The one thing that has helped me most is making it a habit to never really walk through the house empty-handed. If you straighten and put things away as you go, clutter and mess never have a chance to build up to that depressing, overwhelming, seemingly unmanageable level.
So if I'm going to the kitchen for a drink of water, on the way I put a few of DS's books back on the bookshelf. Then I stop to straighten a pillow. In the kitchen, I take the five seconds to wipe down the countertop and put a dish in the dishwasher that DH left in the sink. Then I take my drink back to where I was sitting, but not before pausing to remove the junk mail from the dining table and put it into the wicker mail basket we keep by the door. When I go to the bathroom, I do a quick wipe-down of the countertop and sink. When I'm in the bedroom, I make the bed and put the laundry in the hamper. On my way to the basement/ground level to talk to DH, where the laundry room is, I take whatever laundry I can carry with me. Full hands are key.
Little things add up. Do the little things constantly and your house is MUCH easier to deal with when you really have to clean--especially with little ones running loose like little mess-making tornadoes...
So if I'm going to the kitchen for a drink of water, on the way I put a few of DS's books back on the bookshelf. Then I stop to straighten a pillow. In the kitchen, I take the five seconds to wipe down the countertop and put a dish in the dishwasher that DH left in the sink. Then I take my drink back to where I was sitting, but not before pausing to remove the junk mail from the dining table and put it into the wicker mail basket we keep by the door. When I go to the bathroom, I do a quick wipe-down of the countertop and sink. When I'm in the bedroom, I make the bed and put the laundry in the hamper. On my way to the basement/ground level to talk to DH, where the laundry room is, I take whatever laundry I can carry with me. Full hands are key.
Little things add up. Do the little things constantly and your house is MUCH easier to deal with when you really have to clean--especially with little ones running loose like little mess-making tornadoes...
