How to go from overwhelmed to organized

Have you ever arrived at your home, tired from all the things you need to do just to face an overwhelming home? I've been there.

Instead of feeling relieved you're at home, you feel chaotic. The look of your home in a way matches the feelings inside. How in the world do you go from overwhelmed to organized? How to do you go from chaotic too collected?

You start with the simple recognition that you can't change everything at once. You can't change everything at once because you are tired and you are not about to clean, declutter and organize an entire house. You don't have the energy to do all of that.

What you do have is hope that things will get back in order. Hope is quickly followed by a plan of action. Here is the the plan: start with food and laundry.

Why these two? Because your people need to eat and they can't walk around naked. Start with food and laundry.

Food • keep it simple. Start with your staples. Mine are rice, black beans and chicken. If I have time, I bake banana bread muffins too. Once people are fed, everyone has energy to move on.

Laundry • do not get discouraged by the amount of laundry. Take it one load at a time. Finish what you start. What you don't need is a bunch of clean clothes waiting for you to fold it for two weeks (ask me how I know).

What about the other rooms? The bathroom needs cleaning, the living room needs tidying... You can take care of them once you have time. The key thing is to remember that when you are faced with an overwhelming mess, you can't do everything at once. You need to recognize you can't change everything in the blink of an eye.

Have hope that things will get back in working order. Follow up with the plan of action that consists of starting with food and laundry.

When you are feeling overwhelmed, give yourself some grace. Rest and start over fresh the next day.