Problem:

Ok, you have stuff. No, you have A LOT of stuff. You have stuff everywhere. In your closets, in you family room, in your kitchen, in your bedroom, and many other places we probably shouldn’t even mention.

The majority of us are gluttons. We store, store, and store until we can’t store anymore. What happens when you store too much stuff. Your space gets tighter, your space gets dirtier, and your life becomes less productive.

Answer:

Luckily for those who browse the internet, there is a man who loves to write about doing things with efficiency and becoming more productive in our lives. His name is D. Keith Robinson and he runs To-Done. Its a mix of your To Do Lists and Getting them done, hence To-Done.

Keith has written a nice article about keeping things clean and tidy. Here is a snippet:

How To Keep Things Clean For Less Stress

I've found that as I've gotten older, wiser and more organized, I really developed a real appreciation for "clean and orderly." Why? Well, it all boils down to less stress. I find that when I come home from work and my place is messy, instead of wanting to sit back, grab a beer, a book and relax, I find I feel compelled to take care of things.

I really like to have my place be nice and tidy. Not spotless by any means, but not distracting. This means no dirty dishes in the sink or on counters. No piles of anything and no clothes left out in the open. All of these things remind me of things I need to do and intrude on what should be a space and time for me to relax.

…….

Tips on staying clean:

• Be cleaning constantly. I really try my best to keep things as clean as I can and I spend at least a few minutes every night cleaning up. I try to take care of messes when they happen. For example, I clean and put away dishes as I'm making dinner and I file and sort my mail when I'm opening it. Working smarter, not necessarily harder.
• Hire a professional. I have a cleaning service come once a month to do a deep clean. It's easy to want to let the place get out of control before they come, so I really have to exercise discipline to keep things up, which also helps quite a bit. It's been totally worth the money.

If I even remotely followed the recommendations Keith makes in this article, my life would be SO much better and organized.

The biggest issue for most people is that they don’t have the time, or they don’t make the time.

People work an 8-5 job, they come home, mow the lawn, play with their kids, and when its all said and done, they are pooped. They don’t want to even look at a dish (unless they are eating). We have an overworked society, an over energized home-life, and in a lot of people’s schedules, they just don’t have time.

However, there is a solution to this, in which Keith touched on. If you can clean smaller things here and there, or take 15 minutes to clean this and that, over time and with a routine, you can actually keep your place consistenly clean. It takes time and it takes effort, but those are 2 qualities in our society that people either don’t have or lack.

The recommendation for a cleaning service like Keith mentioned above is a great way to keep yourself sane. Then, just follow up on what the cleaning service did on your own, remember using small steps. Over time, you might not even need a cleaning service.

What this all boils down to his making your life a little less stressful. We all want to come home, sit on the couch and watch tv, or play with our kids, and not have that burdon over our heads to make sure our environment everyone lives in is spot free or livable.

I feel Keith’s pain in regards to the small place and wedding gifts. My wife and I were in the same boat last summer. Luckily for us, we are moving into a home in which I hope to follow many of the pieces of advice Keith has offered as well as some of my own.

Visit Keiths article on How To Keep Things Clean For Less Stress, it will definitly help you out.