If you have ever been to my apartment, nine times out of ten I would probably apologize about my mess. I can't seem to keep it clean. I have a couple of excuses that I use pretty frequently. Overall looking at my life most of the time I am just too busy or tired. I get exhausted daily. The weirdest thing is that unless I am focused, I don't see the clutter. I really don't, it is a by product of my dissociation. Fun right, not really. So this article is going over cleaning skills that either I have learned and am trying to add to my life. If you are like me and just always get to the point where it is overwhelming and hard to start this is for you.
Just start somewhere
This is harder said than done. But just take a timer and set it to a time that's reasonable for you; maybe five minutes. And during that time, just pick a spot and start. This is something that I do to start a cleaning day. I usually start with trash, take 10 min and try to clean up all trash that might be around your problem areas. This usually jump starts your cleaning motivation.
Make a list
Observe the area that you're trying to get done and visualize what needs to be done. This can be skipped if you get overwhelmed with seeing how bad it is. I tend to, instead of looking at a whole room and giving up. Pick a shelf, or a table top, just something that you can manage with the energy you have.
Purge
This is something that you can do when you have a free day, I generally do this during a weekend or day off. Just take a day, grab a coffee or drink of preference and just go. Make your lists of what you need to do and just do it. It will probably suck, and something that you may feel like you hate, but once its done. Everything will feel much more manageable. When I was a kid we would call this "shoveling out the house". Growing up with just a dad, I got used to a messy house. And I had no motivation to keep it clean. I was the only one interested in having a clean house. And now that I am alone, those old messy habits have followed me.
Post-purge
Your house might be a war zone right now. You are trying to finish purging and moving things around. This is the point that you need to decide your zones in the house. I like to keep like things together. Like school supplies all in one spot, or electronics in one spot. I have many old bags that are full of old chargers. Just in case the main one I am using stops working. Keep maybe one and get rid of the rest. You don't need to keep 12 old iphone chargers, as I look at myself in the mirror.
Trouble areas
At least for me I have spots where clutter just starts accumulating in certain areas. Mainly table tops. I have a tendency to just put something down and forget about it. Taking the time to clean things off and reorganize these areas every day or week, can keep the clutter away.
Daily cleaning
Find a couple of daily tasks that you can do daily to keep the stress away. Now this is also harder to start than to keep going. I would love to be able to wash dishes every night, and not let my laundry pile up during the week.
Just remember, a little goes a long way.
Don't place blame if it doesn't change overnight
I have purged and caught up on cleaning too many times to count. I have cussed and hated myself for letting myself leaving the mess for so long. You need to forgive yourself, hating yourself will only keep associating negative with cleaning. Mass cleaning will not happen in one day, learning new habits will not happen in one day.
Try something new
Try to start habits to make your home feel like home. You need to remember that feeling of coming home and everything is done. To be able to relax and not have this overhead stress of just being home gone. Just start, you will reach your goals, it will probably not happen overnight. But just start and put effort into it.
Extra tips
- Leave your shoes at the door. I am an ag kid so most of the time my shoes have mud or dirt on them. And having a spot for them by the door, will keep that mess off of your carpets and cut down on cleaning your floors.
- Set a routine that works for you. I am useless in the morning, and when I said to myself that every morning I will wash my dishes. That lasted less than a day, now i am thinking about washing dishes at night when I am more active.
- Set a daily, weekly, monthly checklist
There's psychology behind the mess. Procrastination is a hard thing that most of us deal with daily. The later mentality can lead to a hard habit to break. As a college student this may be something that you just accept. And it doesn't end overnight. But just putting in a bit of effort or have a reward for yourself can help. I usually say that after I do something I can take a nap. This is adulting right?
Overall, yes it is overwhelming, but just starting and having a loose plan can be the start of a clean home and good habits. This is something that I really want in my life, and something that I need to work on in my life. But don't put hate on yourself if it doesn't happen overnight.
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Thank you for reading,
-Chrystal B
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