Hate your messy house? Me too.
Here's a truth bomb - I am not a housework expert.
If that's what you were looking for, RUN from here as fast as you can. You'll be horrified at my approach.
But my bosom buddies (you'll know who you are) will feel right at home here....
Housework is tough. Especially when you:
a) Live in a cramped New York apartment
b) Have several young children
c) Have a very tight budget
d) Work from home
e) Are a terrible housekeeper
Yeah, my house looks like a disaster. All. The. Time.
I love having a clean house. But, on my limited time and budget, (not to mention lack of space), I am clueless as to how to achieve that. And all those SUPER AMAZING LIFE CHANGING PLANS NEVER worked for me. If I was organized enough to put those plans into practice, I wouldn't need them!
Any of you nodding along? I sure hope so, because it got me feeling very low.
Until I came to a decision. I AM FED UP WITH MESS!
I know closing my eyes won't help. What will?
How to clean a very messy house: Ten minutes at a time
That’s it. I’m going to go through my house inch by inch, shelf by shelf, drawer by drawer, and figure out how to clean it and keep it clean.
I find cleaning and organizing to be supremely boring tasks. Writing and joking with you readers about the process is my only hope for getting through this without having a nervous breakdown.
It may take months, but I’ll do it, ten minutes at a time. I will never be a cleaning expert, but I am an expert on my own life - and on my own personality. I know better than anyone how to organize my own life in a way that works for me.
I know that I just need to go with the flow and work WITH my brain; fighting my personality and love of creativity will never work. What I want to do is harness my personality in a way that allows me to use my strongest traits to improve my housekeeping.
Have you tried every housework system? Has it all failed for you?
Come along as I tackle my house, and maybe you’ll be inspired to join my journey to self-made-neat too!
Here's Proof that I Understand Messy House Woes:
- I ALWAYS have dirty dishes in the sink
- There are piles and piles of laundry in my bedroom
- The tables are always covered in clutter
- At any given time, there is probably a coat, a briefcase and some books scattered on my couch
- My walls are covered in cute little fingerprints
- As of this writing, a dish towel is draped over my baby's activity center. Not sure how it got there....
- My husband is better at housework than I am:(
How I'm Making "Project Messy House" Fun for Me (and You)
Rule #1: NO PRESSURE.
No timelines. No specific goals. I'm taking it as it goes. If I have time for a little cleaning, good. If I don't - also good.
Rule #2: BE REALISTIC.
No grand systems my kids will never follow. No dreaming about a picture-perfect, magazine worthy house. Not gonna happen. I'll focus on making things a little more organized so my life is easier. The goal isn't to be fancy.
Rule #3: USE WHAT I HAVE.
I'm not making grand purchases of super useful but super expensive cabinets, shelving and whatnot. It just doesn't fit my budget. So I'll work with what's already in my house.
So let's get started!