Staying on top of the housework can be hard – especially if you have a big household or other things taking up your time during the day.
To help, cleaning and organisation influencer Audrey, known on TikTok as ‘Organized Chaos’, shared her top tips on how to get your house back to being clean and tidy when you don’t know where to start.
“Okay this video is for the people who say ‘I’m so overwhelmed with my house, I don’t even know where to start’,” Audrey told her viewers. “You are going to do four things, that’s it, four things today.”
She went on to share her list on how to get housework done when you can’t be bother or is feeling overwhelmed by the state of your home.
1. Do one load of dishes
Dishes have a tendency to grow into mountains if you don’t stay on top of it, and can often feel overwhelming. However, Audrey urged people to start with a little at a time.
She explained: “You are going to do a full cycle of dishes. So that means, you load the dishwasher, you start it, and you put those away. That’s it.”
Just getting a little bit done at a time can help make your kitchen feel less overwhelming, and you’ll make sure you have clean plates ready for your next meal.
2. Do one load of laundry
Just like dishes, laundry can quickly become an overwhelming job if you’ve fallen behind. However, Audrey again urged people to start with a little at a time.
“You know I preach ‘OLAD’ that’s what I call one load a day. You do one load of laundry every single day,” she explained.
“Today you’re going to wash, dry, and put away one load. If you’ve already got a load in the dryer, put that away and then you’re gonna wash and dry another load, leave it in the dryer. That’s it.”
3. Do the ‘basket method’
The basket method is something Audrey preaches by, and urges you to grab the biggest basket you can find, such as a laundry basket, and walk around the main areas of your home to collect any clutter you can find, such as papers, dirty clothes, or toys and put it all in the basket before putting the basket away somewhere you can’t see it.
“Out of sight, out of mind – for the time being,” she said, before explaining you can go back to it another day when you feel up for it.
4. 15-minute timer
For the final step, Audrey say to set a 15 minute timer, and then spend that time doing one specific thing, such as another load of dishes, matching socks, or making the bed.
“Whatever that is, you’re just going to do something for 15 minutes and then you’re gonna stop, okay? And then you do not get to think about the mess for the rest of the day,” she said.
“You’ve done your part, you’re done thinking about it, you’re done stressing about it – stressing about it will not make it go away, so stop thinking about it.”
To then keep up with the cleaning, she urges people to do at least one cleaning task a day to slowly declutter and clean your home, so it won’t feel as overwhelming again.
