Take three of the most boring words in the English language, string them together and you get *home management*. 🥱 There’s nothing sexy about this stuff guys.  But it’s one of those things in life you don’t know you need till you look around and your eyes water as take in your house and accept the fact that “home” has become a pit of unhappiness and clutter that even Hermoine can’t vanish.

So if your house is in a state of emergency and you’re clueless about where to start, put on your seatbelts and enjoy this crash course in home management.  

 What is a home management system? 

Imagine it’s 1920 and you’re trying to explain to someone how the internet works.  They just won’t get it.  When I first heard someone talk about a home management system, I just didn’t get it.  Plus I was immediately turned off by the word *system*. So I just kept on chugging along in struggle mode.    

But in order for you to get your home together, you need to get a good idea of what a home management system is.  And what it isn’t.  

Through trial and error, I’ve got a pretty good grasp on what home management is so I’m sharing my ideas with you.  Scan through them and see which ones resonate with you.  Do any of them change the way you think about home management?  And whichever ones don’t do anything for you, well, leave them right here on the screen.

Definition 1 /

A home management system is how you keep up with everything going on at home & everybody that matters. 

Definition 2 /

A home management system is a collection of systems (or routines) that work together to keep your home running: a paper system, a meal plan system, a cleaning routine, a decluttering routine, a laundry routine, etc. 

Definition 3 /

A home management system is what you do as well as what you use to stay on top of everything. 

Definition 4 /

A home management system doesn’t have to be called a home management system.  Saying *this is what I do to keep up with everything at home* works just fine as well.   

Definition 5 / 

Self-care is about taking care of those *inner things* that support health, wealth, and happiness.  Home management is a natural extension of self-care that focuses on your outer world and how you manage it all.  

What kind of tasks fall under the scope of *home management* 

Home management isn’t just about what goes on at home. The truth is, the lines between work, home, your health, relationships and life are seriously intertwined and there’s nothing you can do about it.  It’s one of the laws of the universe or something.  So when you think of *home management* on a grand scale, it shouldn’t be limited to just cleaning and decluttering or laundry.  

Home management systems – good ones – should be flexible enough to ebb and flow with the many different apsects of your life so that you can go from putting out tiny little fires everywhere to finally feeling as if you’re handling or managing life well.  Regardless of what season of life you’re in 🙌.

Here are some of the tasks I think of when I hear *home management* /

• meal planning
• grocery shopping
• getting clothing for everyone (think school shopping) 
• laundry 
• cleaning or household chores 
• decluttering 
• home maintenance
• home improvement 
• home school, virtual learning & assisting with homework
• childcare & babysitters – includes making sure providers & sitters have everything they need to care for your child
• petcare & petsitters – same as above but for furry babies
• transportation – making sure everyone gets wherever they need to get & regular car maintenance
• running errands (general shopping, etc.)
• paying the bills and managing your household finances 

✅ So what makes for *good* home management again that actually helps you simplify/streamline/better manage your life? 🤔 Well if you look at that list, it’s the understanding that everything you do, in or out of your home, affects how well you’ll be able to manage your home.

Why you *really* need a home management system stat

Creating a home management system that works for you  – no matter what season of life you’re in – is the golden thread you need to finally feel like you’ve got everything under control.  It’s the secret to finally feeling like a real adult – not a play-play one. 

Not that things won’t still be messy or a bit chaotic – that’s just life of course – but there’s a big difference between living with more intention versus getting dog walked by life on a daily basis.  

👉 To help you see why sitting down to create a home management system is worth your time, let’s quickly go over what life is like without one.  Versus one with a good system in place.

🚫 BEFORE  / 

• a neverending to-do list that also never gets done
• not knowing what to do next – like what’s for dinner, what are you wearing, what are the kids wearing, where are the socks!  The same ol’ mundane tasks you have to figure out every week  
• feeling like you’re running behind on everything
• tired of constantly cleaning, organizing, decluttering, and still feeling like your house is never well managed
• being embarrassed by how your home looks

And now, let’s see how life looks with just a little bit of household management. 

✅ AFTER  / 

• your house finally looks and feels like a home – it may not be perfect but you and your home finally feel like good friends instead of enemies
• wake up to a clean home – and even when things actually get messy – clean is just a quick clean up session 
• you don’t have that nagging feeling that there’s something you need to be doing – If only you could figure out what it is 
• even on a day that’s a complete dumpster fire, you can still look around with so much gratitude for the simple reason that even your worst days aren’t as bad as they used to be

Who doesn’t love a good before and after am I right?  And now that I know you see and believe in the power of getting more organized, let’s talk about where to start. 👍  

The vital step that comes BEFORE creating a home management system

For a few years, when it came to being a mom, wife, and some version of a decent homemaker, I was whatever word means the opposite of thriving.  (Sucking? 🤔)  I put all my faith in planners, gel pens, and productivity hacks when the one thing I should have been working on was me. 🙌

I took a step back from trying so hard to fix things around me – the house and my undeniable inability to juggle work, my family, and myself – and decided to look inward instead.  This was like top-to-little toe self-care. From my chakras to my hormones, I was cleaning up everything. Inside me.

😜 Fun fact alert / Want to know one of those *new things* that changed? That impacted my home?  I stopped impulse shopping.  🛒✋  And this is important because this mindless shopping leads to having too much stuff. Aka clutter.

💡 Being honest with myself about my behavior helped me see the type of woman I wanted to be and see that my daily actions were keeping me stuck where I was.   

It hit me that my house was cluttered with things I – Victoria Alexander – brought into my home. Like I physically carried all this crap through the door, into my house.  And I realized I didn’t want any more crap.  It all needed to go.  And that was that.  

And now for a major key alert 🔑👇

The only reason you truly struggle with your house or getting organized is mental clutter.  There are layers to getting your life together and the first layer almost always starts within.  And I know you’re going to say, yeh but…

• I have ADHD
• I have a chronic illness
• I have no time
• I’m just drained
• Yada yada yada

It doesn’t matter what’s in your way.  Take a step back.  Align your chakras.  Eat a salad.  Take a walk.  Deal with your baggage. