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Decluttering and Cleaning Your Home
Two Minute Dash!
Decluttering and cleaning your home doesn't necessarily have to be done all at once. You can achieve a lot just by utilising otherwise *dead* time. Get a head start on housework!
Here's how...
There are various moments in your day when you are basically waiting for something else to be ready, or something to happen.
For example:
- While waiting for the kettle to boil.
- While microwaving something.
- During the TV commercials.
- Waiting for your favourite TV show to start. Don't just sit there watching the end of the last show, where you don't have any idea what is going on... and don't care!
- While waiting for someone to ring you back.
- When something in the oven *just needs a couple more minutes*
- While waiting to hang out the washing, but the washing machine is still spinning, spinning, spinning... or won't let you open the door yet! (A bit like the "watched kettle" never boling, so trick it by sneaking off to work for a minute or two!)
- If you're listening to music, you could plan to pick one song now and then and madly clean/declutter for that entire song.
- If you are working at your desk, you should have regular 5 minute breaks. Go to the toilet or get a drink or whatever you need to do... but then spend the remaining minute or two doing something towards your household efforts.
During these moments you can make use of the time by accomplishing, or at least starting, some simple household chores such as cleaning or decluttering jobs, or getting something important done. You don't have to finish each thing, just a start is better than none! Once what you were waiting for is done, move on to that, and return in another spare moment to continue with the task.
Some quick tasks you could start... or maybe even complete:
- Wash a few dishes... just 2 or 3 things even... you don't have to do the lot. If you do this over a few TV commercial breaks, the dinner dishes might even be done!
- Wipe down the outside of the fridge, microwave, kettle or toaster.
- Wipe down the stove top.
- Wipe down the sink area.
- Wipe down the bathroom basin.
- Dust one small area, like a table or TV.
- Declutter and tidy a shelf, or part of it.
- Get rid of the out of date junk mail.
- Tidy your desk top.
- Grab your library books for the next day.
- Pay a bill online.
- Make a quick important phone call you've been putting off... get it out of the way! sort one kitchen utensil drawer and remove duplicate items or items you never use. Put them in the *Donate/Garage Sale* box.
- Choose one desk drawer or similar and remove all the accumulated junk!
- Pick up 2 items that need putting away... and put them in place. This is particularly good if you are heading to the room they belong in- eg. the bathroom or bedroom- in a commercial break or spare moment.
If there are a few items all headed for the same room, gather them all up- have a small basket available for the prupose- and at least put the basket in the appropriate room, even if you don't have time to put them away right then. Do that in your next free few minutes.
- Gather all the rubbish or recycling you can in a couple of minutes, and bin it. Once again, having a small basket available for this process can be useful.
- Is there a lot of a particular item lying about where they shouldn't, like DVD's out of their cases or shelves, or magazines/books, or toys the kids have left about? Take a couple of minutes to return them to where they belong.
It helps if you can get the rest of the family involved too! (This will probably work better with young ones that teens!) Make it a game! When the commercials come on... off everyone rushes to see what they can achieve! Who can get their toys away properly first, and get back to the couch?!
If you try to repeat at least some of these each day- those things that get dirty or need doing daily- then it's much easier to keep up with things. And then other less frequent tasks help move you closer to the clean, tidy, decluttered home you've always dreamed of!
Happy Decluttering.
If you have serious clutter/hoarding problems...
Compulsive Hoarding can be a serious problem and often requires expert help to successfully deal with. Just clearing out the hoard won't solve the complex emotional issues that are at the root of the problem. If you, or a loved one, suffer from a serious hoarding problem, ask your doctor to refer a specialist who deals with this issue.
An organising expert may also be of help, to deal with the clutter, and keep it under control, by setting up proper systems. Seek out a professional organiser who has had experience with compulsive hoarders.
Visiting one of the following websites/groups can also be of immense help with the long journey ahead.
http://takeonestepatatime.proboards80.com/index.cgi
This is one of the best sites for anyone who wants support and understanding in their decluttering/dehoarding efforts! Very active posting forum, plus live chat allows real time support and decluttering *challenges*! The people there are friendly, supportive, non-judgemental (no matter how bad your home is!!) and really understand what you are going through. Well worth a look!
http://squalorsurvivors.com
Although no longer actively updated, this site has excellent information for people dealing with decluttering and dehoarding in their own lives.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Messiness-and-Hoarding/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Declutter-Support/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/messiestalk/
Excellent active Yahoo groups for people with messy/ clutter/ hoarding problems.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mates-of-Messies/
Yahoo group for people in a partner relatopnship (married or otherwise) with a person who has messiness, clutter or hoarding issues.
http://www.childrenofhoarders.com
A very useful site for adult children of hoarders, or other relatives or friends trying to help hoarders.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/childrenofhoarders/
Wonderfully supportive Yahoo group for adult children of hoarders, or other people dealing with friends/relatives with hoarding problems.
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