My Homebase Reset
& Tips for Your Own Reset
I used to work two jobs, five and a half days a week. I did the minimum cleaning necessary to be able to function in my home. This wasn’t much.
My floor was usually un-swept and almost never mopped, and surfaces were cluttered and littered with papers and things I just told myself that I had no time to sort or organize. There were dishes piled up… You get the idea.
When there was a day off or a school vacation, I would work frantically trying to get some semblance of order and sanitation back into my living space. This would last a couple of weeks at the most.
I told myself it didn’t matter, that I had to lower my standards because of the number of hours I was working… I lied to myself. I actively avoided taking care of my place until it became completely unmanageable. I hated the way it looked and found myself avoiding the place as much as possible. I was in denial about how much it actually bothered me.
Then the pandemic happened and we went into lockdown . Even then cleaning up wasn’t one of my priorities. I basically made sure it didn’t get worse, cleared out a few things- that didn’t make much of an impact- and I maintained it at a bare minimum standard.
The thing that changed my focus was when I unexpectedly had to go into the hospital for a few days and my neighbor had to take care of my cat while I was gone. I was really embarrassed when she casually told me that she vacuumed the place for me. I thought about how I left it (Yes, I couldn’t have cleaned it up as ill as I was, but if I had been taking care of it, it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad.) and how terrible it would have been for other people to deal with the dirt and mess if I had died then.
When I returned home, I began looking for the best way to get my place cleaned up and kept that way. What I was doing obviously wasn’t working and systems where you do it all on one day or on the weekends just didn’t work for me. If something happened, and it often did, absolutely nothing would get done till the next weekend. It would just snowball.
I discovered the “Clean Mama” system and decided to give it a try. I’m sure it isn’t for everyone, but it did help me immensely. Basically each day you focus on a few key tasks: making your bed, keeping countertops clean, keep on top of clutter, check the floors, and do a load of laundry.
I live alone so I don’t always have a load of laundry to do, so I added wash all the dishes. I stuck with that for a while before adding the weekly tasks, which are based on the day of the week. This I amended to better meet my needs and schedule.
It’s been over a month and it has been working. The first weeks, I literally checked the floor by looking at it. I wasn’t fully invested in the system yet.
Now I look around and don’t feel terrible about my living space or about myself. The floor has some cat hair on it, but it has been a week now and it will only take a few minutes to get it cleaned up. The bed is made; the counters are clean and there’s no visible clutter except on one of my bookcase shelves. Not perfect, but decent and manageable. I would not be embarrassed for anyone to drop in now.
My tips for your own homebase reset:
- Be completely honest with yourself, without blame or shame.
- Let go of the guilt. It won’t serve you.
- Be willing to let go systems or tools that are just not working for you.
- Find a system that works for YOU.
- Put the system into place gradually so you don’t burn yourself out.
- Be easy on yourself.
- If you get sidetracked, jump back in as soon as you can.
- Take time to renew yourself and pat yourself on the back for your efforts.
- Know that it will take time to get your place the way you want it. Be patient and persistent.
Best of luck.
