Cleaning a messy house seems virtually impossible when you’re overwhelmed by clutter.
Those sparkly clean floors and organized spaces may seem like they’re lightyears away, but you CAN make that dream a reality with a little work and patience!
How to Clean a Messy House: 5 Helpful Tips
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Take it room by room and space by space
When you’re feeling completely overwhelmed and you’re not even sure where to start– The biggest tip I’ve learned is to take it one room at the time and one space at the time.
It’s best not to go wandering around the house doing a little here and there and creating piles everywhere. All that will do is create more of a mess and leave you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.
Instead, I like to focus on a single room first.
Then, I’ll focus on one space on one side of the room and work my way across to the other side of the room. I’ll remove everything from the area I’m working on, wipe it down, and only put back the items that belong there. Everything else either gets thrown away, sold, or donated.
And I literally repeat that same process for each space and each room. I don’t move on to the next one until I’m finished with the one I started.
The secret sauce is to pick one space and just start.
Give yourself a realistic time frame
I know we all want to get it done as fast as possible, but I don’t recommend trying to do it all in one day. There’s just not enough time if your house is messy!
If you devoted 2-3 hours per day for 1-2 rooms (maybe a bedroom and a bathroom), you could declutter and clean your entire house in about a week.
A realistic time frame will look different for everyone– just don’t try to do too much at once.
Bottom line: Set realistic goals to avoid getting overwhelmed and giving up entirely.
Don’t organize clutter
Did you just say to NOT organize?
Yes, I did! Let me explain.
I once had a box of DVDs stored in my basement for 2 years– and never touched them. I’m embarrassed to admit that, but it’s true.
I considered getting a new storage shelf to organize them all, but then I had an epiphany. Why spend money on a new shelf when those dusty old things never get watched anymore anyway?
So OUT they went!
Moral of the story: If you’re trying to organize something you no longer use, you’re really just “organizing” clutter and creating more work for yourself.
Purge like a maniac
If you really want to clean a messy house, you MUST purge like a maniac. 😜
Declutter first. Then you have way less to organize and clean.
If you haven’t touched something in the past 6 months to a year, there’s a good chance you won’t miss it if it happened to, I don’t know, disappear? 😉
Here are a few ideas of things to declutter:
- Clothes and shoes you no longer wear/like or that the kids have outgrown
- Paper clutter
- Items “in storage”
- Kitchen gadgets you never use (I donated an old waffle maker and I regret nothing.)
- Toys your kids no longer like or play with
- Random food container lids
- Old makeup
- Cookbooks you never use
- Old magazines
- DVDs you never watch
- Expired vitamins and other items
Be honest with yourself. If you “forgot you had something” you’ll likely never miss it.
Improve your habits to keep clutter at bay
Finally, in order to maintain all the work you’ve done, you really have to put some effort into changing the habits that contributed to the clutter to begin with.
Related: Free Monthly Habit Tracker Printable
Stop buying things you don’t really need
This could mean anything from new toys your kiddos will play with once to throwing random things in the basket just because they’re on the clearance shelf.
When you buy a bunch of small things you don’t truly need, they really start to add up over time.
Related: 12 Things to Stop Buying to Save Money
Assign designated spots
It might be a “no brainer” but this simple tip can be a game changer.
After we moved into our home, there was no place to hang our keys. Guess you guess what happened? They would always end up either taking up counter space or lost. So, we mounted a simple key organizer right beside the door and boom problem solved.
Everything in your home needs a designated place that’s not on your dining room table, countertops, etc.
Related: 12 Small Kitchen Organization Ideas
Train yourself to “put things back where they go”
This is a classic tip your grandma has probably told you your whole life.
Having all the designated spots in the world won’t do you much good if you aren’t diligent about returning them when you’re done.
I’ve found it helpful to take a few minutes every day to tidy up and return things to their designated spots. I like doing this at night because it’s so nice to wake up to a tidy home. ☺️
Now, I’d love to hear your best tips on how to clean a messy house. Pop them in the comments if you’d like!
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