Changing Habits

What's one of the hardest things about keeping a clean home?  Making a routine and sticking to it!  In my quest to form a cleaning routine I have learned a few things that help you stay on top of everything!

Progress Not Perfection

I can be a perfectionist if I let myself, but this beloved quote from the Fly Lady has helped me overcome it!  Is it better if you get one room cleaned absolutely perfectly with the rest of your house a wreck or is it better to miss the details and get a house that is decent?  I choose the latter.  So, what are some things I do to keep things clean?

• Do a load of laundry every day.
• Stay on top of dishes.
• Pick up things as you go about your day.
• Put things where they go after you are done with them.

These things will help you feel better in your home, if you can go put a load of laundry in as soon as you wake up, it'll keep mountains from piling up before your eyes.  You have to make sure you put it away though, or else the mountain is still there!  For me I put on a show I like (to be honest this is usually cleaning videos) and first I do the folding and set them aside, then I bring my hangers out to the couch with me and hang them there!  I don't know if everyone already knew this and I just barely figured it out, but bringing the hangers out with me has made it so much easier to keep my home clean.  I can watch my baby and watch a show at the same time, it is pretty great!  

The dishes, these pile up super fast too!  If you have a spare moment, wash a few and then go about your day.  Don't let not having enough time to do all of them stop you, remember it is all about the progress!  Of course if you have a dishwasher just load a few when you can and eventually you will have an empty sink.  I know the Fly Lady recommends not having any dishes in the sink at all at night, and making sure your sink is shined for the next day.  As much as I would love this right now, when it is night and the baby is asleep, I want to get as much rest as I can too.

Pick up things as you go.  Pretty simple!  If you are going to one room of the house look around the room you are in and see if anything needs to go with you.  It takes seconds to put away a few things and it makes your home feel so much better.  To take this a step further and slowly eliminate clutter from your home, ask yourself if you really need the items you are putting away.  Have a mindset of minimalism, you don't have to be a minimalist.  But having that mindset of wanting only what you need helps you streamline your home to be easier to clean, and better to look at.

Putting things away!  For some, this is inconceivable, but I promise if you are mindful and determined, it will become second nature!  Shoes go straight to their spot, clean clothes you just tried on and decided not to wear?  Do not put them down, hang them back up!  Dirty clothes, people, please put them in the hamper!  Why do people throw dirty clothes right next to the hamper?  I don't understand.

Doing these small things will help your home become more functional, and change your habits too.  When you do something, put a dish in the sink, think, "I can just put this in the dishwasher now, or I can just wash this now."  Take the extra second to put your shoes neatly in the closet, rather than chucking them in the mess of shoes!  Taking a little extra time, sometimes it literally is only one second, to do something right, saves you a lot of hassle.  This doesn't address really getting in there and scrubbing things clean, but if you start with this you will feel more motivated as the floor and surfaces start to be clear of clutter.  Our homes are a reflection of our mental states, in my opinion.  I know it is not in every case, you could have a lot of kids or a messy partner, or never enough time.  But if you are holding onto things because you have attachments or it has value and you feel you lose money by giving it away, you may have some emotional clutter that needs clearing out.  I promise you, working with yourself to eliminate clutter will lift a burden from your shoulders and it does get easier as you go.  Hope this helps, happy cleaning!