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In my last post I mentioned my Total Chaos Recovery (TCR). I was having one of those days where I felt like sitting in front of the TV eating chocolate, or lazying about in the warm sun...hmm nice to dream but I had to get back to reality. My house was a mess!
I looked around at the mess that had accrued over the past 3 days and just wished I could close my eyes and it'll disappear... unfortunately that didn't work lol.
So this is what I did:
Had a drink - Yep I had a drink. This freshened me up a bit and gave me a bit of energy for the daunting task.
Put a load of washing on - I usually do a load or two a day to keep the pile down, but it's amazing when you miss a day or two how it seems to EXPLODE.
Went around and picked up any/all rubbish.
Straightened up all the obvious messes - Such as folding up my lovely big tiger blanket which seems to take up the whole lounge (DH hates it lol) :) putting kids table and chairs back where they belong. Folded and put away clothes.
Quick vac with handheld.
Spent a few minutes tidying smaller messes - Such as kids toys/books etc
All up this only took 30-40 minutes. I didn't spend time decluttering or deep cleaning, I was focused on getting the house back to a state of order, and I did :) I was so happy with it I decided to give it a name lol.
So on days when I feel like I don't want to do anything, or don't know where to begin, I'll follow these simple steps and my house will be better in no time :)
There's plenty of blogs/organising sites out there with similar systems to tackle mess, but I hadn't found one which suited my house, my family and my clutter spots. Every house is different. For me it's the lounge room which seems to get the messiest, I know with my mum's house it's her bathroom, my besty's house, it's the back room/entertainment room.
Feel free to follow my TCR whenever you may need it. You may need to tweak it to better suit yourself, but either way it should help get your house back to some sort of order :)
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I do this every day Tubbah. Keep trying to organise a cleaning routine but so hard with the kids and all the organising I am doing. So I think I do exactly what you do just get by. Yesterday got so fed up with all the toys everywhere had to do a toy declutter. Just chucked so many toys in garbage bags. So sick of them being on the floor and a lot of them they didn't even use. You asked me how to I do all the organising with the kids. Well I usually go out in the mornings so my little one has a big sleep and my older son relaxes and watches t.v. Then I will usually do organising or cleaning when they are resting. Otherwise I do it in the afternoon and just pop their music on. They love it when I organise.
ReplyDeleteSam
I like the first action on your list... not sure about the rest, but what has to be done has to be done, right?
ReplyDeleteHi Tubbah! Thanks for stopping by and congratulating me on my decision to resign. I think this is the 3rd part time job I've had since the kids were born. I always think it's going to work but in reality, it doesn't. We just want it all, don't we? I had to prioritise and I don't any amount of money can compromise the welfare of your family and your home.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.
Anne xx
Sam I've been the same with the toys, at first I didn't know where to start or what to get rid of, but now almost everytime I look at their toys I find something to purge :)
ReplyDeleteTat, I agree, I like the first one not so much the rest lol.
Anne, You're welcome :) I had the urge a couple of weeks ago to get my old job back, but I know it won't work either.
"I had to prioritise and I don't any amount of money can compromise the welfare of your family and your home."
My thoughts exactly, well said :)
So... anyone got any help for how to recover from Total Chaos after years of it? Six months at least of grime everywhere. My washing fills the laundry, my kids wardrobes are overflowing. Beds all need making. Carpets needs a huge vacuum (or replacing!) Every plate or knife has been used and still dirty. There is rubbish, junk mail, papers, dust and cat hair, and every surface is cluttered beyond belief.
ReplyDeleteI can't fold washing, there's nowhere to put it away, I can't throw out a heap of their clothes, nowhere to sort them. We are all piled in on top of each other in this tiny house.
Hi anonymous, and thankyou for taking the time to comment.
DeleteMy advice is to start small. Aim to do one small thing a day. I know it seems like a waste and that 1 thing isn't worth the effort, but over time it sure adds up.
Start with making the bed. Even in just one room. It's amazing how much cleaner a room can feel with the bed made.
Then do a load of washing. If your pressed for time, do a load at night and hang it in the morning. Have you got a dryer? Aim to catch up throughout the day and dry the clothes in the dryer to tackle the pile quicker.
As for the dishes - Do you have a dishwasher? If not fill the sink with hot soapy water and let your most used dishes soak. This is what we did when we both worked outside the home and were extremely time poor. By the time we got home we had clean dishes.
How old are your kids? Can you give them age appropriate chores? Here's a good list from the Stay At Home Mum site - http://stayathomemum.com.au/my-kids/activities/age-appropriate-chores-for-kids/
Not that they know it, but my kids have chores, including my 2 year old.
Outsource where you can. Can you afford a cleaner? Have you got friends or family who are willing to help?
Sort mail as it comes. Instead of bringing it inside, sort immediately. unwanted junk mail - recycle it. Bills, put in an area you won't forget or better yet if you have the funds, pay it straight away.
Have a one in one out rule. If something comes in that you want to keep, you must find one thing to go. This helps to keep the clutter at a minimum.
I've been there. I know what it's like. We're finally seeing results. We've gone from 'needing' a 6 bedroom two story house (We almost signed the building contract)to being content with our small 3 bedder.
If you have any questions or anything feel free to email me at omclblog at hotmail dot com (appropriate symbols in places)