Cleaning overwhelm. How to take the overwhelm out of cleaning

Have you ever just stood in the middle of a room that clearly needs cleaning, feeling so overwhelmed that, rather than cleaning it, you end up sitting on the couch, scrolling through your phone instead?

I have done this more times than I can count. I have decided that enough was enough I needed to make a plan. Figure out how to get past this road block. So, I have come up with a few ways to get motivated.

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Reducing cleaning overwhelm table of contents

Choose a Starting Point

This can be the hardest part of cleaning sometimes. Where to even begin?

There are a number of options to choose from that can help you decide. Here are a few starting suggestions that I like:

1. Do you want a big initial impact. Like say the messiest room or the room you see the most. Do you want to see results right away. Will cleaning this space this help you to stay motivated to do the rest.
2. Do you want just ease into it. Finding an easy job to do can be really nice, it will leave you feeling like you have accomplished something right away. For me this could be doing the dishes, they need doing every day, they usually don’t take long to clean and can make such a big impact to how my kitchen looks.
3. Put away all the bits. If your clutter has a home put it away. Start here when cleaning a room it is good to see things be put away into their rightful places.
4. Sit and make a list. You may not even begin with cleaning it could be that you sit down and make a plan. So lets look at how to do this.

Make a cleaning list

I love making lists I have lists for pretty much everything. It is a way to get it out of my head and this helps tremendously with any overwhelm that I am feeling.

For most of us, we complete our weekly or daily cleaning tasks without much thought. These tasks are already part of our routine, but every now and then, even these simple tasks can feel daunting. Lists can be very helpful in these moments, as they help get us back on track

My favourite way to do this is to go room by room. I will sit in each room and write down everything that needs doing and I mean everything.

This may seem silly, writing down things like cleaning the bath tub or vacuuming. These cleaning chores are pretty standard in home maintenance but when you are overwhelmed even these small chores can be too much. So I write them down and when they are completed for that room I cross them out.

The power or crossing off a task.

I love crossing jobs off my list. It gives me a sense of accomplishment, which motivates me to keep going. Yes, your home will look clean and tidy, but seeing a completed list is so much better.

So yes write every little job down that you can think of if that is what will help you to keep going.

That is why I created my room by room checklists. They can be customized to fit your home and your needs.

You can find these downloadable lists in my store, click on the image below and it will take you to the store.

• Page one includes rooms that are found in pretty much every home, these include the living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.
• Page two has rooms that are found in some homes like dining room, study and additional bedrooms.
• Lastly page three is blank and can be tailored to any other rooms you may have. Like a mud room or pantry.

There are weekly, monthly and yearly lists because there are jobs that only need doing once in a while. Like for instance cleaning out the fridge and freezer or maybe reorganizing your clothes these jobs may only be done every few months or once a year.

I like to place the lists into plastic wallets and use an erasable marker. That way you only need to print off one copy instead of printing one every time.

Use the right cleaning products and tools

No one wants to make life any harder than it already is. This can also be said of cleaning so why make it harder on yourself.

Finding cleaning products that work and ones you like can take time. What doesn’t help is that there are so many products to choose from.

Right now I want to focus on the more natural route. Yes I know some have this idea that if it doesn’t smell like bleach or chemical then it isn’t clean but I am not this person.

I will agree that some natural cleaners suck, but I have found recipes that work really well. I particularly love Nancy Birtwhistle’s all purpose cleaner and her cream cleaner. The all purpose cleaners main ingredients include white vinegar and Isopropyl alcohol. The cream cleaner has bicarbonate of soda, dish soap and glycerin as its main ingredients. All of these are easy to find and pretty cheap to purchase (don’t forget it will make a lot and last a while).

