4 Ways to Stop the Housework Taking Over

For many of us the weekends and evenings are a never-ending re-run of chores, errands and obligations. Maintaining a clean and orderly house is no easy feat regardless of the size of the home or how many people live there. From groceries and dishwashing to doing the laundry and maintaining the yard, it often feels as though the work never ends. Don’t feel overwhelmed or distressed by your never-ending list of chores and tasks, here are four ways to stay on top of it! 

Follow a Schedule  

Instead of letting your chores pile up until you have hours of work to do to get your home back in order, try to break up your chores into bite sized chunks. Doing one task everyday might be easier than spending hours catching up on the cleaning. You can set a schedule to make it easier – Monday you could clean kitchen, Tuesday scrub the bathroom, Wednesday dust and tidy, Thursday vacuum and mop, Friday wash and change your sheets.  

Try to do a Closing Shift  

The Closing shift was a trend on social media – mostly Instagram Reels and TikTok where people showed how they “closed down” their living space at the end of the day much like you would if you worked in a cafe or restaurant. Generally, it involves doing any dishes from the day, wiping down counters, tidying up the space you’ve been, putting on any washing, doing a quick sweep or vacuum if it needs it.  Essentially getting the space completely tidied and ready to start fresh the next day.  

Taking this approach will ensure that your chores can’t pile up on you and your big cleaning days are easier.  

Identify Opportunities to Organise  

Some of the mess and clutter accumulating in your home might be avoidable with a different organisation system. Review the problem areas where clutter always seems to pile up, is it the kitchen counter? The entryway? And consider what kind of clutter is always piling up? It is work bags, school books, or your crafting hobby for example? If you’re finding the same clutter appears in the same places it might be time to a space for those items in that area, just make it efficient and organised. Why fight it, if it’s going to end up there anyway.  

Recruit Everyone in the House 

Unless you live alone, it’s not just you dirtying the dishes, using drinking glasses, wearing clothes that need to be washed, or contributing to the general state of messiness in your home. Therefore, consider allocating a job to each member of the household or set up an agreed time where everyone pitches in and tackles the whole lot together. Pop on some music for added motivation! 

Outsource Some Cleaning Tasks 

Why not reduce your overall pile of housework and hire someone else to take care of your cleaning? Even if it’s just the tasks that take the longest to complete like vacuuming and mopping floors or giving the bathrooms a once over, here at Absolute Domestics we screen and train our cleaners for added peace of mind when handing over the cleaning. 

Have a Power Hour 

If you feel like you work better under pressure and have limited time or enthusiasm during the working week to think about chores, another way to stay on top of your housework is to have a ‘power hour’. Dedicate 60 minutes of any set day to become a cleaning machine. Turn off the TV, switch off your phone and focus on finishing one task entirely before moving on. The idea of a power hour was introduced by author and organisational guru Gretchin Rubin and can really make a difference. Can you imagine if you and the entire family slogged away for an hour? The jobs would vanish in a flash! 

Final Thoughts  

 It can be overwhelming to try and keep on top of the chores and cleaning, but these tips can help you tackle it and keep it to a manageable level. Or you can take a different approach and outsource the worst cleaning jobs on a regular basis, our weekly cleaning service start from only $83 for two hours. You can learn more about our services here or get in touch with us on 1300 364 646.