There’s a certain lesson I seem to have to relearn and relearn.

Just do the chores. Address the Mess.

It’s a simple lesson, right? But in the monotony of staying at home, it’s easy to start putting off the chores for something a bit more fun. And before I know it, I’ve gotten out of routines I’ve intentionally put in place to make life easier and a little less stressful. And maybe this post only really applies to me, but I’ve noticed I can get really grouchy when my house is out of order.

Let’s use laundry, for example. I’ve learned the absolute best way to keep our laundry manageable is to do a load a day. Laundry adds up quickly here, not to mention the clutter and mess that goes along with overfilled laundry baskets. But it’s easy to decide to sit down and play a meaningless app on my phone (can you tell what my time sucker has been lately?) and I ultimately end up beating myself up for wasting time playing a completely useless game that didn’t really bring me any joy or value to my life and I’m also grumpy because I have three loads of laundry to wash, dry, and put up.

I should just admit that at the root of my character, I tend to be lazy and it’s something I’ve got to work daily at to overcome. Fun is absolutely needed and we all need some downtime, but there’s always room in my day to be productive and address the mess. I shouldn’t be playing an app on my phone while dirty dishes are in the sink and kids’ underwear are strewn all over the floor. The ten minutes it takes for me to tidy up are worth it when it saves me from ten hours of a grumpy mood.

My Routine for Addressing the Mess:

1. The Clutter: Clutter and toys all over the floor drive me crazy. That’s one of the reasons I love having big baskets in our main living areas so that I can throw all the toys in a basket and move on. It takes five minutes and this is normally something I tell the kids they need to do anyway.
2. Dishes: My system for dishes goes something like this: After dinner, clean the dishes and start the dishwasher. Unload the dishes the next morning and begin the day with an empty dishwasher. As you dirty dishes through the day, rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher. If it gets full before dinnertime, wash that load empty it before dinner.
3. Laundry: If you have a smaller family, this may not be the best plan for you, but for bigger families, do a load of laundry a day and fold them and put them up immediately after folding! Don’t let them just hang around on your bed until you go to bed and then you drape them over a chair –not that I do this or anything 😉 I normally also do a load of towels or sheets every day too, making two loads of laundry a day.

Just a couple of other tips: Eat and live a healthy lifestyle. You have more energy to keep up with the mess. When I’m feeling lethargic and lazy, it tends to align with what I’ve been eating. And my other tip, declutter and get the stuff that doesn’t bring you joy out of your house.

If you struggle with this, let’s make a plan that starting today, we are going to address the big three: tidy up the main living areas, laundry, and dishes. We can do it! Until next time, from my porch to yours!

XO,

Sharlie