Why You Can’t Keep Up With Housework and What to Do Instead

When my mom is out of town, I always have to take care of the home, but sometimes I can’t keep up with housework. However, it only happens to me when I’m lazy, otherwise I know how to keep up with housework.

So if you try to keep doing housework, but still fail, I will tell you where it keeps slipping away.

And I will give you all those specific points where housework multiplies and why it starts to feel unmanageable even when you are doing your best.

 

Stop Breaking Down Housework at the Smallest Moments

If you’re the one who thinks you can’t keep up with housework because there is too much to do. Then it means you have already made some mess, which you could have prevented earlier.

For example, when I receive a parcel, it comes in a box, and I only need what’s inside. 

So for me, that box itself has no role in my house after I get what is inside, let’s say shoes. 

But sometimes I don’t throw it away right then, I put it aside and tell myself I’ll throw it later, and I start checking shoes. 

And this is just an example, it happens with too many things that we buy or receive, but we don’t throw unnecessary stuff into the dustbin or where it belongs. 

Gradually it starts piling up, that’s why you should try to prevent any such mess.

 

Follow the One-Touch Rule

If you are touching something that you know you won’t have to touch later, then you should finish it at that moment.

Again, I will give you a similar example. Most of the time, we don’t touch the Amazon box twice. We just open it, take the item, that’s it.

In such a case, if you stand your box near the recycle bin, it will prevent it from becoming a task later.

Other examples of one-touch are mail, packaging, wrappers, or anything that doesn’t belong on a surface. 

Most of the time, we put them on kitchen counters, desks, and side tables, so you want to avoid that. I do it most of the time. 

 

Finish Two-Minute Tasks ASAP

Another place where housework slips is with tasks that take less than two minutes. You should never ignore them because they feel too small, but they add up faster.

When I make coffee in the morning, and when coffee is brewing, I rinse the scoop, wipe the counter, and put things back. 

Because I know if I don’t do these tiny things, they will wait for me later.

The same thing happens when we forget toothpaste left on the sink, place it on the floor, or dishes left “just for now, etc.

You can get rid of them in two minutes, but if you don’t, all these two-minute tasks will combine into a half-hour cleanup, which will feel exhausting.

 

Avoid “I’ll Do It Later” Feeling

Another thing that won’t let you keep up with housework is your laziness, or when you do something, but before finishing the task, you think I’ll do this later.

Meaning, you don’t clean or finish the task by a hundred percent.

For example, putting pajamas on the floor instead of hanging them up, which hardly takes a few seconds, and just like that, make your things. 

So, picking them up will later take more time and more energy because they will be part of a pile. 

In my case, it happens with dishes, counters, or even with some tools that I don’t put back after using them.

 

Don’t Put Things Down If They Already Have a Place

It’s a very simple boundary that will make a big difference. If something already has a place, you should not put it down anywhere else.

For example, my clothes belong to the cupboard, drawer, or laundry basket, toothpaste, shoes, etc., have their own spot. 

And if you put these items on the floor, bed, or chair, they will create a visual mess and future work at the same time.

 

Do Some Work at Night Before Going to bed

Before sleeping, I try to spend at least 10 to 15 minutes fixing small things such as dishes, clearing surfaces, putting items back, etc.

When I do it, and the next day I wake up, I feel good, because there is no yesterday’s mess.

This is why I recommend you do some work at night, especially cleaning your dishes, so that you don’t have to clean them tomorrow when you will be cooking something.

 

Too Many Items Create More Cleaning

Another reason why you can’t keep up with housework is that you have too many things.

For example, right now, your shelf, drawer, or other surfaces might already be full, which will make your home look visibly messy, even if it is clean. 

And besides this, you are using all different things, so undoubtedly it’s gonna look messy. 

So what I recommend you do right now is follow my exact tips. When I buy something, I just try to look at what I am going to remove now. 

For example, when I buy a new shirt, I decide what I am going to do with the old one. 

Will I donate or do something else, like put it on my old pillow? To make it thick

So what I mean here is that you should have fewer items and only the necessary items. If you have unnecessarily too many things and you might use them, undoubtedly you’re going to make too much of a mess.

 

Keep Items Where You Actually Use Them

This is a small but crucial thing that I have noticed, and I suggest you, so it is, you should keep the things where they are used, not where you want to use them temporarily.

For example, you should keep the kitchen items in the kitchen, as it happens to me personally. 

I sometimes take my knife, a plate, and some onions, and instead of cutting them while standing in the kitchen, I bring them to my bed, sit down there, and start cutting, and sometimes I forget the knife there.

This is just an example, I bring too many things like that from other places to my bedroom, or sometimes bedroom things outside of the bedroom, and then I forget them. 

This is a very small thing, I know that, but I recommend that you pay attention to that. If you use things where they belong, it will help you keep up with housework.

 

Follow Weekly Deep-Cleaning Day

Every Sunday, or sometimes Saturday, I do deep cleaning, like the floor, walls, etc. Mainly, on this day, I handle things that don’t need daily attention.

However, I also do other days, and most of the time I try to keep less work for Sunday.

So, if I’m not sure about something, like what to do with it, on Tuesday or Wednesday, I don’t think a lot about that.

I just keep it aside for Sunday, by doing so, I guess I’ll have mental peace on other days, I don’t feel any load.

But yes, the negative thing is that the day sometimes becomes tiring.

Also read: How to Get Kids to Help With Chores Without Formal Chore Charts

Remove 10 to 20 Things

If your house feels stuck, then you can choose any number like 10, 15, or 20, and after that, you have to remove that many items. 

For example, if you choose 10, then you will remove 10 things. Now, it can be food, broken pens, old packaging, used containers, or other things. 

It is just like a game, but yes, you have to remove some things that will clear your space and help you organize your home. Thus, cleaning will become easier for you.

 

Conclusion

Most of the time, you can’t keep up with the housework when you leave some unfinished work or leave things for later, such as putting a cup on a counter, clothes on a floor, and thinking, I’ll put them in their place later. 

I personally try to keep the housework manageable, and for that, I deal with things accordingly, like one-touch items in the bin. Besides this, I try to clean my plate or anything just after using it so that I have less work for later.

So just by doing simple things, like whenever doing work, I do it completely, I keep up with my housework. But still, sometimes I can’t, so that’s my mistake and my laziness, and I have no problem with this.

 

FAQs

Why does housework feel overwhelming even when the house isn’t very dirty?

That happens when you don’t finish tasks properly; they create mental and visual clutter. 

Is laziness the real reason people can’t keep up with housework?

Yes, it is too; I personally have it. Besides this, the issue is also postponing small tasks for later, but not avoiding them completely.

Why do two-minute tasks matter so much?

Because they multiply too fast, if you ignore them, you will have too much work for the layer.

Is a weekly deep-cleaning day necessary?

Of course not, but I consider it helpful; you can also do monthly. But having one set time for deeper tasks will reduce daily decision fatigue and keep small messes from piling up.

What’s the easiest way to reset a messy house quickly?

You should remove a small number of unnecessary items, such as expired, broken, or unused items.