I wish I could be one of those people that can just let the mess go. You know, those kind of people that can ignore the dishes in the sink, the laundry in the many baskets, the crumbs on the floor, the…well, you get it. I really wish a messy house didn’t bother me so much. But, the truth is, I am a much better mom when I don’t feel buried in housework and can keep a clean house.

There is just one problem: I am so overwhelmed. My days are filled with constant to-dos between working at home, taking care of children, nursing an infant, making sure everyone is fed, changed, and not driving each other crazy (the latter only happens on good days). The amount of things to get done in a day never end. Then I turn around at the end of the day and look around me wondering when the tornado passed through and how I survived. Life as a work at home mom with children at home all day is no joke friends. Some days are pure survival.

If you’re anything like me, you need some sense of order because a chaotic house just makes you feel chaotic. So, how do you keep a clean house when you’re already so overwhelmed?

Clean as you go.

If you let the mess pile up throughout the day, then you are left drowning under this big overwhelming mess. If you take ten minutes here and there throughout your day to clean, you’ll feel a little less like you’re drowning and a little more like you can actually swim. Take a few minutes after every meal to rinse dishes, load the dishwasher, and give the counters a quick wipe down.

Get everyone in on the cleaning.

Get your kids involved! You shouldn’t be the only one cleaning! Teaching your kids to help is a great way to teach them responsibility and to appreciate what they have. My kids are responsible for picking up their shoes, putting dirty clothes in their hampers, and helping with general toy pick up upstairs. Sometimes we get a little crazy and they even put their dishes in the sink!

Make a cleaning schedule.

Have smaller tasks designated for every day cleaning, and then designate larger cleaning tasks to a day of the week. Dishes, counters, toys, and clothes are little tasks that can be tackled every day! Then bathrooms, floors, kitchen, and other large rooms are great to assign and do one each day. That way it doesn’t seem like you have to clean an entire home in one day.

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Use your time efficiently.

If you make the most of the little time that you have throughout the day to tackle the messes before they become overwhelming, it can make a big difference. Instead of sitting on your phone and scrolling through social media, take five minutes to sweep the floor or load the dishwasher. When you walk down the hall, pick up a few things that belong in bedrooms as you go. Taking a few minutes here and there adds up!

Go to bed with a clean kitchen.

This to me has to be the one thing that makes the biggest difference. If you are already overwhelmed, waking up to a messy kitchen is a sure way to make that feeling worse. No one likes to start the day already feeling behind. When you are tempted to leave the dishes in the sink and rest, think about how you would feel waking up to a dirty kitchen. It’s hard to feel like you don’t have an empty sink to start the day or clean counters to make breakfast on. I never regret mustering up the energy to make sure that I go to bed with a clean kitchen so I can feel like I started the next day ahead.

What are your best tips to staying on top of housework when you’re feeling overwhelmed?