time management – The Self Cleaning House

Seeking Perfection Leads to Procrastination

Posted on February 20, 2024 by theselfcleaninghouse

We’ve all been there—scrolling through Instagram, admiring people’s perfect kitchens, and pinning storage ideas on Pinterest for that elusive hall closet transformation. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, thinking we can’t make our homes look anything like those picture-perfect posts.

Social media often leaves us feeling defeated before we even start. If we can’t go out and buy six matching baskets right now, the idea of getting organized seems impossible. The pursuit of perfection becomes a roadblock to decluttering and cleaning because we believe we need the perfect items to make it happen. Hello, procrastination!

Perfectionism is a risk factor for performance anxiety and procrastination. You expect a great performance. You have doubts whether you can achieve perfection. You have an urge to diverge and do something less threatening. You wait until you can be perfect. This is an example of a perfectionism-driven procrastination.
Bill Knaus Ed.D.
Science and Sensibility https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/break-perfectionism-procrastination-connection

But here’s a secret I need to share with you—most of what we see on social media isn’t reality. Sure, it might be someone’s goals and dreams, but rarely is it an accurate representation of real life. Don’t let the illusion of perfection prevent you from creating routines and making your spaces work for you within your budget.

Step one—declutter. You can’t organize clutter, and having an excess of stuff makes organization nearly impossible. Once you’ve narrowed it down to what fits in your space (if it doesn’t fit, you probably have too much), decide how to organize it. Whether it’s baskets, boxes, or Rubbermaid containers, you don’t need to break the bank. I spent most of my life using cardboard boxes—they were free! Don’t let money stop you from being organized; work with what you have.

Keep it simple, especially for kids. Too many specific categories can be frustrating for everyone. The goal is to make things run more smoothly.

If you know you’ll get frustrated and overwhelmed, avoid taking everything out of a room at once. Work on one drawer or closet for 15 minutes, then stop. Don’t pull out more than you can put back in that amount of time. Consistency is key—keep at it, and you’ll see results.

Lastly, stick to your daily routines. Organizing isn’t a one-and-done thing. Consistent routines will help you stay organized and on top of things. Check out the ‘routines’ page here to see those!

Remember, you don’t have to wait until you have all the baskets and all the time in the world to organize. It doesn’t need to be perfect; it just needs to be functional. Don’t let perfection lead to procrastination.

Happy decluttering and organizing with what you have today!

Love you! Elizabeth XOXO

Cleaning and Routines

10 Things to do instead of scrolling Facebook

Posted on October 10, 2023 by theselfcleaninghouse

How many times a day do you pick up your phone and open Facebook out of habit? Have you ever checked your screen time and been shocked? It can make you wonder if you could use your time more productively.

“Where your attention goes, your time goes”
― **Idowu Koyenikan**

I’m not in the “Social Media is evil” camp. Social Media is a tool. Like any other tool, it’s all about how you use it. I have to laugh when people treat Facebook like an airport and announce their departure because it’s taking up their time or seems too filled with drama or negativity. Social Media can be a great tool for business, connecting with old friends, and even meeting new ones. There are excellent ways to filter out content you don’t want to see, so make use of them! If spending too much time scrolling is an issue, it’s simple: stop! You don’t need to delete your Facebook account; just change the habit. Next time you pick up your phone, consider trying some of these suggestions:

Delete some unnecessary photos from your phone.
Get the Kindle app and read a chapter of a good book.
Check your email and unsubscribe from a couple of newsletters while you’re at it.
Send a text to someone just to let them know you’re thinking of them.
Download an app with daily scriptures and prayers for a dose of inspiration.
Review your reminders and To-Do list.
Delete unused apps and organize the ones you keep.
Journal! There are plenty of free journaling apps available!
Meal plan; there are apps for that, or just use your notes.
Learn a new language.

Enjoy social media! If you feel it’s consuming too much of your time, I hope you’ll use some of these ideas or maybe just put your phone down and tackle the dishes!

“Time management is about life management.”
― Idowu Koyenikan

Love you all,

Elizabeth XOXO

Cleaning and Routines

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 3, 2019January 3, 2019 by theselfcleaninghouse

Happy New Year Friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

We had a “quiet” New Year’s celebration this year. Quiet for us anyway. It was still rather noisy and full of laughter and fun! It was just our family and a couple of friends playing games, eating and generally having a good time.

It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without the annual tree burning. I honestly don’t know how this tradition even started. For years we have been burning the Christmas Tree in the backyard in the snow New Year’s Eve night.

It seems so symbolic. The representation of the end of the year. All the past year’s mistakes go up in a pillar of black smoke and we are given a clean slate to start new. We get a chance to make different decisions and make better choices. It, in some way, resembles the forgiveness we were given when Jesus died on a tree and then defeated death to give us new life.

