What to Do if You Can’t Keep on Top of Housework

1. Little and Often

Tackling small tasks as and when throughout your day is a great way to keep on top of cleaning. Think about the tasks that just take a couple of minutes and consider when you could tackle them.

For example, you could put the random bottles and jars on the kitchen work surfaces away whilst you are waiting for the oven to heat up or the microwave to finish.

If you have a paper bin in your home office, change the bag when needed, and leave the full one by the door to take out next time you go outside (as long as everything in the bin is clean, of course!).

Tackling household chores in small chunks is much easier on the mind than trying to carve out an hour or so each day.

2. Build Good Daily Habits

The odd small tasks that need to be tackled regularly can sometimes be easily integrated into your day. Once you’ve done it a few times, you won’t even notice!

For example, try to:

• Load the washing machine before you go out and hang it to dry when you get home
• Fold laundry whilst you binge-watch the latest boxset
• Keep antibacterial wipes in easily accessible places around your home, perfect for quick touch-ups
• Keep a squeegee in the bathroom to keep your glass clean
• Whizz around the bathroom tidying up whilst you wait for your bath to run or shower to warm up

3. Use a Weekly Planner

A weekly planner or cleaning schedule may help some families get back on top of the problem. Utilising a planner or schedule will take the pressure off needing to remember what needs to be done, making the process of keeping on top of chores so much easier.

In essence, a cleaning schedule should list all the jobs that need doing across the course of the week, along with who is going to tackle them and when they should be tackled.

4. Prioritise

If the time for cleaning is really limited, you need to work out what the most important tasks are and plan around those.

Work out how much time each week can be allocated for cleaning, along with how long the highest priority tasks will take. Schedule these priority tasks first, and if you have time left over afterward, you can fill the gaps with the less important tasks.

As an example, you may want to allow time to load the dishwasher every other day but vacuuming or cleaning the bathroom may only happen once a week.

You’ll feel better knowing that all the important things are done, and it will be easier for you to accept that’s all there was physically time for.

5. Delegate

We cannot stress this one enough! Some households may have one person that tackles most of the chores, whilst others get away scot-free. If everyone in a household is pitching in, it will prevent the list from building up and becoming overwhelming.

Split the harder stuff out between the adults or older children and give young children simple things to take care of. This could be putting laundry away, getting rid of the odd bits of rubbish in the living room, or unloading the dishwasher.

6. Declutter

Not only does clutter gather dust, but it also can make rooms look messier than they are. If you are already struggling to keep on top of housework, unnecessary clutter will make it feel so much worse.

Make sure each family member is responsible for keeping their own things tidy and consider investing in organisers for things like letters and paperwork.

7. Don’t Let Dishes Build Up

Kitchens can be a major source of stress, and the worst culprit is a build-up of dishes.

Where possible, never let the dishes pile up in the sink. If you have one, throw away the drying rack by your kitchen sink; this will force you to wash and dry as you go.

If you have a dishwasher, empty it in the morning, so that it can be gradually filled throughout the day.

8. Don’t Get Fixated on Perfection

Everyone slips up, emergencies happen, and some days you just need to give yourself a break. No one is perfect, and that’s okay!

Try not to get so fixated on your home looking perfect that it is detrimental to your mental or physical wellbeing. Tackle what you can when you can, rather than stressing too much about anything that is out of your control. Your wellbeing is more important!

9. Consider Hiring a Cleaner

If after these tips you are still struggling to keep on top of your housework, consider hiring a cleaner. Even if you only opt for a couple of hours every now and again, it can help take some of the pressure off.