Other basic cleaning products and tools will include:

• A good vacuum cleaner, I love my Shark vacuum they are a great brand and not as pricy as the popular Dyson
• Dusters, I prefer a simple microfiber cloth it does the job well. I have tried all of the other swiffer dusters, etc, but I always end up back to using a basic cloth as a duster.
• Toilet Brush and Cleaner.
• Mop. Again I use a classic sponge mop I don’t use a bucket I tend to fill my sink and add in the floor cleaner start on the far end and work my way back to the sink. The spray swiffers are great for a basic clean but honestly I don’t find they are thorough enough for a deep clean.
• Glass and mirror cleaners. My all time favourite is the Norwex window cloth, you wipe your window down with a damp cloth and then go in with your dry Norwex window cloth to dry it. No residue or streaks its fantastic and guess what no chemicals.

I know there’s are lot more products I could add to this list, but I am sure you can figure these out for yourself. It really is a case of trial and error, find what works and stick with it.

Keep it simple

Another thing to keep in mind is that with so many gadgets out there we may find ourselves buying into them. Only to find that we tend to gravitate back to our favourite basic cloths and rags while the so called time saving gadgets end up in a closet or on a shelf collecting dust. Making more work for us in the long run, because now we need to clean them too. Be careful what you buy into, save your money.

Ditch the clutter

One of the main reasons for nearly all cleaning overwhelm has to do with the amount of stuff we have.

I heard someone recently say if you have room dedicated to boxes then you have too much stuff. I am not talking about a garage or a shed I mean a room in your home that shouldn’t be used for storage.

If it doesn’t have a place to go does it need to stay. This is when a good monthly or yearly reevaluation come in. But, remember, don’t look at the clutter all at once, otherwise you will back on the couch stressing out with nothing getting done.

Instead choose just one cupboard, drawer or box at a time go through it and be honest, what needs to stay and what should go, then move on. to the next This may take time but that is ok the point is to get started. Who cares if it takes a month, six months, a year, the end goal is to create a clean space that is easy to maintain.

Try to make it a goal for it to take five minutes or less per room to put things back in order, putting away the clutter. This has nothing to do with actual cleaning it is to do with the stuff that is in the way.

Having too much stuff will always hinder you and typically this is where most of our overwhelm stems from. Decluttering works trust me.

Background Sounds

I say sound instead of music because I cannot clean to music.

Some of you love to clean to music and that is awesome. Make a play list of songs that get you motivated and turn up the volume.

For me music plays too much on my emotions. Too slow and I stop, too fast I get anxious and anything that does motivate me I tend to dance to and get nothing done. Except maybe some good cardio exercise, not a bad thing I guess but not what I want to accomplish.

I like to put on a tv show or movie I know by heart. If it is a new movie or show then I run the risk of sitting down to watch it. What I am looking for is background noise.

Podcasts or Youtube videos are also great and are gaining in popularity. Youtube cleaning videos are great motivators.

If you live in a busy home with partners, children and pets then I would recommend putting on some headphones. Those we live with may not want to listen to what we may need to keep us motivated. So grab those headphones and get to it.

For anyone with children they like to get under our feet this can make it hard to get going in the first place. If that is the case then if all else fails put on a show on for them too, the goal is distraction. It is only for an hour or so. Remember cleaning our whole home wont always be completed in one day, it may need to be spread throughout the week.

The Takeaway

• Make lists, write every job needing done down no matter how small.
• Start with a win. Find a job that will give you the motivation to keep going.
• Use products and tools that work. Don’t buy into the money wasting gadgets
• Ditch the clutter if you haven’t used it lately get rid of it.
• Declutter slowly box by box if necessary.
• Find sounds that keep you out of your head and keep you moving. Whether it is a podcast, a movie, tv show or music.
• Get the family to help, don’t do it all.

I hope that some of these tips will help you to overcome the cleaning overwhelm. But always remember you are not alone we all feel this way at one time or another. Staying on top of our home cleanliness is what really matters in the end. And this will go a long way in how we feel.

Don’t let the overwhelm beat you, be the winner not the loser.