Do you shudder when you think
of people coming over to visit unannounced? Do you panic when you get a message
on your answering machine that family is coming—and they left 4 hours ago (and
it's a 5 hour trip)? Do you try to "clean" before your cleaning lady
comes? Can you not afford a cleaning lady and sometimes calling desperately
your mom "I need help !" Or even try to do it yourself, but ending up
discouraged, frustrated, and thinking "It's just impossible"?
Watch the Video at the end of the article !
The
real key here is to take it a step at a time. Take it at your own pace. This IS
a fight that you CAN and WILL win! You will have to commit to having less
"stuff" if your home and letting go of the sacredcows you've hung on
to for all these years (but please note that these cows haven't lifted a finger
to help you get organized or clean—they only collect dust and take up space!).
This isn't having "Clean Sweep" come to your home and do the work for
you—it's all "your" work.
Don't worry. It can be done in a few minutes each day.
Yes, you, too can occupy a relatively clean environment as long as you relax
and let go of "it's-got-to-be-perfect-itis".
Ready for step one in Househome organization? Good.
We're going to declutter first - set a timer and put on some energizing music
to get you going. Decide that you're only going to declutter for 15 minutes in
one certain room.
Then if you want to work longer, say, another round of
15 minutes, you can. But you don't have to. This helps you get motivated, even
when you feel like cleaning is the last thing you'd want to tackle. Yeppsyche
yourself out.
Go from room to room one day, just decluttering - 15
minutes in each room. Some rooms might take only five minutes - there's a good
feeling! Others might take 30 minutes before you can walk through the room
without tripping over something. It'll all average out.
Then
on day two, go back to your first room and surface clean. Wipe off counters,
sinks, flat surfaces. Then spot vacuum. If there's a stain on the kitchen
floor, spot clean that baby. Day three, pick another room. Day four, still
another. If you're so motivated one day and get on a roll, surface clean two
rooms.
After you've decluttered, we're going to take fifteen
minutes a day and do some deeper cleaning in each room. You know, vacuuming
thoroughly, dusting, swatting away cobwebs, etc.
Now, if you just repeat this simple schedule, you've
got a house that would at least make the grade on a pass-fail system. That
takes a load off your mind and alleviates stress in your family relationships.
Remember, it's better to do a little each day and get
the job done, than to stress out in an embarrassingly cluttered environment
because you're too overwhelmed to even start. Go ahead -- set that
timer to declutter your home!
