We all know cleaning and staying organized can be a painstaking process. Laundry seems never-ending, the mail is easy to throw on a table and forget about, dishes can get backed up after a family party. Here are just a few ways that I like to help make cleaning and organizing just a little easier.

• Make digital copies of all of your photos.

Photo albums can take up a lot of space and can be hard to keep organized. While it may take some time, scanning your photos and storing them on a flash drive can really help keep your photos organized. Categorize them by date or event and make it easier for you to give great photo memory gifts to family and friends.

• Organize your cleaning products by room.

Find a small tub that can fit your cleaning products. Put one tub full of cleaning products per room. For instance, I keep one bucket in my kitchen, one in both bathrooms, and one in the living room. The products to clean are designed for furniture and items in that room. This can be a helpful way to ensure that you’re not using the wrong cleaning products that may damage your furniture. It’s also great not to have to run back and forth from one room to another or having to make multiple trips.

• Make a letter basket.

I like to have a basket for important mail that will need my attention within a week, separate from less important mail. This keeps me from having to sort through a bunch of letters. Important things then get filed into the filing cabinet, and junk mail gets thrown away immediately.

• Vacuum-seal your seasonal clothes.

Stores like Walmart and Target sell vacuum-seal clothing bags that you can use for this task. When the summer ends, clean and store all of your summer clothes in a bag and seal it. Do the same when winter ends, and you’ll find your closet to be much more spacious. These bags can hold a decent amount of clothes and be stored away at the top of your closet or under your bed.

• Car storage.

A milk crate would work perfectly for storing your vehicle safety items. While most vehicles have storage for your tire iron, jack stand, and spare tire, where do you keep your jumper cables and first aid kit? Store these in the milk crate along with some shopping bags, paper towels, carpet cleaning, a scrubbing brush, and air freshener. It’s perfect for someone with car sickness or children and pets! You can also store one in your back seat with glass cleaner, dusting wipes, and other car basics. It’s also important to carry a blanket and a case of water in the trunk, especially if you live in a very snowy area.

• Dedicate one day a week to cleaning.

Cleaning can be a difficult task to keep up with. Picking one day a week to do it can help make sure you get your errands done. I like to dedicate Sundays to cleaning and running errands. For me, this means getting groceries, changing litter pans, sweeping, mopping, and dusting. When you keep up with the cleaning tasks by dedicating one day a week, it takes less time than it would if things got backed up, and you had to do a deeper clean.