Say These Three NOs Tonight for a Better Tomorrow
For quite some time I felt like I was always behind on keeping our house tidy. We had stuff all over the place. It was stressful and seemed to just snowball out of control. There seemed to be no end in sight. I’d go to bed at night, with our house in a mess, thinking that taking care of it in the morning was a good idea. Our house was almost always messy which was stressful and uninviting. It wasn’t a place I enjoyed being nor was it a place I wanted other people to be, either.
Keeping your home cleaned up and presentable is a lot of work. Add in kids and it seems to be impossible at times. At least it is for me. Some people really love to clean and take great pride in keeping a tidy home. But cleaning has never been something I have enjoyed. It takes great amounts of discipline for me to not put off household tasks in the name of doing something else more appealing.
I know people who cannot go to bed at night without having everything in their house cleaned up and put away. That is not the case for me, ha! In the evening when I see a messy house it makes me want to run to my bed and go to sleep. This means leaving the mess to be dealt with in the morning. Unfortunately, I am usually less motivated to face the mess in the morning than I was the night before. Also, once my kids are awake in the morning there are more messes that happen. The messes left from yesterday plus the messes being made today equal feeling overwhelmed and out of control.
Behind on Housework
Waking up in the morning already behind on housework is daunting. Every day I used to get out of bed and have yesterday’s and today’s messes to deal with. It made me grumble, it made me grumpy with my kids and it made me want to go back to bed. Once I changed my philosophy, my mornings got much better! Waking up to zero dirty dishes and no clutter did wonders for my mental game. Once I implemented “The Three NOs,” my mornings changed dramatically!
“The Three NOs” are to be accomplished before you go to bed each night to make less work for you in the morning. This keeps you on top of daily housekeeping tasks and makes your home more inviting and less chaotic. If you have trouble, like I did, with keeping your house tidy, then try this simple method. It’s a great idea to get the people you live with on board and have them help accomplish these tasks. After all, teamwork makes the dream work, right?
The Three NOs
#1 - NO Dirty Dishes
Every night I used to leave dirty dishes (although rinsed) in the sink to wash in the morning. I actually hated waking up to a sink full of dishes, and yet I did it almost daily. I would be so tired in the evening that I didn't want to deal with washing them. Yet, I was also tired in the morning and didn't want to deal with them then, either. I would dread having to wash dishes along with making breakfast and getting myself and the kids ready for the day. Once I decided to have NO dirty dishes before I went to bed, I realized my mornings were less dreadful. Less things on my morning to-do list meant less dread.
My routine is now to load and start the dishwasher before I go to sleep. Then, I put the clean dishes away in the morning. The same goes for hand-washed items. Having an empty dishwasher in the morning means, as the day goes on, I put dirty dishes back in it. I add the dinner dishes in the evening then push "start" before I go to bed. I repeat the process the next morning. Staying on top of the dirty dishes helps eliminate overwhelm and makes our house a more inviting place!
#2 - NO Stuff on the Floor
I don't know about you, but my kids leave stuff all over the floor. This stuff comes from unknown places and is ever-present. I'm talking stuffed animals, action figures, markers, coloring books, building blocks, 500-piece sets, costumes and the list could go on forever. Between the three of them they can really make a giant mess.
I used to think that picking up the kids' messes didn't matter because they were just going to get the stuff back out and make a mess again. But the thing about kids' messes is that they compound. Kids don't see a bunch of stuff on the floor and decide not to get anything else out. Oh, no they don't! They see stuff on the floor and decide they only want to get out what isn't out already. This just makes a bigger mess until you're up to your eyeballs in stuff! That's why it is so important to make sure there is nothing left on the floor (as well as tables and other surfaces) before you go to bed each night. Starting the day with a "clean slate" is less stressful and keeps messes more under control.
Waking up to a picked-up house is such a great feeling! Yes, it takes extra effort in the evening to put things away. But, the morning starts off so much better when there aren't a bunch of toys and random things on the floor. Less mess equals less stress!
#3 - NO Clean Laundry Left Out
We have five people in our home, which makes for a good amount of laundry. My ideal routine is to do one or two loads of laundry per weekday to stay on top of our dirty clothes. However, it's not enough to just wash and dry the laundry, it has to also be put away. It takes no time at all in our house to have a giant mountain of clean laundry on our couch. If I don't fold and put away the laundry every night, I fall behind. It is a rather big job to fold and put away five+ loads of laundry after a few days; a job I don't particularly enjoy.
Saying, "NO!" to leaving clean laundry unfolded and un-put-away (just made that up) will make for less work tomorrow. Because, tomorrow will call for more laundry to be washed which means more will need to be put away. Isn't life fun? ;)
Messes happen in our homes. As inconvenient as they are, there is no way around them. We may want to avoid tackling messes, but dealing with them before they get out of hand is smarter than trying to put them off. We will feel more at peace, less stressed and more open to inviting others in if our house is tidy and presentable.
Putting, “The Three NOs” into practice – NO dirty dishes, NO stuff on the floor and NO clean laundry left out – is a great way to stay on top of the work required in our homes. Putting in extra effort at night will reap great benefits in the morning. Making it a nightly priority to have a tidy home before going to bed will help each morning start with less dread and more contentment. The great thing is, this doesn’t have to fall on one person. Get everyone involved with keeping the house tidy…yes, even the kids!
Tell me, do you already practice, “The Three NOs” or something like it? What are your daily tips and tricks to staying on top of housework? What works for you and what doesn’t? I would love to hear from you in the comments!
