Dealing With Housework Overwhelm

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1 - Don't panic, it will just make it worse. Panic is a natural reaction to overwhelm, we are kicking into overdrive! In a sane world, having a panic attack due to housework overwhelm is hard to imagine. But who lives in a perfect world? (a show of hands please).

Many times when I have fallen behind and resolve to get things back in order, 5 minutes in I find myself in a panic, thinking that I should be doing 5 things at once (they are all priorities.) If you find yourself in this predicament, stop and breath. You will burn yourself out before you even begin if you start out in a state of panic. And you will be in a bad mood, guaranteeing mutiny from any helpers you may have.

2 - Make a plan. Instead of keeping everything in your head, make a plan. Immediately get a piece of paper and write down the main things that need to be done. If you can take 10 minutes before you start, make yourself a cup of tea and sit down somewhere that you enjoy. Make your plan there in that state of mind. Begin from an I CAN position, not I'm BEAT before I start. (make a worksheet with boxes for rooms) Many times after you have made the list, you will see that it's not as bad as you thought. Keep your plan, you will find after a few times that it is often the same offenders. You can use your sheets to either make a master plan, or to problem solve, pinpoint your problem areas and make a plan to nip them in the bud.g

3- Delegate - this is where the helpers come in. Huddle with your helpers and first see who wants to do what. After that, assign things if there are tasks left. If you include them in the decision making, things will go smoother (theoretically, often dependingon which side of the bed everyone rolled out of :0)

4 - Get to it. You can take 2 approaches. The serious approach where you want to "attack" the mess, and just get as much done as possible within your time frame - you should set a time frame by the way, if you don't, it can go on for ever, and probably will. Or take the laid back approach. This approach is best used if you aren't having the inlaws over for supper. It's more for a time when you are tired, or want to relax but want to to focus on your house for awhile and make it nicer. I often will put on a movie and park myself in the livingroom. I'll sort things, clean things etc there, and treat myself to a movie while I'm doing it.

This is not the most efficient way to work, it will not break any speed records, but when I work this way it is more than would have been accomplished if I had just watched the movie or not bothered doing anything, and I feel relaxed and rejuvinated when I'm finished.

5 - Now to contradict myself. Don't try to do other things while you are climbing out of the mess. This generally for me means stay off the computer. Often I will be pulled to try to complete something, browse something, or write something while I'm cleaning the house. Better focus will create better results.

And it won't take as long as you might think to get a handle on housework overwhelm. In fact, many times it's so easy that we wonder how it happened in the first place. Take note. Make a routine and stick to it. It probably won't happen again.

If some day, you do find your housework getting unmanagable, just dig out this article!

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Jan Ferrante is a mom who has found great success in creating systems and habits to avoid housework overwhelm. One of her favourites is a 5 minute routine done daily to stay on top of small messes.

You can do the same program at Take 5 - Bootcamp for Dustbunnies. It's free and it only takes 5 minutes!

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