The never ending circle of clean.

(Not my house but not far off on a Friday afternoon)

So I was wondering if  I am the only person on the planet who's home looks like a nuclear bomb has hit it every Friday afternoon?

I honestly can't explain it, our apartment, a tidy suburban haven on a Monday morning. Is turned into a modern day war zone by the end of the week. I find myself dodging toy dinosaurs and hurdling over baskets of washing just to get out of the front door. I'm not sure if it's part of the parenting package or if the my hoover shy partner should shoulder some of the blame.
Whatever the reason, guest are not welcome in our home after 6pm on a Wednesday, unless they're blindfolded or bound by a gagging order.

I feel like no matter what I do or how hard I try, the clutter just keeps coming back. It creeps up on me. Slowly at first, a fallen cushion here, a magazine there... Then BAM, I can't even find the cat.

According to an article I read on how clutter affects you, a messy home can be damaging to your health, cause stress and even create poverty! Apparently it's a vicious circle too, the more cluttered your home becomes, the more powerless you feel against it.

Not wanting my family to end up living in a box as a result of the clutter, I decided to take some acction:
g

My Top Five Clutter Busting Tips

1. See It Do It - If you see something that needs doing do it now! It takes five minuets to put a toy away. If you leave it until the end of the week, you'll be on an hour long toy trail and probablya wont be amused when you stand on an action figure.
2. Delegate- You'll get the job done quicker with more hands on deck. However reluctant your helpers are, everybody should pitch in to keep your home in ship shape. 
3. Don't Procrastinate -  There's a huge pile of dishes in the Kitchen, just as you're about to do them you remember that super important tweet that you need to send. It's easier to get the cleaning out of the way and deal with the rest later. you'll feel a lot more in control if you do.
4. Timing is everything- One of the main reasons that I struggled with tidying up was the times I chose to do it. Trying to get the hoover out when I'd just got in from work was fine in theory. In reality, the second I see my son the cleaning goes out of the window. I like to spend those two precious hours before he goes to bed playing with him. It's much quicker to get it done when he's asleep anyway.
5. Think of the end result- Thursday and Fridays are my low energy days, I'm usually tired from work and find it difficult to motivate myself to clean. One thing that really kicks my butt into gear is to imagine the end result. Imagining how good you will feel when it's done and how lovely your home will look, will help whilst you're pulling on the marigolds.

I hope this has helped if you're and end of the week clutter mum like me.

If you liked this, you might also like:

As easy as riding a bike