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[PODCAST 275]: A Tidy(er) Home FAST

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The fact that you chose to read or listen to this post means you want to get your house looking tidy–FAST. And I’m excited to help you do that. 

I grew up with piles of stuff everywhere, and getting ready for guests essentially meant we shoved everything from the living room into our bedrooms, and then we didn’t let anyone wander the house. 

TODAY I actually don’t have a mess anywhere in my house (and I haven’t for years), so I wondered if I’m relatable enough to teach this method, but then I remembered THIS:

I have helped people from all over the world to get their homes and offices in order, and I’ve never actually BEEN in any of these locations. 


I’m confident that I can help you get the same results.

First, we’re going to do a quick review of the 3-box method, then I’ll share 3 simple ideas you can implement right now. And I’d love for you to send me your before and after photos when you’re done! (Email @ LearnDoBecome.com)

I want to be clear that I DON’T recommend you just pick up your things and stuff them into any available space. There are other resources out there that show you how to pile things in laundry baskets and hide them in the bathtub or something. Of course, you can do what you want.

It’s just that that’s what we used to do, but what you end up with is an even BIGGER mess that you have to sort out later. I promise that this way will work better, bring you relief, and move you to the point where you won’t have to do a “quick tidy” again because your home will just naturally stay clean.

The 3-Box Method

We have a full podcast about it that I’ll link below, but essentially, you get 3 bags, boxes, or spaces that are labeled  “Trash”/”Donate”/”Put Somewhere Else,” and then you start at one point in a room, move clockwise, and work in small batches. By the end, you have a clean space–with 3 boxes ready to leave the room with you.

Now, because you’re trying to do a QUICK cleanup, in this case, you’re likely not going to be making a ton of decisions on donations–but you might come across some. If that’s the case, once you’re done with that space, I recommend you put those directly into your car or near the exit to your home so you can drop them off at the donation center ASAP.

In this quick-cleanup scenario, you’ll probably find some trash or recyclable items, some things will easily be organized right there in that space (blankets folded, toys put in a bin, books put on a shelf, etc.) and then everything else will “go somewhere else.” 

And I want to emphasize this because THIS IS THE KEY:

The goal is not to shove everything out of your main living areas into random places throughout the house.

The goal is to move closer to creating overall, sustainable order in your home, where everything actually has a designated space. Yes, you’ll need to make decisions at some point as to where, exactly, those homes will be. But for now, we’re doing broad, sweeping general categories:

  • Dishes will go into the kitchen.
  • Boxes of paperwork will go into the office.
  • Clothes will go into your bedroom/closet.
  • Tools will go out into the garage.
  • Toys will go up to the kids’ rooms or in a designated toy area.

    • And you don’t need perfectly organized systems for all of that. You’re just going to have them in the general spot.

    Here are 3 ideas you can implement right now:
    1. Start with the room where you’ll be spending the most time–and don’t leave that room in the middle of your working session. Sometimes I get sidetracked wanting to decorate the bathroom or something–and likely, you’ll have “Give a Mouse a Cookie” moments where you’ll want to jump from thing to thing to thing as they come to your mind. RESIST THAT URGE. That’s why we have the 3 boxes. You’re doing trash, donate, somewhere else WITHOUT leaving the room. Do all of it while you’re in there. THEN process the stuff. Once you’re done moving the stuff out of the room, then you can do a quick dust/wipe-down, vacuum, etc. That part will be fast because your spaces will be clear.
    2. Work in microbursts. This actually doesn’t take that long. What takes a long time is procrastinating or getting lost in the “Give a Mouse a Cookie” moments. Set the timer for 10 minutes, work to music, and celebrate each time you complete 10 minutes. Most rooms can be clean and tidy (or at least SIGNIFICANTLY more so) in just a few microbursts.
    3. Remember that many hands make light work. If you live alone, your mess is yours, and it is hopefully manageable. If not, that’s okay, you can work on that more in the future. But for the time being, you may be able to invite a friend to come help you. But if you have a household of people, this is for you. SO many people insist they do things themselves because family members are “busy” or “they whine” or “they won’t do it right.” I get it. My mom did most of the housework herself because she didn’t want me to miss out on my childhood and she didn’t want to put too much on me. But please, as someone who really didn’t learn to clean until college, it is a GIFT to your loved ones to teach them how to do this. So you can say, “We’re going to do 3 microbursts together! What song do you want?” And then just move past the grumbling. It gets easier and better. You will be AMAZED how fast it goes when you have help. 

