What to do Right Now if Your House Always Feels Messy

I couldn't figure out why my house was always a mess. It wasn't like I never cleaned up, I tidied up every day! Why then, did I have a messy house all the time?

But it still felt messy! So then what? (sigh) Here is what I realized.

A house that always feels messy most likely means that everything does not have a place to go. If every item in your house does not have a place to go, then the best option is to reduce your inventory. In other words, declutter.

That was the problem! I had too much stuff. There was so much stuff in my house that it didn't all have a place to go. Each item in my home didn't have a "home". Therefore, I had a messy house!

Does every item in your home have a "home"? Does everything have a place to go? Do you know where to put every item so that it's "put away"?

I know, decluttering can look like a big mountain! But listen, it doesn't need to be that way!

I like to think of decluttering as reducing inventory. And the reason I reduce inventory is not only so that everything has a place to go, but because really, I have too much stuff for me to handle.

Having a lot of inventory to keep track of is a lot of work. And so if you have a lot of inventory that doesn't have a place to go in your home, it's always going to feel messy, plus being too much to handle and manage.

So decluttering or reducing inventory is all about freeing up your mind so that you can concentrate on things you love instead of trying to always deal with a messy house.

So let's see if we can't reduce the mess, reduce the inventory the easy way. Because easy is easy, and easy is fun.

10 minute clean up: messy house solution

So, the house is messy, you feel overwhelmed and don't have any idea how to begin. I get that. Waving a magic wand and seeing all the mess disappear would be so lovely!

Unfortunately, Walmart doesn't stock magic wands. But, I know of one solution you can do right now that just may end up feeling like a magic wand. Because it's life changing!

First of all, pick a room or area that is the most important to you, like the living room or kitchen. Next, set the timer for 10 minutes.

And clean up like crazy!

Yes, clean up for 10 minutes in the room you have chosen.

I know, 10 minutes doesn't seem like a lot of time! I mean, what is 10 minutes? Hardly anything!

But I promise you, a LOT can happen in 10 minutes! (Think 5 year old and a full toy box.)

Clean up until the timer rings and then step back and see what the room looks like. You can even take before and after pictures so you can see the difference.

And to make this step better yet, get everyone in your home to help you with this 10 minute clean up. It's only 10 minutes!

And best of all, you can do this clean up any time of the day, as many times as you want in a day, AND it can be just thing to get you motivated to do even more to control the mess!

How to Declutter a Messy House Easily

Remember, this is all about easy. And I know that decluttering can look huge because we have stuff that we love.

I need to insert a disclaimer here. I am not a decluttering expert! But, I am a mom and a homemaker. with almost 2 decades of homemaking experience.

And I know what it's like to have way too much stuff to handle and being overwhelmed by it all.

And yes, I have learned lots of tidbits and things that have helped by decluttering experts and minimalists ( The Minimal Mom and Clutterbug) which I am passing on to you with my own twist.

Ok, back to the decluttering...reducing inventory.

The first thing you need is permission.

Huh?

You need permission to get rid of stuff. And that is the first thing I want to give to you.

You have permission to throw stuff away. Or give it away.

You are allowed to get rid of stuff in your home!

Remind yourself often that you have permission.

Ok, now for the next step. Just for some beginning practice get rid of one thing. Right now. Anything. Some old papers, an old magazine, a dried out pen. Anything.

Now throw away something else a little bigger. Maybe a dish in your cupboard that's chipped and really doesn't look very nice anymore.

Or throw away an old blanket that you thought might come in handy for something, but hasn't been used for a long while.

There doesn't have to be any rhyme or reason to decluttering. Just getting in the mode of actually throwing stuff away and being ok with it is a huge step to getting rid of inventory.

And I think you'll be surprised at what you find yourself getting rid of and realizing how just getting rid of a few things can make you feel.

It's like all your stuff is a big burden you carry and getting rid of just one thing makes the burden that much lighter.

Complete the Recipe to Fix a Messy House

You've done the 10 minute clean up and gotten rid of a little bit of inventory. But you still feel like you have a messy house!

Here is where I ask, "are you ok with being ok with a messy house?"

I don't like having a messy house either! It drives me bananas!

But!

I find myself less bananas when I can be ok with a messy house. Who am I to think that living with 6 other people, (my hubby and 5 children) that the house will always be tidy?

Until I reduced inventory, my house was always in some stage of messy. Messy, very messy, extremely messy etc.

Once I did get rid of a pick-up load of stuff out of my home, the extreme mess only happens occasionally.

And it can do the same for you. The magic wand in this case is time and continually working at reducing inventory. You can do it! With patience at your side. 😉

And the next time you do a 10 minute clean up try including some decluttering. Set a limit for yourself if you like of throwing away 5 things in your cleanup time.

Clean up for 10 minutes and throw things away instead of trying to find a place to put them. It can be something as small as an old receipt or as big as a piece of clothing you realize you don't ever wear.

Conclusion

If you wonder why your house always feels messy and you feel overwhelmed by it all, know that a tidy house is not as out of reach as you think.

It only takes a few steps to start on the path to a tidy house. Clean up in short spurts like 10 minutes or even 5.

Reduce inventory so that you don't have so many things to be responsible for. Do it one item at a time to keep it from becoming a huge mountain.

Repeat those steps day after day to create a habit so that you can even do it without thinking!

You got this!

What feels like the biggest challenge for you when you think about tackling mess?

Write your answer below! 😊