Keeping tidy with dyspraxia

So I'm pretty sure that many of you out there have trouble staying organised and tidy for whatever reason. My biggest battle is dyspraxia. For those of you that haven't heard of it or are unsure of what it is then I'd recommend taking a squiz at the Dyspraxia Foundation website. They've got tons of info and advice. Basically for me though it means amongst many other things I'm messy as hell!!

Now put someone with messy issues in charge of a house that also contains a little person with the same issues and you've got yourself one big messy nightmare! I wanted to share with you today a few of the things that work for me. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not suddenly not messy, my house in no way resembles a show home, it's just a bit less messy and my husband has a little less to complain about.

So here you go:

1. Ten minute tidy

This is what is really working for us in our house. Instead of writing down all the jobs that need doing and then getting nothing done I just tidy for a set time. That way I always achieve something and don't feel bad for not getting things done. You'll be amazed how much you can get done in ten minutes and this is seriously how I do everything around our house. I'm forever getting distracted from whatever I'm doing and feeling crap afterwards for not getting anything done. This way I have no set expectations other than things will be tidier than when I started!

The ten minute tidy also works great for kids. Sending my son to tidy his room never works, but if I tell him to go tidy it for just ten minutes once a week then he gets most of it done and it is relatively tidy most of the time.

Set a timer on your phone or oven for ten minutes. Keep tidying until the beeper goes off and then step back and see what you've achieved. Do this everyday for a week and by the end of the week you'll be amazed at how much easier it is to keep a tidier house.


2. Regular routine

Like the ten minute tidy this is something I do everyday. Once you get into a routine of doing something it makes it so much easier to do and harder to forget! Every morning I do the same thing - empty the dishwasher, load it back up, put a load of washing on, and do a ten minute tidy of the house. And I do all this before I do anything else, no arguments, no excuses. I know if it doesn't get done then, then it won't get done at all.

Ask yourself what needs doing on a daily basis as a bare minimum and make yourself do those tasks at the same time each day until they become habit. It's really important not to overwhelm yourself though so start off with just maybe 2 or 3 small tasks, you can always add more once these become habit.


3. Everything in it's place

Having a set place for everything is a must if you're going to have a tidy house.
When we moved into our new house earlier this year we put our coat rack out of the way in a hallway behind a door because who wants to look at that ugly thing. In reality we use the back door the most and all our coats ended up being piled onto the furniture next to it. We just put a second rack up right next to the back door so all the coats get hung up there now and we can see the furniture again. Simple things like that just make life so much easier.

Think practical. It's no good trying to create a pretty home like you see on pinterest. I can guarantee that most of those houses don't look like that day-to-day.


4. Let go of the guilt

Go easy on yourself. These things are hard for a lot of people and I for one will wave my hand in the air and admit that I'm messy as hell. I've spent years beating myself up over being untidy and disorganised but it's just not worth it. I am who I am and if someone doesn't like that then screw them! It doesn't mean I'm not going to try real hard to be tidier (I won't say 'tidy' because who am I kidding?!) It just means I'm not going to beat myself up over the fact that my house looks, erm, we'll just say 'well lived in'.

Stop stressing over what you haven't done and focus on what you have achieved each day.


5. Less is more

Now I've put this one last because it's one I'm not afraid to admit I'm stuck on. The theory being that the less stuff there is in the house, the less there is to keep tidy right? I'm certainly a lot more ruthless than I used to be when it comes to getting rid of stuff. My Dad took great pleasure in announcing to a room full of people during his speech at our wedding about the time we found a dead slug in my wardrobe that I'd collected as a pet and forgotten about.

If anyone has any tips for us hoarder types on having less 'stuff' please please do share!



I hope those tips will work for you guys and help with the mess that living with something like dyspraxia can bring. If you're going to try any of the tips here I'd totally recommend doing a ten minute tidy today and do let me know in the comments section how you get.

Oh, and if you're reading this because you have dyspraxia remember how awesome you are!

x

Edited to say that the Dyspraxia Foundation are currently running a campaign to raise awareness. To take part just take a selfie wearing a hat with what dyspraxia means to you and post it on their facebook page. To donate text 'HATS02 £2' to 70070.