Love these tips! My messes whisper at me- if it’s just a little mess I don’t notice it, but when it becomes a big mess it gets really loud if that makes any sense.
One thing I’ve implemented is when I get to work and when I get home after work before starting dinner and homework I set a timer and do a 5 minute clean up. It’s short enough it doesn’t have a huge time impact but it allows me to get my work space ready to go and the table and counters clear enough we have room to use those spaces.
Great tips. Especially the bucket tip. I still find it fascinating that some people really do not “see” messes. I only know it’s true because I have met those people- and yet, it still fascinates me.
The point about the front room being easily cleaned and set was revolutionary to me and really helped my mentality at the end of the day. I learned a lot from having a house on the market with three kids under 10 and having to get the house “showing ready”. We had removed a lot of clutter into the garage at the advice of the agent and then we all learned what “showing ready” looked like. After that experience I knew what the kids needed in order to help me was a visual standard in their head of what a clean room looked like—what a particular room should look like when clean. And we all learned how important it was to have less stuff to keep in order!
I've never put a time limit on the after dinner clean up, but I like the idea of giving it 15 minutes. It's a signal to everyone that this won't last forever.
I am living in America, but, I don't assume everyone has a playroom or basement. When I say playroom I really mean the room you play in, even when I lived in a one bedroom apartment I didn't keep toys in the bedroom, I had a small corner of the living room that was the "play room". With smaller spaces, it's even more important to me to have less things scattered around multiple rooms to make cleaning up easier because messes always feel louder to me in smaller spaces.
A huge selling point for me of our current home was the fact that it had a "second room" on the main floor behind the kitchen. I am so grateful that now I can have a dedicated more messy room for play in the back of my house while still maintaining simplicity and cleanliness in the front of my home. That was way more important to me than some of the other things people look for in a home - updated kitchen and bathrooms, etc.
Love these tips! My messes whisper at me- if it’s just a little mess I don’t notice it, but when it becomes a big mess it gets really loud if that makes any sense.
One thing I’ve implemented is when I get to work and when I get home after work before starting dinner and homework I set a timer and do a 5 minute clean up. It’s short enough it doesn’t have a huge time impact but it allows me to get my work space ready to go and the table and counters clear enough we have room to use those spaces.
I love that idea of doing a 5 minute practical clean up right at the onset. I'm going to try that. thanks for sharing :)
Great tips. Especially the bucket tip. I still find it fascinating that some people really do not “see” messes. I only know it’s true because I have met those people- and yet, it still fascinates me.
Yeah, it's nuts. But, also -- don't you sorta kinda wish you were like them. Life would be so much easier <3
The point about the front room being easily cleaned and set was revolutionary to me and really helped my mentality at the end of the day. I learned a lot from having a house on the market with three kids under 10 and having to get the house “showing ready”. We had removed a lot of clutter into the garage at the advice of the agent and then we all learned what “showing ready” looked like. After that experience I knew what the kids needed in order to help me was a visual standard in their head of what a clean room looked like—what a particular room should look like when clean. And we all learned how important it was to have less stuff to keep in order!
Habit stacking cleaning—genius! I love the framing of clean first and then you’ll have time to watch your show.
I've never put a time limit on the after dinner clean up, but I like the idea of giving it 15 minutes. It's a signal to everyone that this won't last forever.
I skipped to the first tip and thought oh this must be American assuming we all have a playroom or basement 😆
I am living in America, but, I don't assume everyone has a playroom or basement. When I say playroom I really mean the room you play in, even when I lived in a one bedroom apartment I didn't keep toys in the bedroom, I had a small corner of the living room that was the "play room". With smaller spaces, it's even more important to me to have less things scattered around multiple rooms to make cleaning up easier because messes always feel louder to me in smaller spaces.
A huge selling point for me of our current home was the fact that it had a "second room" on the main floor behind the kitchen. I am so grateful that now I can have a dedicated more messy room for play in the back of my house while still maintaining simplicity and cleanliness in the front of my home. That was way more important to me than some of the other things people look for in a home - updated kitchen and bathrooms, etc.