Do it as you go...

My Mum always told me that it was easier to do things as I went. Put things away when you'd finished with them, not chuck them all in one pile until later.  Deal with the post when you open it, don't chuck it in a pile to look at later. File those important bits of paper, don't put it in a pile for later. Put the clothes you've taken off away or in the washing, not in a pile on the floor. I guess by now you're getting the idea. My room spent a lot of time looking like a bomb site. I spent a lot of time putting of dealing with all those piles of stuff.  Then I went to Uni and shared a room, we were both messy, clothes, books, papers everywhere. Then my next move was a shared house and I still didn't learn. Then a studio flat but no the lesson didn't stick. The next move was a one bed flat, nope still a mess. What amazes me though is I liked the places I lived when they were nice and tidy. When I finally got stick into the sorting, clearing, hoovering it wasn't actually that bad. Yet still the message didn't sink in. Still I wouldn't do anything until I had to pick my way across the floor and move stuff before I could put thinngs down!

Now I am in the position where I HAVE to tidy as I go. My one bed flat is on the market and the Estate Agents have a key so they can do viewings while I'm at work. That means I have to leave the place looking it's best every day before heading out the door. So I have my dinner and wash up straight away. I dry up and put it away rather than leaving it on the draining board til I want to use it again! I open the post and deal with it, pay the bill, chuck the junk, reply to the letter there and then. My clothes either get hung back up or go straight in the wash bin.  It's finally sunk in. It really DOES make life easier to do it as you go!!