      4. If those things don’t work, comment below and let me know what’s going on because I sincerely want to help you discover the power of microbursts and working together with your family.

      Here are 2 more things I want to emphasize before we close:
      1. The reason I’m so passionate about everyone having a STEP Command Central is because once you have a system in place–particularly for daily, weekly, and monthly routines, you never have to “clean up real quick” ever again. The house just stays clean. Our home has been guest-ready for 15+ years, even as we were working from home and raising 4 children, and I don’t spend that much time cleaning. 
      2. People aren’t coming to your house to judge your house. If they are, that’s their issue. They’re hopefully coming to see YOU. You don’t need to apologize. I heard a story about a teenager who was self-conscious about her looks. Her mom’s advice was SO good. She essentially said, “You spend some time each day getting ready and preparing to go out into the world. Then once you leave your home, you stop thinking about yourself and you put your focus on other people.” I think it’s the same thing with tidying for guests, etc. You take care of your home in a reasonable way, and then when guests arrive, you stop focusing on the house, and you focus on them. 

        3. Okay, I hope this was helpful! Enjoy your tidying! Maybe turn on your favorite playlist, focus on those microbursts, and then let me know how it goes! 

        Additional links are below the testimonials, if you’d love more inspiration and support.

        xo

        April

        Here are a few testimonials that we received from our STEPpers! We absolutely love hearing how each person is setting up their STEP System and creating a calm space and mind.

        This first post comes from Katherine, and she shared her beautiful Command Central setup with us. Everything below (until the pictures) was written by Katherine:

        I set up my Command Central! Two major criteria: 1. Use what I have. 2. I’m very visual and file folders are “out of sight, out of mind” for me.

        What I did that really helped me visualize “where will I put what” was to diagram the various components by “daily, weekly, as needed” and assign those topics to the storage items that I have.

        Here are some thoughts on my set up that might help another visual Stepper:

        • The labeled post it notes in front of groups of file folders should eliminate the “ugh I have to go through file folders to find X” feeling (I hope!).
        • The boxes for Personal Development, my son, Parenting, etc are more visual than having more file folders to deal with, so hopefully will make it easier to keep track of papers for those topics.
        • I am using some of the wall files for topics I seem to have trouble with like doctor visit notes – I take them home and then they sit around in various piles for months – instead they will go straight into that wall file. I will add “process doctor note” to my weekly review checklist.
        • I pinned Routines, Current Projects & the STEP Cheat Sheet on the wall next to the wall files so that I can glance at them easily.
        • I will put a pin up board on another wall for “Goals/Intentions” and work on that once I get used to doing the daily and weekly reviews – I guess I will make “Goals/Intentions” a Next-in-Line project?
        • I also have digital versions of many of these categories in Apple Reminders, but I got a paper planner for the first time in years (so I did spend some money!), and I LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing my week on paper again. And writing out the appointments seems to be helping me remember better.

          • So, I have this wonderful new Command Central, whooo hoo!

          Here is the “Before” photo:

          And here’s the “After” photo:

          Here are a couple close-ups of the Command Central components:

          This next message comes from Pamela:

          “Momentum is building in other areas of my life. My daily step count is up. We are eating at the table instead of in front of the TV more often (for some reason food at the table is healthier than in front of the TV, am I right?) My perspective is brighter. Who knew all this could come from a Command Central??”

          This message was posted by one of our STEP Momentum (accountability group) participants:

          “Momentum STEP Win! Found a $200 restaurant gift card while sorting papers into 4 levels a lovely dinner out seems the perfect way to celebrate completing the Momentum program.”

          So exciting!! We often talk about how there is so much money hiding within our piles, and it’s so fun when our STEPpers report back on what they’ve found!

          And finally, we loved receiving this message from Jeannine after she attended our webinar (also linked below in the Related Links section).

          Related Links:

          [PODCAST 51]: The Three-Box Method for Organizing Your Space 

          Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

          Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

           

          The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

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