutes tidying up after the kids go to bed, otherwise I miss out on my ‘me’ time, which is really important.”

She said she uses those 40-minutes at night to prepare things for the following day, “so the morning is easier”.

Amira spends 40-minutes a night prepping for the next morning. Picture: Instagram

WEEKEND WORK

When Saturday rolls around, Amira tackles to bigger jobs in her home.

“My deep clean day is Saturday. The house feels amazing by the end of it,” she said.

“Then Sunday is dedicated to family adventures.”

She said one of her main motivations behind organising her home was to create a happy place for her children to grow up in, like her mother did for her.

“Mum was my biggest role model growing up,” she said.

“Everything I do now as a mother, I look back at my childhood and I think, ‘Oh, mum was exactly the same.’ You appreciate it as you get older.”

Amira draws a lot of styling inspiration from her mother. Picture: Instagram

For Amira, her main focus was to create a space where her children felt happy and safe.

“The place they call ‘home’ is the one place they will feel safe, a place where we create our own special memories,” she said.

Amira said her number one priority in life was to create a safe, happy home for her children. Picture: Instagram

AMIRA’S TOP 4 ORGANISING TIPS

1# PLAN

The best tip Amira can offer anyone looking to reorganise their home is to figure out exactly what they want to achieve before they begin.

“How do you ultimately want to organise the space?” she asked.

“Take a piece of paper, look at the space and jot down your ideas.”

#2 DECLUTTER

Amira encouraged people to take advantage of free time to “get rid of the things you don’t use.”

“If you haven’t used it in a year, you’re probably not going to use it,” she said.

“Give it away to charity or family and friends. Be as minimal as possible.”

#3 CREATE A SYSTEM

According to Amira, nothing beats a good system.

“Work out what you need to make that system work,” she said.

“For example, if you’re going to use baskets in your wardrobe, how many baskets do you need?

“Be sure to measure the areas so you know exactly what size you are looking for.”

#4 TRIAL PERIOD

Once you’ve finished with your project, have a trial period, to see what works for you and your family.

“Make any little tweaks to your system during the trial period,” she said.

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