It happens without warning. One day you notice your home has
turned into a collage of papers, junk, and stuff - everywhere. You're
not alone. Today more than ever it seems that the flotsam and jetsam of
living, like the waves of an ocean, continually beat at our doors,
flooding our houses with all manner of stuff until our homes are bulging
at the seams. A typical home is now cluttered and dirty to the point of
exhaustion -- yours.
All this accumulation also makes going home,
or being at home, fill us with a sense of dread because we're
overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things surrounding us. Once islands
in the stream, many homes are often now just as jumbled, crowded, dirty,
and chaotic as the public places we try to escape from. Housekeeping
and cleaning house is not the greatest of fun, but it is vital to our
well-being.
Recently a study by the UCLA Center for Everyday Lives
of Families found that families are overscheduled, child-dominated, and
cluttered. The study touched on something that's become a common
problem in most households today: too much stuff. And all that stuff,
makes us feel out of control.
Could your home be out of control?
If
you have a perfectly ordered home or just don't care about the state of
your surroundings, then having an out of control home isn't a problem.
But, if the thought of your home raises your blood pressure to an
unhealthy level or spending time there would make you rather have your
teeth drilled, then you do have a problem - and you may have a home
that's out of control.
An out of control home is a source of
frustration, embarrassment, and tension. So where do you start if this
describes your home? The first step in learning how to cope with an out
of control home is to recognize the signs. Only then can you address the
problem.
The 8 Signs You Have an Out of Control Home (OOCH)
1. It's messy.
Anything
that can be straightened up in five minutes or less does not qualify as
messy. A truly messy house has been hit by more than its fair share of
bombs: toy bombs, clothes bombs, paper bombs (magazines, mail, and other
piles of paper), dirt bombs (general dirt and debris), pet bombs (hair,
smell, food), collectible or hobby bombs, etc. And, the mess is
everywhere: the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, the bedroom.
2. It's disorganized.
No
one can find anything, from the car keys to last year's tax returns. A
disorganized home is one where too much time is spent looking for
things, and where you have doubles or triples of everything because when
you couldn't find what you were looking for, you went out and bought
another to replace the one you couldn't find.
3. It stinks.
The
smell can come from the puppy training on the new carpet, the moldy
smell from the roof leak, the cat box that's never changed, or the trash
that everyone forgets to take out.
4. It's dirty.
This
is that garden-variety filth that makes you hope no one will ever come
to visit. It's the ring in the toilet, the dust bunnies the size of
Dallas, and the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling that wave gently in the
breeze. The dirt is pervasive and ground in.
5. It doesn't work.
This
is a home where the furniture is broken, the bed sags in the middle,
things don't work like they should, and repairs that need to be made
drag on for months or years. It's not truly functional and lots of
things have "work-arounds," such as pliers to turn on the washing
machine because the knob fell off.
6. It's anxiety-producing.
Does
the thought of going home make you feel anxious? If you're happier at
work or in places other than home, then chances are it's because your
home is out of control. It makes you uptight because it's dirty,
disorganized, or messy - or all three. And, when you're there, you can't
relax and you often find excuses to go somewhere else to unwind, such
as at the movies or driving in the country.
7. You avoid having visitors.
If
you feel panicked when the doorbell rings then you're living in an out
of control home. Guests should be a welcome sight in the house and you
should feel confident enough to invite visitors in.
8. It's cluttered.
If
every square inch of your home is covered with something, then you've
got too much stuff. There's got to be some open space somewhere in your
home because open space give us a "visual rest." Look at interior design
magazines and you'll notice the homes pictured in them because there
isn't stuff everywhere to distract you.
Most houses have out of control areas
Of
course not all homes are out of control, but many homes suffer from one
or more Out-Of-Control-Home (OOCH) symptoms, or they have an Out of
Control Area (OOCA). These are areas such as the laundry room or garage
that tends to get out of control, and most every home has one. But,
regardless of whether your home is truly OOCH or OOCA, it doesn't have
to stay that way. You can take steps to bring your house back to order
and get it under control.
The 8 Steps to Get Your Home Back in Control
1. Declutter and straighten first.
Take
a trash bag with you to each room, throwing away anything you no longer
want or that doesn't work. Take another box with you from room to room
for items you want to donate.
