Over the past two weeks I’ve been dealing with a lot of things, between sick kiddos, getting over the holidays, and more. One thing I promised myself with the new year was to get my house back under control. To put it simply, my house is ‘lived in’ and unfortunately with the loss of my mom two years ago I will admit that I had fallen into a pretty dark place that first year. Then the second year as I grieved and healed with the help of God I was finally beginning to feel like I had my head above water again.

So as 2023 hit I promised (to myself) that I wasn’t going to let myself be controlled by the clutter and mess of a disorganized house. I wasn’t going to let the laundry pile turn into a mountain and I wasn’t going to put off what I could do today to do tomorrow, because you and I both know it wasn’t going to happen tomorrow either. So I was hit with another dilemma, as small as my house is, I had no idea where to start.

For the record, I am not saying that I haven’t cleaned my house in two years. But I definitely let somethings get the better of me, namely laundry and dishes in the sink. So those were obviously at the top of my list. I have heard some people say to have a productive day you need to make the bed. For me, the starting place was getting out of my PJs. It may seem like such a simple task but as someone who works from home full time there have been many occasions when I’ve entered into a complacency and found myself at two in the afternoon and realizing I was still wearing my pajamas. Especially with two little ones running in first thing in the morning full of energy that I definitely did not have.

If you’re struggling to get your house in order I recommend starting with the kitchen/eating areas. Get all the dishes clean, use the dish washer to wash as many as you can and wash the rest by hand. Don’t let them sit and wait for the “wash to finish”. Then hit the bathrooms and following that the rest of the house. I’ve been focusing on 1 room a day and it is much easier to maintain. Everyone pitches in to keep it clean because everyone in the house has felt tangibly happier as a result of keeping the house in order.

To be honest after the last year, having a sink full of dishes or a pile of laundry that never ended was beginning to feel normal. We didn’t know how much of an impact it made on our mental and emotional state until we finally had enough and decided as a family to make a change. I’m not saying a person’s house has to be spotless, Lord knows that is not my style. I still do plenty of arts and crafts with the girls, we bake, we cook, we have a lived in house. But I feel like it is a lot easier to enjoy those things when your house is tidy. Sweep the floors immediately after a craft instead of at the end of the day which can often be pushed to the next day. Wipe the tables and counters down as soon as you spill something. Toss or donate what isn’t needed. Throw away trash, immediately, don’t let it sit on the countertops. Basically, don’t let the small chores build into big ones. There are so many small, seemingly insignificant, things that when they continuously pile on top of each other can put a pressure and weight on your shoulders that you don’t even know is there until its not there any more.

When your environment is clean you feel happy, motivated, and healthy.

Lailah Gifty Akita