It is awesome sight to see a tree burning in your back yard! Safely… for the most part!

It is now January 2nd, and everything is back to reality with the addition of maybe some new resolutions to actually make changes this year. It is a good thing to want to make good changes in our lives! We often have such lofty goals that we totally miss the mark and are more discouraged than before though, and that is not where we want to be.

The key is making small changes that will lead you in the direction you want to go! Having someone to be accountable to, that can encourage you, guide or help you is good too!

I am so excited about the upcoming things planned for The Self Cleaning House this year! We are going to work together, step by step to get rid of clutter and organize the things we need to keep. We are going to learn how to decide what to keep and what to get rid of! We’ll find out what needs to be cleaned and how often we need to clean it. What are the best tools and supplies for cleaning? How do you make it look nice once it is clean? We will talk about time management, kids, meals and menu planning, self-care, positive attitudes, self-talk and keeping Jesus at the center of our lives.

I don’t claim to know all things clean and organized and so there will be some guest bloggers here to share their knowledge and skills!

Most importantly, these things are not going to be so hard, time-consuming or overwhelming that it takes away from your family time or your weekends. They will be small changes that will be fun and lead you to have a clean, peaceful home for you and your family to enjoy.

We are going to do this together! We are going to stick to those resolutions to clean and organize your home and we are all going to be doing it together!

When you enter your email to follow the Self Cleaning House, you will receive an invitation to the exclusive Self Cleaning House Facebook Group! There we can discuss what topics you want to hear about, chat about questions or ideas you have. We will do challenges and get daily reminders for things.

I am looking forward to transforming our homes together this year so that you can spend more time doing what you love!

Cheers to a very happy 2019!!

Cleaning and Routines

The Crockpot List

Posted on November 6, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

composition cute design diary — Photo by Miesha Moriniere on Pexels.com

I am a list person! I love “to do lists” and “honey-do lists” and “things I want to make lists” and “grocery lists”. For some though, lists are overwhelming and discouraging. They are not a challenge but instead just daunting, and they are likely to give up before they start. If that is you, I want to help you!

First of all, your daily routines are going to become HABIT and you won’t need a list to tell you to do it. You may need to remind yourself for a while with sticky notes or index cards until your habits are set in stone but eventually, they are like breathing. That is the whole point! You won’t have to think about it! (If you haven’t read the daily routines on my blog, go do that now! Check in the main menu! )

If you get overwhelmed by lists, I am willing to bet that you put everything from “Clean the garage” to “feed the cat” on your list of things to do today. Your list is longer than your arm and you have work, your child has ball practice and you have to make cookies for the bake sale. Not a good day for cleaning the garage or anything else that is going to take more than five minutes to accomplish. That list, although some things like “feed the cat” need to happen today, is way too much and it is discouraging right off.

Even if you don’t think you are a “list person”, lists can be very helpful. Going to the store without a grocery list is like a dizzy blindfolded kid trying to hit a pinata. Good luck! If you don’t make a list of Christmas gifts to buy, you are guaranteed to forget someone. Awkward!!! Lists are very important!

Sometimes our minds get so busy thinking of all the things we need to do that we can’t focus or even sleep well. Putting those things in writing on a list helps to get it out of our brain and onto paper so you can rest or focus fully at the task at hand.

Lists help you feel grounded and less scattered. Lists allow you to be able to make a plan.

The trick to not getting overwhelmed with lists is to not put everything on the same list and don’t expect to get everything on your list done by lunchtime. You can have lists for things you don’t plan to have finished until next year!

Today I want you to take just a few minutes and start a “crockpot list”. Yes, a “crockpot list”! This is a list of things that you would eventually like to get done but aren’t vital do NOW! Things that can sit and “cook” for a while. This is not a list that you are to look at and feel pressured by. This is a list that you can look at next time you find yourself at home for an afternoon and you have two hours free….what on that list can you get done? Maybe your husband agreed to help you do some household things for one hour, what on that list can you do? You are waiting for a friend and they call and say they are running fifteen minutes late. There is a lot of things you can do in fifteen minutes instead of staring at the clock!

My “Crockpot List” looks like this:

Clean out/tidy the secretary desk (desk where we keep bills, coupons, envelopes, stamps etc.)

Clean and organize the corner cupboards in my kitchen

Work on my cookbook

Defrost the chest freezer and organize

Work on my book

Organize the craft supplies

Post the items I would like to sell on Marketplace

Scan old photos and save on my computer

Clean the junk drawer

Tidy the coat closet

Break down boxes to fit in the recycle bin

person hands woman pen — Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com

Make your crockpot list and keep it either in your day planner or the side of the fridge, where ever you will find it next time you have a few moments to work on something. A “Crockpot List” will help you be more productive and a better time manager!