This week’s tip: Organize one thing a week.
I especially like the “eventually” column.
My husband and I clean our house once a week and do a “maintenance clean” mid-week. While I wish we would give in and hire someone to clean our abode once a month, it’s just not feasible (not to mention that handing someone else cash to clean my mess when it’s just us two and our two dogs seems lazy). However, we have some major organizational projects that need to be tackled and like everyone else, the time we have to get it done falls on the weekend.
Weekends should be dedicated to long runs, relaxation, hobbies, and reconnecting with family. However, I tend to want to organize and clean all the things at once, and before I know it, it’s Sunday at 5:00pm and I’m complaining about not having caught up on rest or writing a blog post that needed to be done three days ago. So, I’ve told myself that I will tackle one big thing once a week and devote only a predetermined amount of time to it. When time is up, I stop … and have a conversation with myself that goes something like this:
STOP. Put it down, Abby! You have to let go. I know it’s hard, but you deserve to do other things. And let’s face it, there will always be something to clean and/or organize. That’s the way it is, so embrace it. That perfect refrigerator with it’s little plastic bins with the fruit pouches and La Croix cans so neatly organized that your best-friend’s-friend’s-aunt’s-cousin posted on Instagram? I can almost guarantee you that the rest of her house is a mess and she is just posting the pic to make herself feel better and that she “has it all together.” She probably does have a lot of her ‘ish together, but it’s her career and family that’s together not every closet, room, or her garage, and that is okay!
Life is meant to be lived and not spent cleaning every little thing. And hey, if that’s what you like to do to feel put together, kudos to you! Because let’s be honest, it does make us feel good to have our environment organized when maybe the rest of our life isn’t. If you are like me and get anxiety from having a million things to do, put what you want to get done on a list. Then add a column of things that need to get done. Cross out anything that isn’t necessary at that moment and keep it farther down on your list. You’ll get to it at some point, so stop stressing! If that doesn’t help, put it on your calendar. Yep, I do it-two weeks from now my husband and I are going to start getting our backyard ready for spring … that is if it doesn’t rain.
