Running the house and not letting the house run you can be a
challenge! However, there are ways to get things under control. Read on for a handful of ideas.
Use lists
Trying to keep everything you need to do inside your brains
might be an impossible task. Don’t make things harder for yourself, make a
list. Seeing your tasks written down in front of you will help you prioritise
them too. Furthermore, ticking things off lists acts as great motivation and
helps remind you of your progress. Make a fresh list every day and move
outstanding tasks over to it. Write in pencil to allow for changes if jobs
change or get delegated elsewhere.
Delegate tasks
Unless you live alone, there is no reason you should be
tidying the entire home by yourself. Everyone who lives with you should have a
hand in helping too. Except babies, perhaps! If your partner is an unwilling
cleaner but will help, leave them alone when they do. Interfering is irritating
and might make them feel like they’re doing it wrong. Put them in charge of
spaces they spend a lot of time. This might be the garage, for instance, or the
office. Similarly, if it’s a room predominately used by them, have them clean
it. It’s likely the won’t want you moving any of their belongings anyway. If
you live with the elderly, they don’t need to walk about to help you. Ask them
to clean and polish your cutlery while they watch TV, for instance. Have them clean
any jewellery at the same time.
Motivate unwilling
teens
Motivate reluctant teenagers or kids to help with managing
the home with rewards. Set up a system where they get their pocket money at the
end of the week if they’ve done ten tasks. Or, if they’ve done the dishwasher
five times that week. Don’t just have them involved in the cleaning. Get them
out into the garden to help with weeding. Take them shopping for new bedding
and sheets. Teach them how to cook and make recipes they’ll enjoy
making and eating. Let them do the ironing in their room with their own music
on. Not only are these things more interactive and fun, in some cases you’re sharing
life-long skills.
Hire professionals
If you’re struggling to manage everything, consider hiring
professional cleaners. This doesn’t mean hire a live-in cleaner! It just means
have them come in to do certain tasks that you struggle with, or don’t have
time to keep on top of. Jim’s Cleaning are one such company that offer
just this.
A bunch of letters drops through the door and you pop them
on the side to deal with later. Harmless, right? Wrong! Clutter is one of the
quickest ways to a messy and unclean home. Items taking up room on surfaces
quickly build, and they’re also pretty hard to clean underneath or around. Deal
with things immediately and don’t let them become clutter further down the
line.
