HOW TO HAVE A CLEAN HOUSE EVEN WHEN YOU FEEL OVERWHELMED IN 10 STEPS

Starting the week feeling overwhelmed? Don't miss these simple tips to help you have a clean house so you can breathe even when you feel overwhelmed.

Have you ever started your week already feeling behind and overwhelmed with a less-than-clean house?

I have.

When I start the week with toys on the floor, dishes in the sink, papers in piles everywhere, and tripping over the overflowing laundry basket, it doesn't go well. It's like waking up on Monday morning and realizing you are out of coffee {tea, lemons, or whatever gets you moving in the morning}.

It didn't take me long to realize that was a HUGE mistake. Something had to change and it needed to change quickly.

While this wasn't a huge deal before I had kids, or even when I had just one child, the more children we have added to our family, the more stressful it has become. When I have to fix breakfast for four little hungry mouths who wake up starving as they have never eaten before in their lives, I have to bring my A game. This can not include leftover dishes in the sink, piles on the counter, or dirty sippy cups. That's also why I started implementing these 8 things in the morning and having a Reset Day.

How Clean Is Your House?

You might find this bizarre, I actually do, but while I am a perfectionist through and through, I have seemed to have lost my knack for organizing since having children. Maybe it's because they are so young? Because they are 19 months apart, 18 months apart, and 23 months apart? Once I actually felt “normal” and got into a routine, morning sickness would hit. I was back to square one. Every.single.time. without fail.

Being home all the time means our house is lived in. Depending on what is going on that week will determine what the house looks like and if it's a clean house. If the kids and sick and I feel it coming on or I have lots of deadlines in one week, the house has toys strewn throughout, laundry is overflowing, dishes are piling up by the sink and the dishwasher needs to be emptied. Maybe that's every week.

One thing I have started implementing each week for my sanity is having a Reset Day. Some weeks it's only the downstairs, but on the good weeks, it's the whole house. I LOVE reset days. Those are the days when everything goes back to its home. Toys are put away and organized correctly in their bins. Books are lined up on the bookshelves instead of in piles. The sink is shining, dishes are put away, and the countertops are empty.

Reset day means you'll have a clean house.

Those are the days I can breathe.

The clean house may not last long, but it's worth it.

If you're like us, your “weekend” isn't Saturday and Sunday. That's okay! You choose what days you want to accomplish your goals. Maybe it's Tuesday and Thursday, or Monday and Tuesday. You look at your schedule and choose two days that work best for you.

Whatever your season, these tips will help you feel less overwhelmed and clean your house fast!

House Cleaning Made Simple In 10 Steps

1. Grab a box and collect everything that doesn't belong in that room.

I have found this is the easiest way for me to straighten up a room. Especially when dealing with toys as we clean house. I tend to use a diaper box, but any box or basket will do. It really makes picking up a breeze. My littles then sort out the stuff and put it away in its home.

2. Catch up on laundry.

While I try to do at least one load of laundry and put it away each day, sometimes I get behind. It's nice to have at least one catch-up day built-in because some days it's all we can do to make it through.

3. Make the beds.

Honestly, I'm not usually a bedmaker. Maybe it's because our bedding is a hodgepodge of blankets and sheets with mismatched pillowcases. I do like it when I make the bed, it's just not something I do every day. But on Reset Days, the beds are made. All of them.

4. Vacuum and sweep the floors and stairs.

While we do sweep and vacuum the house throughout the week, these also happen on Reset Days, along with vacuuming the stairs.

5. Scrub the toilet and wipe down the sink.

A little swish and a quick wipe down and you're done.

6. Mop the floors.

This past week, I had to mop every single day. The snow is melting and turning the ground into a muddy mess. Whether it's a person or our dog, out floors are being covered with yuck, so I've been mopping every day. On non-wintery days, I probably mop once a week.

7. Clear off the counters.

Clutter stresses me out. In order to breathe, my counters need to be clear. Are they always? No. Of course not. But I wish they were! That's why we have at least one Reset Day each week. There's nothing like a clean slate to start the week.

8. Light a candle.

Diffuse essential oils. Bake cookies. Something that will make the house smell warm and inviting. Lighting the candle and diffusing essential oils will take less time and they both have fewer calories ;).

9. File the papers.

Paper piles multiply at rapid speed in our house. If I don't file it away immediately, the pile takes over the counter at record speed. Do yourself a favor and start filing paper away immediately. If you get behind, finish the job on your Reset Day.

10. Have a dance party.

Let loose and have fun. Crank up the music, sing along, and dance to the music while you work. The dwarves whistled. You can sing and dance. It will make those daunting tasks that much better.

Now that you have completed your Reset Day, you can breathe again. Everything is in its home. No clutter piled high. No laundry baskets overflowing. Now you can read something that you want to. Preferably a real book, but if you prefer your Kindle, that's fine too. Read something fun, inspiring, something that has been on your reading list for a long time. Make time to sit down and enjoy it in your clutter-free house.

Your Reset List might look different than mine. Especially if we are in different seasons of life. You might even think you had a professional house cleaning (affiliate link).

What would you add to your list?

2023-01-19T04:19:57Z dg43tfdfdgfd