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Where to Start Cleaning Your Home When You Feel Overwhelmed

Where to Start Cleaning Your Home When You Feel Overwhelmed
July 28, 2021

Oh, boy. We know how you feel when you’re staring down an all-encompassing mess that seems to cover every single corner of your condo! Whether it’s your home that feels too messy or you’re overwhelmed by life in general, tackling a cluttered home can be difficult. The thing is, though, the messier your home gets, the more overwhelmed you’ll feel.

Where should you begin cleaning if your home is messy?

So, your best bet is to get started now. Here’s where to start cleaning your home when you feel overwhelmed.

Start by Picking Things Up

Every journey is tackled one step at a time, no matter how short or long. So, your first step in your cleaning journey is to start by picking things up. Choose a spot of the room and pick up each item out of place, and put it away. Use a logical process such as putting dirty clothes in the laundry and hanging up anything that can be worn again. Have a garbage bag handy so you can dispose of anything that can be thrown away as you work.

For anything that needs a home, choose a place such as a table to put it on, and then organize those items later. Your goal right now is to tidy the mess by either putting things away, tossing them in the laundry, or throwing them out.

Get Organized

Once you tackle tidying, go to the place where you piled the things without a home. Look at the items and see if they can be sorted into logical piles, and then choose a place in your home to store them. By keeping things sorted logically, you’ll be able to find them easily. Consider investing in some baskets for smaller items that you can place on shelves or in cupboards. Also, for things you use less often, find large, flat Tupperware containers that can slide under the bed for easy storage that are out of sight and don’t take up much space.

Give Yourself Time

As you work, don’t get overwhelmed by the idea that this entire big mess needs to be finished now. Instead, do one thing at a time. If you must stop because something else needs doing, just be sure to start again as soon as you can. This way, every time you return to the job, it will have gotten less daunting, as you’ll be chipping away at it until it’s done. In fact, you can even set a certain amount of time dedicated to cleaning each day whether it’s in small increments of just 15 minutes, or longer times like an hour. If you keep it up, your home will be clean in no time.

Stop Adding to the Mess

This is very important. Remember, you’re trying to clean your mess, so you need to stop adding to it. Every time you don’t put something away, you’re making your job harder. A good rule of thumb is to have a plan. Have a place for everything, so it is easier to keep the home clean. Basic spots would include:

  • Clean clothes in the closet or a drawer.
  • Dirty clothes in the laundry hamper.
  • Reading items like magazines in a magazine stand.
  • Uneaten food in the kitchen cupboards that is sealed to avoid pests and keep food fresh.
  • Garbage, well, in the garbage.

Use a system that works for you, focusing on reducing mess and keeping things tidy. When you use something, put it back where you found it—every time.

Make Cleaning Fun

Yep, this is a challenge, but it can be done. Some ideas to help you enjoy cleaning include:

  • Blare your favourite music.
  • Binge watch your favourite shows if cleaning near a TV or computer.
  • Listen to podcasts or a book.
  • Ask someone you like to give you a hand so you can chat, or call someone hands-free and chat while you work.

All of these things will help the time fly by.

Be Methodical

Don’t try cleaning sporadically without some kind of method in place. Always start in one area and don’t move on until it’s done. For example, if your coffee table is scattered with all kinds of stuff, start there until it’s all clear. Or, if you choose the kitchen, start with the counters, and don’t stop until they are neat and clean.

Another approach is to do all the tasks at once. So, you start with tidying and putting things away, move onto dusting surfaces, and finish with a thorough sweep or vacuuming. This allows you to make your way through your home, so you actually see progress. Progress motivates!

Share the Work

No one should live in a home with a lazy pass that allows them to do nothing. Instead, whether it’s a partner, kids, or roommates, make sure everyone shares the work. Have rules in place that help reduce the mess to begin with, which will make the cleaning easier. Then, either create a cleaning schedule, or assign tasks on cleaning day for each person. If you have kids, choose age-appropriate tasks such as putting their toys away. As well, for roommates, try a rotation so no one person always gets stuck doing dishes or scrubbing toilets every time. The more the merrier, and the quicker the job.

Stick to It

It’s not enough to tackle the mess once every six months. Instead, you need to stick to it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. As mentioned above, if you add some rules for yourself and the people you live with, you can keep on top of the mess. We’ll repeat this for the third time: the most important rule is to always put things away so that your tidying time is reduced and you can just focus on cleaning once a week. We’ll say it again: stop adding to the mess. It is really the number 1 rule of homes. The better you get at putting things away, the tidier your home becomes.

If you’re feeling too overwhelmed to deal with the mess, or want help keeping your home clean, speak to the residential cleaning experts at Maid4Condos to learn more about our residential cleaning services in Toronto.

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