Overwhelmed with a Messy Home? Try the Laundry Basket Method

You know my favorite thing about being a human? (Sarcasm alert.) It’s that thing how when your home is really messy, your brain finds it overwhelming and hard to process and almost paralyzing. So then your body can’t muster up the energy or willpower to actually clean it. And so the place just gets more messy and your brain is more overwhelmed and it’s harder every day to actually tackle the mess. Yeah, that’s super fun, right?

The next time that happens to you (maybe it’s happening right now), try this super simple “mind over matter” exercise. It’s called the laundry basket method.

Step one is to grab an empty laundry basket. If you have to buy a cheap one at the dollar store to get this done, it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind, I think. Or any roomy, easy to carry vessel will do, if you have a hamper or some other sort of bin that would work. Just something big enough to carry the weight of the mess—both literally and figuratively.

Next, walk around your place with the basket in hand and drop everything that’s out of place into it. Don’t worry about keeping things in the basket neat and tidy, just pile them in there— clothes, books, toys, tools. Whatever is currently taking up space where it doesn’t belong. Get it all in one place, inside the basket. Now look around—instantly, and like magic, your home looks cleaner and the stress is gone.

If you’re riding high on that clean home feeling, you can put all that stuff in the basket away. Carry it around like a reverse burglar and drop everything where it needs to go. And if you’re not in the mood? It’s OK to leave it somewhere and get to it later—with a freshly calming space, you’ll be able to recharge and find your motivation again.