How To Clean Your House Without Feeling Overwhelmed
The fact that you’re here reading this post is enough to tell me that we would be friends. Perhaps, even “good friends”. Nothing brings people together like stressing over a messy house. I GET IT!
As a mom to three little mess makers, I know all too well the never ending struggle of trying to keep a house clean.
There is no greater feeling than a clean and organized home, but it can be overwhelming trying to reach that goal.
The truth is, I’ve learned how to manage the chaos by using a few simple tricks that have really helped me manage and stay on top of the mess. However, I’m also writing this post next to a huge pile of laundry so I’ve learned how to keep a clean house but not a PERFECT housekeeper so you won’t find a miracle here.
Start with the Main Living Area
This is one of the best tricks I have for keeping a clean house. Start with the kitchen and living area. If you can get these two “heavy traffic” rooms cleaned, it’s much easier to follow behind with bathrooms and bedrooms.
Another reason to start with the kitchen and living room is because it helps motivate everyone to tackle their individual spaces. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cleaned our main rooms and then my kids followed by cleaning their rooms.
Tackle One Task at a Time
Nothing will make you binge watch a Netflix series more than a dirty house. The idea of cleaning every room and organizing them is daunting. This is one of the reasons why we put it off.
I’ve had to learn to stop thinking in terms of “the whole house” or “all of the house”, instead, I only tackle one room or task at a time. I have a lot less quit in me when I start small.
Set goals of cleaning and organizing one room at a time. Most of the time my motivation to clean happens after I’ve already started cleaning. The one task goal might turn into me actually cleaning several rooms. It’s a little trick I like to play on myself.
Schedule Days for Certain Chores
Having a certain day for tasks has also proved to be extremely helpful. It’s really helped me to feel less overwhelmed and more structured in my cleaning habits. For instance, Thursday is the day I take out all of the trash in my house and Friday is the day I wash the bedding. Staying on schedule is key.
Tip: Don’t forget about cleaning the inside of your car. You can add this to your weekly chore schedule.
Clean Your House with the Right Tools
My husband philosophy about anything cleaning or work related is that you must have the right tools to complete the task. He’s not wrong–having my core batch of cleaning supplies has been super useful.
Micro cloths – I use them for everything. I use them to dust, clean mirrors, wipe down counter tops and so much more. I keep one with me when I’m cleaning a room it makes cleaning all surfaces easy.
Swifer – I’m a BIG fan of using the Swifer to clean my floors. It’s so easy and the kids actually like using it so they don’t mind this chore.
Thieves Cleaner – I was introduced to Thieves cleaner when I walked into my friends house and it smelled so good. I asked her what the cleaner was and she told me it was Thieves Cleaner from Young Living.
It’s a concentrated cleaner that uses a blend of essential oils. Not only does it smell great but it works on everything. You can use it to clean your bathrooms, kitchen, glass and so much more.
Having one cleaner for everything is great and it’s also an added BONUS that I’m not using harsh cleaning chemicals. One bottle is a little pricey ($28.95) but it’s concentrated so you mix a cap full with a bottle of water and it really lasts a long time. I highly recommend it.
Get the Family Involved
This seems like an obvious action item but it can at times be the most difficult. I’ve tried so many different ways to encourage my kids to help out with cleaning the house. We’ve tried chore charts, allowances, reward systems and any other suggestion I’ve read or heard before. The problem was nothing worked long term.
I’m happy to report though that I finally figured out the “secret sauce” to getting my kids to do their chores! It was simple. I just set the rule that there would be NO screen time until their chores were done.
I seriously don’t even have to ask my kids to clean their rooms or to do their chores anymore. They know if those things are not done they can’t ask me to play on their tablets or video games. Maybe this wouldn’t work for every family but I’m so thankful it’s worked for mine.
These are the steps I take when trying not to get overwhelmed as I tackle a messy house. I hope you found this helpful. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or additional cleaning life hacks that we should know about.
Other posts you might enjoy:
5 Things to do Before Your First Cup of Coffee
Last update on 2022-05-22 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
