The other day I lost it over my messy house.
There was so much floor clutter to pick up – toys, scraps of paper, pencils, bits of plastic from god knows what, odd socks and just well, crap – that I felt like crying.
It was overwhelming.
But I didn’t. Instead I got angry, and since there were no kids at home to nag about packing away their damned toys, I stormed to the back shed, and I grabbed a rake.
Raking the house
You know those times when you look at the state of your house and wish you could just rake up the mess like a pile of leaves? Well it turns out you can. You totally can!
As I raked under the couch and beds, collecting all manner of ‘stuff’, I started to unwind. This is easier than I hoped, I smiled to myself as I made a mountain out of their precious goodies for THEM to clean up when they came home from school/kindy.
Here’s what it looked like:
I am embarrassed to admit that this pile ended up being even bigger when I finished my raking job … gulp.
But I didn’t bend over and pick any of it up! No backs were broken in the making of this pile.
A garden rake works
Now, I am aware that my rake hack may only work if you, like me, have old carpet. A rake scratching on hard floors is probably not the best idea – but I’m sure a broom could make equally quick work of tiles or floorboards. But even if you don’t have carpet in the living room, you may have it in the bedrooms, which might be in need of a rake?
Of course you can always instil good tidy-as-you-go habits in your kids to keep things spick and span, but if you sometimes find yourself throwing a mess wobbly like me, because, um, the good habits are not quite there (yet!), then just grab a rake!
It’s a quick clean-up fix, and it will save your back.
You can then instruct the kids/husband to go though that bloody pile and PUT THEIR STUFF away!
Or you can do what my friend suggested and sweep it all into a garbage bag and toss it in the garage. Only to only be returned when they can show they know how to tidy up after themselves.
