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Cleaning when you’re overwhelmed feels impossible. I know what it’s like when everything needs done and you’re sitting in the middle of what appears to be a war zone. I promise you though, these few hacks will help.
This is how I’ve found to get all the tidying done quickly and without overwhelm. This isn’t the scrub your house from top to bottom hack… But, this can help you to get your house back in order quickly and it’s simple enough your family can help.
I find that there are usually 3 hot zones in every home. Those to me are the 3 that seem to make us the most overwhelmed but are the 3 that if we just tackle them our spaces start to feel relaxing again.
HERE is my morning routine – HERE is my night routine if you’re interested in what I do each day to try and avoid the overwhelm in the first place.
Basket Sorting
Grab all the extra baskets or bins that you have in the house. For everyone this will look a little different but I know for my my living room area is where it looks like a bomb went off. Truthfully, the entire house on a daily bases gets out of control.
There is always a mix of items. Dog toys, baby toys, dirty clothes, dirty dishes, blankets, empty bottles, basically anything that’s not supposed to be there, is there. It’s insane how quickly things get crazy.
Designate different baskets/bins for different rooms OR different categories. Depending on your home and your organization this may be a bit different for everyone. Just be sure to know what bin/basket is for what. This is where the kids can help!
So, all the baby toys that need put away go in one. All the dirty clothes in another. Just sort everything into a proper bin. Then tackle one bin/basket at a time.
Let’s say you’re gathering dirty clothes. Take that basket of dirty clothes all through the house and throw everything that is in need of a wash in it. Then take the basket with all the dirty clothes to the laundry room and promptly sort. DON’T just drop it and run. I know we would all like to do that sometimes but take the extra minute to sort it now!
Now dirty dishes. Do the same thing and quickly walk throughout the entire house and collect them all. Run the basket of dirty dishes to the kitchen and either immediately get them soaking in the sink or get them loaded into the dishwasher.
Keep this going until you’ve cleaned up and empty all of the baskets! Sometimes emptying all the baskets can take all day. This isn’t a race. The important thing is you’ve found a way to manage the crazy and you can clean as you find the free time throughout the day.
You’re human. You and all the many beings that live in your four walls are doing just that…LIVING THERE. Don’t be to hard on yourself. All of our homes get crazy.
Washing Clothes
In larger families I know this gets to be even more difficult. I remember my parents always struggled to keep up with all the endless laundry. The one load a day method (AFTER you’ve caught up) is a saving grace.
If you’re house is messy simply because its filled top to bottom with clothes that need washing… or worse you don’t know if they’re clean or dirty because they were never properly put away to begin with… then it’s time to reevaluate all the clothing that you and the family actually have.
First, you must get caught up and spend all the time necessary to do so. Laundry tends to be most peoples least favorite…whereas I love laundry!
HACK***
When the clothes come out of the dryer have a stack of hangers ready and anything that will eventually be hung up just put it on a hanger now. That way you don’t have to fold it and annoy yourself.
HACK TWO***
When you’re left with the clothes that need folded separate them as you fold. So make smaller piles of each item as you go. Like all of your folded leggings in one small pile, your t shirts in their own and your husbands jeans in another. Then when you go to put the clothes away you’re not opening the same drawer 14 times to put 14 different pairs of shorts away. You simple open the drawer once and each item that goes into that drawer is placed inside at one time. I’ve been doing this for years and I have 5 times the amount of things to put away over my husband and he does it all willy nilly and I still beat him. This system works and makes the whole process so much faster.
HACK THREE***
Start the load first thing in the morning. While you’re waiting on your coffee to brew start a load of laundry. If you are at home all day, switch it when it’s done. Maybe you get to come home for lunch, switch laundry then. If you don’t return home until after your work day, switch laundry as soon as you get home. This way you can fold your one load and put it away quickly before bed.
**You could also program your washer to run in the middle of the night and time it so it’s finished when you wake. That way you can switch it over to the dryer before you even have to start your day!**
Dirty Dishes
I really used to hate washing dishes. Now, I think it’s easier than using a dishwasher! haha. How things change.
In one of our last homes we went four full years without a dishwasher and when we moved I was so glad to have one again. Not that it always does a marvelous job…but that’s for another day. (Again, this is another perk to washing them by hand…but I digress.)
I found that when you have a mountain of dishes the sorting method once again is the best way to go. Obviously if you have a dishwasher fill that first. BUT, in the event that not everything fits…this will help.
Sort everything out on the counters. Everything is messy anyways so don’t let that add to your stress. We will clean it up sooner than you think.
Once the dishes are all sorted and your drying area is ready to go grab a stack and go to work. Clean all like items first. I always seem to start with the easiest items because I knock a lot out really fast that way and then I feel like I’m done faster. The less time I stand at the sink the better.
I also recommend only filling the one side of the sink and cleaning out the other. That way your clean dishes that are covered in soap waiting for a rinse are not sitting back in a dirty sink. Then rinse all like items and stack to dry…and repeat.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to do the dishes at least once a day. I know it’s crappy. BUT, the more the dishes pile up the less you want to do them. Then, it’s been 5 days and you can’t find a clean coffee mug at 5am and you want to die…trust me…I’ve been there.
Then Sit!
Really these 3 hacks to clean your messy house without overwhelm are not difficult. They just require a little discipline. I know that at first this seems weird but the more you do it the easier it gets. Life is all about systems and hopefully my systems, or OCD as my mother says, helps you!
If you’re looking for a cleaning routine or two…HERE is my morning routine and HERE is my night routine.
