Housework is endless – we all know this. What’s worse, though, is that the longer you put it off, the more overwhelming it can feel. Tackling a mountain of laundry, a dirty bathroom and a messy living room can seem like too much.
So, how do you get started with housework when it all feels too overwhelming? That’s exactly what we’ll cover in this post, so read on to find out.
1. Start with a List
The best place to start is nowhere near the actual housework. Instead, make a list of everything you can think of that needs doing. This might include:
· Straightforward cleaning jobs
· Organisational jobs (i.e., cleaning out the fridge)
· Decluttering
Once you have your starter list, try to rearrange things in order of priority. For example, a clean kitchen is probably more important than hoovering the living room. Some deciding factors include hygiene and safety, which rooms you use the most, or even which will be easiest to clean.
2. Break Your List Down into Smaller Lists
Use your list of jobs to break each room down into smaller jobs. These will feel far more manageable than something like “clean the bathroom”. Knowing this involves cleaning the shower, bath, sink, etc. makes it much easier to achieve.
Some of these jobs might affect your priority order from above, but you can regroup them as needed. For example, every room will likely involve hoovering and mopping, but it makes sense to do all rooms together. Move hoovering to the bottom of your list and tackle it once everywhere is clean.
3. Start Small and Easy
The most important jobs on your list will relate to hygiene and safety, specifically the kitchen and bathroom. However, if you feel these are currently too much to handle, start with something smaller or easier.
That said, chucking dishes in the dishwasher is a pretty easy job that can make a noticeable difference, so don’t overlook it at this stage.
Some small and easy jobs might include:
· Tidying the spare bedroom
· Changing your bedsheets
· Dusting
· Emptying bins
The purpose of these jobs is basically to get you in the mood to clean and to show you that tackling big tasks as smaller jobs makes them more manageable. Ideally, they’d also have the biggest impact on the overall tidiness of your home, but this doesn’t matter as much.
4. Find Ways to Motivate Yourself
Not many people like cleaning. If this is you, find ways to motivate yourself to get started. This might mean playing some music or rewarding yourself. Regardless, the purpose is to just get you in the mood for doing some housework.
Also, make sure you take breaks. This is more applicable if you’ve decided to blast everything out in one day, but is true if you’re squeezing some cleaning into your evenings.
5. Get Others Involved
If you’ve got a partner and kids, get them involved in the cleaning. After all, there’s a high chance that some (or most) of the mess is theirs! The best way to get them involved in streamlining your housework is to have them focus on “prep” jobs.
For example, if you need to clean the living room but it’s currently a tip, get kids to put away their toys. If they’re old enough, task them with things like tidying up the TV remote and other bits of clutter that might be in your way.
Doing this means that when you’re ready, you can glide in with a duster and the hoover to a relatively well-prepared room. You can apply this same process to any room, too. If someone can get rid of the clutter, you’re in a far better position to do the cleaning.
6. Cut Yourself Some Slack
This is perhaps the most important tip when it comes to feeling overwhelmed by housework. It can get a bit much for all of us at times, especially when you’re juggling work and family commitments. So, as much as possible, don’t be hard on yourself if your house is a bit messy.
After all, as long as your kitchen is hygienic enough to prepare food, and your bathroom is safe enough to use, a bit of dust and clutter doesn’t mean much!
Final Thoughts
The key to tackling overwhelming housework is to break it down into the smallest jobs possible. It makes everything feel more manageable, allowing you to slowly but surely make a dent in the mountain of cleaning in front of you. If you personally do not have time to clean, then you can think about hiring a cleaner. The same could be said if you have your own office, then you can hire an office cleaning service.