For people who feel like they’re running around all day and still getting nothing done
When my house is “messy,” it doesn’t just look bad it feels overwhelming. It’s stimulating, busy, and loud in my brain.
Traditional cleaning methods never worked for me because I would get distracted constantly. I would start one task, notice something that belonged on another floor, take it there, then start cleaning that area… and before I knew it, nothing was actually finished. I was always moving but never completing anything (or forgetting what I was actually doing).
It made me feel squirrelly — like I couldn’t focus long enough to make real progress.
I’ve been using some version of this for a few years, but I really put intentional thought into it just over a year ago.
It was born out of overwhelm. Kids everywhere, not enough time and that constant feeling of being like a chicken running around with its head cut off (blaming it on the mom brain).
I needed a system that worked with my brain, not against it.
How the basket method works
The number of baskets depends on how many levels you have in your home.
For me, that’s three:
- Upstairs – bedrooms, bonus room, laundry
- Main floor – kitchen, boot room, living room
- Basement – unfinished when I started, now being finished (eventually it will have a living room, bedroom, bathroom, office/homework space, and storage)
On the main floor, I use:
- 1 basket for upstairs items
- 1 basket for basement items
- 1 laundry bin
While I’m cleaning the main floor, anything that belongs upstairs or downstairs goes into the appropriate basket — I don’t take it there right away.
Once the main floor is done being tidied, I take the laundry bin and the upstairs bin upstairs and put everything away where it belongs. Then, while I’m upstairs, one of the baskets becomes my main-floor basket for anything that needs to go back down.
(You can do the same with a basement basket, or just transfer those items once you’re back on the main floor — there’s no “wrong” way.)
Because my basement wasn’t finished at the time, that basket usually went downstairs and got dealt with on a day when I had more time. Once it’s finished, I’ll use the same system there too: a main-floor bin, an upstairs bin, and a laundry bin.
Where the baskets live:
- Main floor: laundry bin at the bottom of the stairs; the other baskets on or beside the island
- Upstairs: at the top of the stairs
- Basement: at the bottom of the stairs
What goes in them:
Anything that needs to be put away on a different floor.
When I empty them:
Either when I’m done tiding that floor or when I am ready to move onto other cleaning steps like vacuuming or mopping.
This system has made me far less distracted. I don’t have those constant squirrel moments where I find something that belongs elsewhere, immediately take it there, and then get sidetracked cleaning a whole different space before the original area is done.
When the floors and counters are clear and decluttered, my body actually relaxes. Cleaning feels easier. Everything else flows better because I’m not working around random stuff that doesn’t belong there.
Permission to not be perfect
Sometimes you are rushed. Sometimes company is coming last minute. Sometimes you just don’t have the energy. It’s okay if the baskets don’t get emptied right away! At least everything is contained and it’s all in one place. You can put it away later when you have time and that still counts.
What matters most is that the house feels less cluttered and less chaotic, even if it’s not perfect!
Something that I have been also trying to do to help keep the house tidy – always grab something anytime I move between floors. More about that in my next blog coming!
If you’re someone who feels behind no matter how much you clean I say give this method a try! You might just feel like you get somewhere and things return to where they belong.