We flapped like snow angels until winter melted into memory. We poured out sweet sentiments and gobbled them up. Now, only chocolate scents remain to haunt their empty ballotins. Sentimentals and chocoholics continue to huff the heart-shaped boxes and sigh. Green calendar pages feature this month’s luck-promising ground cover. When the clover loses its charm, the first quarter of 2016 will have passed. Many of us look back on our New Year’s resolutions and plan to bury our disappointments in Easter candy.
We might be able to measure some progress on goals we set. Perhaps matters not marked down as priorities showed growth and reaped benefits. Whatever accomplishments, struggles, or blessings this season begat, a familiar side-effect likely tagged along with them.
Clutter.
As soon as we feel the disaster is under control, the moment we turn our attention to the urgency of our lives, tumbleweeds of entropy creep in from all directions. Despite our determination to get organized on January 1st, each month brings new activity. And stuff, mess, untidiness to put off for a less busy moment. Piles of it. The surmounting task of overcoming the chaos appears impossible. But, let us not surrender to the craziness, my sisters. We can raise our latex gloved fists and declare our resolution:
We will not go gently into that household fright.
Rage, rage against the chaotic blight!
In addition to the tips listed in our earlier post about organization, I have a few more suggestions to help you conquer the chaos.
Little Wallets
Big purses wreak havoc on the spine. Breaking down the contents into categories can protect wellness and keep you organized. Put discount cards into one wallet. Keep department store cards in one spot, ready to take when needed for a specific purchase. This also prevents impulse spending. Maintain the necessities in one section (e.g. debit, insurance, license). Items with no personal identification (nail file, scissors, aspirin, coupons) fit comfortably into the console of your car.
Daily car sweep
Take the trash out of your car each time you exit to avoid build up. When waiting in line at the bank or school pickup, sort out expired coupons.
Delegate well
If you share a household with others, maintenance must be shared with them. Children become better roommates and spouses if well trained to share household tasks. Spouses appreciate one another best when helping out around the home they enjoy together. Start with jobs most relevant to others’ use (e.g. bathrooms, laundry, bedrooms). State your limitations clearly, but balance the request for assistance with loving grace. Delegation requires an initial training period, but the patience and time required are well worth it. You cannot and should not try to do everything for everyone else. It will neither help them nor you. And the housework will remain an impossible feat to manage.
Minimize dirt
Keeping things clean demands less energy than re-cleaning. Consider instituting a shoeless home policy. Residents and guests take their shoes off at the door. Residents must then put shoes away unless planning to wear them the subsequent day. Rugs at all entry points help minimize dirt tracked in. Keep longer rugs at the ones used most, like in the garage. We have a series of rugs at high-traffic entrances. Special rugs to clean paws are sold online. A low-stress and healthy home hinges on keeping pets groomed and paws clean. Rugs also reduce the spread of spills and crumbs in messy kitchen areas. Cleaning rugs takes less time than mopping or vacuuming an entire floor.
Donate monthly
Certain organizations offer monthly opportunities to declutter from your front porch. Unburden your home from excess baggage and help charities all year round. With regular pick ups, you can sift through one space each month and free your home a few minutes at a time.
One step at a time wins the race
Abandon the need to polish everything at once. Clean one room a day. Commit to one deep-clean task per week. Your home need not remain perfect at all times, but steady upkeep maintains a healthy environment and organization habits reduce stress.
Hope these tips help you enjoy 2016 to its fullest and keep you on track to reach your dreams. Let me know how these work out for you, or if you have suggestions of your own to share with us. I look forward to reading your comments.
Be Encouraged,
Tina
Grab button for Intentionally Pursuing
Great tips. I keep at it everyday. I wish I could get everyone to leave their shoes at the door. Our entry area is too small and pretty much absent and opens right into the living room.
I sweep one day. Do a quick sweep and deep mop at least once a week. I am picking up stuff on the fly. It is like a revolving wheel. Clean one room up go to another and then return to the first. 🙂 That is the nature of the house cleaning beast though.
Thanks for sharing your routine with us, Mary! The revolving wheel works better than falling into the entropy cycle and finding ourselves overwhelmed, right?