I think my home’s transition from chaos to clean was so gradual, I didn’t really notice all of the ways my life had improved. I mean, it looks better now, so that is pretty obvious, but having an organized home also functions soooo much better than even I realized.
Exactly one month ago I had a hysterectomy. I was in the hospital for a few days and then in bed for a few after that. I was given the “six weeks no lifting” speech by my doctor and the threat of peeing my pants every time I sneezed was enough to make me actually listen and obey. No lifting. No vacuuming. No driving.
This means for the past month, I haven’t done much of anything. No carrying laundry baskets, no scrubbing, no bending and picking up kids toys….I’m basically been on a Mom strike. I was certain the house would fall into disarray. A few years ago, missing one day of cleaning meant complete and total destruction of my home.
The crazy thing is, my house looks exactly the same. I mean sure, my husband is carrying the laundry baskets up and down and taking out the garbage, but even without any weekly deep cleaning or reorganizing, everything looks pretty clean and organized.
The kids are putting away their toys and their own laundry and it takes only a few minutes to clean up the house before bed. Our house, for the most part, just remains in a constant state of tidy. This my friends, is the result of organization.
Stuff we use just has an easy place to call home. It is easy to take it out and easy to put it away. So easy in fact, that it isn’t any more work than leaving it out. Our home is completely running on autopilot and I didn’t even realize it.
Sure, we still have dishes and cat litter and surfaces to wipe, but everything else is basically taking care of itself (the THREE Roombas help for sure).
So, if you are wondering if you will ever have enough time to organize your home, just remember that 15 minutes a day will get you there and once you have arrived, it is pure bliss!
So, organize something today! Purge some clothes you aren’t wearing, donate those old kids toys and clear out a drawer just for fun! Doing a little bit everyday will add up to a huge impact on the look and function of your home, but importantly, drastically reduce the stress of day-to-day living.