When the Work From Home era began, many of us got excited at the possibility of being able to maybe, juuuust maybe , keep our home a little cleaner by doing some sprucing up in between productivity sprints. But alas, reality has set in.
Instead, there’s the constant distraction of messes that need to be cleaned up, items that aren’t where they should be, piles upon piles of stuff that seem to appear out of nowhere. All of this goes double for WFH folks with kids.
And being more aware of clutter is no doubt one of the main reasons why cleaning hacks are all the rage on social media. Besides the fact that there’s just something so primally satisfying about watching stain removal.
One super easy hack, created by a mom and therapist who goes by @aestetically_ally_ on TikTok , is being hailed as the “ultimate” decluttering method, particularly for moms. (But really, this could work for anyone).
“If you’re looking for a busy working mom hack to keep your sh*t together during the day, during the week and not feel totally overwhelmed and overstimulated when you walk into your house, keep listening,” Ally says at the top of her clip. “I can’t stand having a dirty house or a messy house. For me, that is my overstimulation nightmare.”
And this is where the “cleaning cart” comes in.
Ally then shows a simple, white rolling cart with three shelves—something you’ve definitely seen at a staples or Ikea. The idea is you can roll this cart around your home and pick up any debris that’s taking up unnecessary spaces. Toys, crafts, shoes, hoodies, etc. Then you place the cart up against a wall. And voila, a clutter free house in minutes.
Ally adds the caveat that “obviously we’re going to have to put those things away.”But still, she affirms that “t is so much nicer to just not have those things cluttering all of the flat surfaces in your house.”
“It helps so much with that overstimulated feeling that you get when you have to come in after a crazy busy day and have to start taking care of everybody and everything,” she says.
Down in the comments, people were totally on board with the idea. Many already did a form of it with laundry baskets, but really loved the ability to wheel the junk around. A few even wanted to go above and beyond by labeling each section with a family’s member’s name, so that it made reorganizing easier later.
Still, a few shared concerns that this could easily become “doom piles,” or "Didn't Organize, Only Moved” piles, commonly associated with people dealing with ADD/ADHD, which never actually get sorted and become more overwhelming in the long run.
However, an article from Real Simple has some expert backed tips to keep those piles from taking over, which can be helpful for those in the ADD/ ADHD community, or just folks trying to avoid bigger messes.
One trick is to keep a small, manageable sized basket, and to not let it overflow. This is where a small, compact cleaning cart could really shine.
Other suggestions include using a timer and emptying out the cart or basket in 15 minute increments, or implementing a reward system for emptying out said cart. Essentially, creating easy-to-accomplish, bite sized tasks, and finding a way to associate with something pleasing. A good basis for any goal, really.
Perhaps in an ideal world we wouldn’t need things like cleaning carts. But we live in reality. And reality is messy. We are all just doing our best to juggle multiple, simultaneous responsibilities while holding onto our sanity. If rolling a cart around and throwing junk in it helps that cause, even just a little, then it’s probably worth trying.
By the way, Ally has more tips where that came from, which you can find by following her on TikTok .
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