Where to start?

[CraftyGirly90]

Feeling really bogged down with work full time daft hours and trying to get/keep on top of the housework. I never seem to know where to start or keep the flat tidy. Where does everyone else start and how do you keep on top of everything. I feel really bogged down 😓

Just try and do it bit by bit and try not to worry to much. I find I try and keep the dishes and washing cleared up and then just tidy/clean the rest as I go. Maybe just do a room or set cleaning task (hoovering/dusting) each day or when you have a day off and take it from there.

Start small. Get into habits and routines. Declutter - less stuff to tidy then!

How bad is it? When we get overrun with house crud I make it my mission to clear the floor in one room completely before bed. Just one, usually the hall. It somehow turns the tide, and we gradually get back on track.
Fly lady works for a lot of people- she has you shine the sink, similar principle.

I was in a right mess about 8 weeks ago. Not quite channel 5 documentary but not far off! I had done zero cleaning in over a year so the house was gross. I blame GAD and some MH hiccups for this but really, working full time and exhaustion were the main issues I had. I started a thread just like this one in a right state and couldnt see a way out, but I got some fab advice and I'll share it with you now. It really helped me to turn the tide and keep on top of things and I now live in a sparkly clean home, and as a lovely side effect my MH is now way way better and I'm much less "brain tired" :)

First things first: Just clear one tiny section of one room. For me it was the top of my microwave. Get it completely clear and just bin anything you don't need. Once it's perfect, move on to the next section until the room is done. Rinse and repeat on all the rooms. I took a week off work to do mine but I'm sure yours is nowhere near as bad as mine was!

Next, sit and work out a routine that you can easily do in 20 mins a day and 1 hour at the weekend. To do this, categorize your rooms into high traffic rooms, medium traffic rooms and low traffic rooms. Your high traffic rooms need a bit of attention every day, even if it's just a quick 5 minute tidy. Then your medium traffic need about 20 mins twice a week. Your low traffic need about 5-10 mins once a week.

Once you've got your routine worked out, write it down and put it somewhere you'll walk passed it every day. I have mine on a whiteboard on the side of my fridge :)

Then just stick to the routine. I don't really understand why it helps so much, but it does. It takes the guess work out of cleaning and you know exactly what needs doing when if that makes sense? All you do is come in in the evening, check the board and do the jobs you need to for 20 mins, then you have the rest of the evening to do whatever you like :)

Don't know if it will be helpful OP but here's my list :)

Here's my current list:

Monday: Tidy kitchen and living room, wipe round downstairs bathroom and hoover & steam mop the downstairs of the house (kitchen, living room, downstairs bathroom).

Tuesday: Tidy kitchen and living room, tidy bedrooms and upstairs bathroom.

Wednesday: Tidy kitchen and living room, hoover & Steam Mop upstairs

Thursday: Tidy Kitchen & Living Room & tidy craft room if needed

Friday: Tidy kitchen and living room, Wash bathmats, cushion covers and dog bedding, do a monthly job (list of these below)

Saturday: Tidy Kitchen & Living room and do any jobs missed during the week, clean fish tank (water change day) and vac & steam mop downstairs.

Sunday: Tidy Kitchen and living room and NOTHING ELSE grin

Monthly Jobs List:
Clean Oven inside and out
Hoover behind sofas
Clean out cupboards and bin out of date stuff
Steam clean grout in the bathrooms and kitchen (this is so much fun!!)
Wipe down skirting and doors downstairs
Wash Curtains
Steam carpets
Wild card - (any jobs/ organisation projects I want to get done!)

Depends what's messy? Is it just stuff in wrong place or to much stuff and need to get rid? Or are we talking just rubbish and old dishes?

Good old declutter is good place to start. Kitchen work tops and sink really help. You can then do cupboards and draws when you feel up to it.