My home is now a 2 bedroom, second floor apartment. I must say it's a lot easier to keep my apartment clean and organized, then it was to keep my former 3 bedroom, 2 story house clean.
That's beside the point, though. Whatever the size your home is, it needs to be kept clean and in order. The worst thing you can do is let it get out of hand. If you do, you end up with a big mess, and it will only overwhelm you, when you finally do tackle the job.

I have helped a friend, who now has four children, move several times. Each place the family moved from was a total mess. I helped them unpack and get organized, and within a couple of months, the place was the same as the one they had moved from. My friends problem is that she lets things pile up before she tackles the chores.

Dirty dishes left in the sink for days are a lot harder to do then ones that are washed after each meal, or at least once a day.

Laundry piled up for weeks at a time can become very overwhelming.It should be done on a timely basis. Laundry should be washed, dried, folded, and put away, after each load is done. Leaving clean laundry piled up a clothes basket makes more work in the end. It can become mixed up with the dirty laundry and has to be done again, because you don't what's clean, and what's dirty. After the laundry is done, give it to the appropriate family member to be put away, if you don't do it yourself. Make sure you follow through with this, so you don't end up with the clean clothes, dirty clothes syndrome on laundry day.

Clutter can be another problem in keeping the house clean and organized. Get rid of those newspapers, magazines, and catalogs when you're done looking at them and reading them. If you want to keep an article or recipe for future reference or use, cut it out and file it in a folder or recipe box, then get rid of the rest of the papers. This was one of the biggest problems I had when we lived in our former home. I had piles of magazines and catalogs lying around. Now I don't have room for them and I find I don't need them anyway after I've gone through them.

Designate one day a week to do your major cleaning such as vacuuming, mopping the floors, cleaning the bathroom, and dusting. That should be sufficient, except for minor daily touch ups.

If you get into a routine for doing your housework, it won't get out of hand and overwhelm you. My friend, with the 4 children, has a full-time job so she has a very busy life. If she had a system though, and stuck with it, for keeping her house clean, I'm sure it would be a lot easier for her.

There's no reason you can't designate household chores to family members either. After all, they live in the house too. Make housecleaning a family affair. Set aside a day for it, and have everyone living in the household, join in. It could be a good time for some much needed family time, and at the same time, get your house clean and organized.

Learn more about this author, Shirley Norling.
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