Betty Crocker Wannabe has MOVED! I am now blogging solely at A Simply Klassic Home. I am still sharing printables, party ideas, and other inspiration. It's much more streamlined and clean. I hope you will stop by and say follow along there! I have lots of ideas for new printables coming this holiday season!!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Purging, Organizing, and Basic Housekeeping Routines That Make Me Happy

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all the work that needs to be done? You work all day, or are with the kids all day, and come home to a messy house, dinner that needs cooking, dishes that need done, baths that need to be taken, floors need swept, laundry, and the list goes on. Oh, and let's not a child/children and significant other who require your constant attention. I have been feeling overwhelmed quite a bit lately; I look around my house and I just want to cry because nothing is perfect.

But here's what I have learned: It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to look like all of those beautiful homes we see photos of on blogs every day. No one's home looks like that all of the time. It's called STAGING.

I need to start learning to be happy with my home just like it is. There are a few things I can do to make that happen.

Here are my goals:
1. Purge: I've read a few suggestions on ways to go about this-
- Throw out (trash, donate or garage sale) five things each day.
- Spend 30 minutes going room to room filling a large trash bag. This is for trash only. You can set aside items to donate, but focus mainly on items that won't be reusable. The hardest part - don't think about it, just do it! Set a timer for 30 minutes to help keep you going. Then go back in a week or so and do the same with donations.
- Just go for it. Go room to room, spend hours, or days if you need to.
I think the first two sound pretty doable. I think I'm going to shoot for the second.

2. Organize
Work on one room per week, sorting, organizing, planning each room out. This may require purchasing tools such as boxes and bags, but I'm aiming to keep this a no cost activity. It doesn't have to look "cute" just organized!

I'm giving myself one month to get organized.

I already have several ideas for certain spaces, like the laundry room and pantry, to help keep them organized, but first the purging!

I also have daily goals. There are a few basic housekeeping routines I do each day to help keep my house lookng neat, even when I feel like it's a mess. Alltogether it takes about 30 minutes. And that's something I can live with.

1. Tidy up the Living Room - 5 minutes
Because in order for it to look like this,


I must do this:


I love the idea of having a large basket hidden away that I can toss all of my son's crap beloved toys in. We have a rather large playroom, but somehow toys always make their way into the common areas. Hmmmm...

I also fluff up the pillows.

2. Tidy up the kitchen - 15 minutes
I love waking up to a clean kitchen. It helps give me a fresh start each day. I make sure the dishes are done, dishwasher loaded, counter and stove wiped down, and the sink is clean. I also attempt to declutter the countertops, because it's amazing what accumulates there in a day!

3. Make the Bed - 2 minutes
This should be a no brainer! Having a freshly made bed makes walking into the bedroom so much more inviting and pleasant.


4. Room by room cleaning frenzy (adapted form the Inspired Room) - 10 minutes
I go room to room, picking up dirty clothes, and random misc. items and either returning them to the spot or at least the room they belong in.

Just spending 30 minutes doing these few things each night helps to make my home feel less cluttered and messy, and just makes me happier in general.

Do you have any basic housekeeping routines that help keep you sane?

I've got my evening routines down, and next week starts the purging...wish me luck!

9 comments:

Missy Salsa said...

New Follower commenting. Just saying this is such helpful advice. I always feel overwhelmed working full time and going to school. Not to mention the two dogs, boyfriend and having a life. The house being clean, not a priority. Whenever my mom comes over, she makes a comment and I tell her I like the lived in feel. My house will never look like a magazine and that's ok with me. I don't even have kids yet and I've accepted it :)

NorCalMom said...

Great advice. I do a similar routine each day.

In the morning I start a load of laundry and unload the dishwasher while the coffee brews. If all that noise in the kitchen didn't wake up the kids I stop by each room to make sure they are up. I get dressed, make my bed, then tidy up my room and bathroom. Everyone loads their breakfast dishes into the dishwasher, I clean the sink and wipe off the counters before leaving for work.

The kids have the evening routine down pat and with everyone's help it only takes about 15-20 minutes. Each night I make sure that the dishes are loaded, sink cleaned, stove and counters cleaned and coffee ready for the morning. Laundry is moved around, folded and put away. Hardwood floors get swept and trash is taken out. We do a quick room check and pick up anything that does not belong and put it away.

My house definitely does not always look perfect. Okay, it rarely looks perfect. But I can accept that because it looks like a home and that is more important to me.

Sarah @ Sugar Bananas said...

I love this advice. I was shaking my head "yep, yep, I love that...that's so helpful..." and then I got to your comforter and forgot what the whole blog was about :) It's gorgeous and really makes your room look perfect!

Thanks for the tips and hope you have a great weekend :)

~Sarah

Natasha in Oz said...

I am a bit like you-I try to do a little bit each day so I don't have to do too much in one go on the weekend!

Great ideas!

Best wishes,
Natasha.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tips. Love your blog!

Rachel said...

I can so learn from you!!! :) I spent 2 hours cleaning my bedroom last night (granted, I kept getting distracted so I wasn't cleaning the whole two hours).

:)
Rachel

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