Cleaning will always be a struggle for me. Stacking things in piles, not putting things back where they belong, and hanging on to items I don’t need anymore are all habits I’m trying to break. It’s an ongoing process. Over the years, though, I’ve realized a few things that have helped me understand what I need to clean:

1. I need to be accountable
2. I need a visible list of chores
3. I need to have a cleaning schedule

Accountability
While attending BYU-Idaho we had “clean checks” every week. Basically the equivalent of a resident assistant would come around to our apartment and make sure everything was tidy. This typically ended up with everyone living in the apartment scrambling around the night before or even a few hours before to complete their assigned chores.

Even though my room was a mess in the sense that books and papers were constantly piled around my bed, having someone who I had to answer to helped me a lot. If I didn’t do my chore or if my side of the bedroom was atrocious, I got a penalty. I hate getting reprimanded or told off, so this was a good system to keep me in check.

Lists
I love lists. It’s ridiculous how much I thrive off off lists. Not only do I enjoy making them, but braindumping all my tasks into a list when I’m feeling overwhelmed with everything I have to do helps me calm down and prioritize what’s important. I’m visual in that way. Most of the time I need to physically see what all needs to be done in order to know where to start. At BYU-I every apartment had a cleaning check list on the fridge that let us know what needed to be done for each chore. That helped me so much because I knew exactly what I needed to do.

Schedule
As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized why having a cleaning schedule is so important. It helped that our clean checks were every single Wednesday. As I’ve watched friends and family get married and have their own homes, I’ve seen how one can get overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done. Setting aside specific tasks for certain days of the week helps to balance everything out so you’re not completely swamped with chores.

Knowing how I function when it comes to cleaning is helping me keep my room in order, even though I fall off the wagon and have to regroup. Like this week. I didn’t start getting back on track until Thursday. My room was a mess until then.

After doing a lot of research (ie using Google and Pinterest) and reflecting, I finally made this basic chore chart to help me keep up with my cleaning:

I did get more stuff done … on Thursday, but I took this picture before I got those chores done. Because of my living arrangements, I’m not in charge of the kitchen. It’s crazy how even working with such a small area can still be challenging for me!

However, there have been some major improvements. Because I have this chart out on my wall, I’m constantly aware of all the things I need to do. I don’t have to keep a mental checklist because I have a physical checklist to look at. It’s a great reminder for when I feel overwhelmed. I even left room at the bottom of my chart so I could write personal goals for me to work on throughout the month that will hopefully turn into good habits/routines.

So why am I all excited about cleaning? Having a clean room really helps with my depression. Clutter heightens my anxiety. Living in a pigsty makes me dislike myself because it’s evidence that I’m a failure (which is not true, by the way). A nice, clean place is extremely calming, especially when I’ve been having a rough day and need a place to just curl out and nap or sit to be still.

Last year I had no energy to clean because I was using what little I had to survive. Now I’m using my extra amounts of energy to organize everything and get rid of things I don’t need. Purging and decluttering is such a wonderful feeling! With everything thing I’m able to give or throw away, I feel a little part of myself get lighter.

How do you keep yourself accountable when it comes to cleaning? I’d love to know!