If you have paper bombs, clothes
bombs, and toy bombs that have gone off in your house, get these under
control. Handle the paper by throwing it away, recycling it, or filing
it. Get the clothes picked up and put in the wash, folded or hung up.
Next, corral the toys, throwing away what's broken. And practice saying
"When in doubt, throw it out."
Next, don't forget to contain yourself.
It's easy to work in the living room, pick a toy for your child and
wander into that room and then start working there. This is important:
Stay focused on the task and the room at hand or you won't get anything
done.
2. Clean second.
Now that the mess is handled
and everything is picked up, it's time to get down to serious cleaning.
Thoroughly clean each room, including the kitchen and laundry room, and
don't forget to sweep porches and walkways outside. Get kids to clean
the baseboards, windowsills, and clear the cobwebs from the corners of
ceilings. Go from one room to the next and don't leave until each room
is completely cleaned.
Lastly, schedule some hired help and have
your carpets and upholstery steam cleaned. Steam cleaning does not use
soap, which can make carpets get dirtier faster and actually attract
more dirt. This will also make your home smell better, too. Schedule
this at least once every year. If your house still smells musty, air it
out or consider having your heating and air conditioning vents cleaned.
3. Repair what's broken.
The
house is decluttered, clean, and now it needs to work. Fix broken panes
of glass, leaking faucets, or repaint water stains on the ceiling. Put
your husband on the job while you're cleaning or decluttering.
4. Edit your stuff.
Collections
and knick knacks everywhere is what's classified as clutter. Clutter is
a problem because of the emotions associated with it. For instance,
many people feel guilty about getting rid of things because certain
items were gifts or were inherited.
But the first rule of
clutter-busting is that you have to absolutely drop-dead love something
in order to keep it. If you just can't part with something, then don't.
Put all the items you can in a box and then put it into storage. Then
once you've forgotten about all those guilty feelings, you can put the
items in a garage sale, donate them, or just throw them away.
In
short, if your house is overrun with family pictures on every inch of
wall space, an explosion of sports memorabilia, or a porcelain pig
collection that won't end, for example, pare them down and then find one
central spot to display these items rather than spreading them all over
the house where they can make you feel overrun.
5. Create visual space.
Clear
as many items as possible off the floor, off the tops of dressers,
countertops and nightstands so your home will have plenty of clear
space. You know how a hotel room makes you immediately want to go flop
on the bed? That's because it's clean and clear. Clearing away excess
stuff will give your eyes -- and your mind -- a rest.
6. Get pets under control.
If
possible, evaluate your pet's impact on your home. Do what you can to
create a living situation where both you and your pets are happy, but
not where one of you is at the expense of the other. Many homes are
controlled by pets to the point that woodwork is scratched, the home is
damaged, every surface is covered with hair, and there is an unpleasant
odor in the home.
7. Organize your home.
Create areas
for coming and going where keys, backpacks, purses, wallets, mail, and
other needed items can be placed. This area should have a trashcan where
you can sort mail, and a small hanging basket where bills that need
immediate attention can be placed.
Then, work on organizing
bill-paying, files, warranty booklets, and all the little areas of your
home that get cluttered, such as medicine cabinets, home offices, desk
areas, pantries, laundry rooms, garages, spice cabinets, and so on.
8. Keep at it and involve everyone.
This
is probably the most important step for getting - and keeping - a home
under control. A home that's under control is not something that happens
once and then it's done, like taxes. Keeping your home in order is more
like exercise or taking vitamins. You have to keep at it. Keeping a
home in control is a process, not an event. I have to tell myself all
the time don't put it down, put it away.
It also takes commitment on everyone's part.
My pantry is an OOCA in my home mostly because an orderly pantry is
important only to me. But, a family meeting was called so that everyone
does their part at keeping the pantry orderly. It will also keep us from
having five boxes of raisin bran or three bags of marshmallows.
Bringing
your home into control is a wonderful way of bringing a sense of
accomplishment and order back into your life. It will also save you
money because you won't purchase multiple items because you can find
what you're looking for. It will also help you create a home that is
your refuge and where you enjoy spending your time. Lastly, it will make
you proud to live there and have guests over. Now, let's get to work!
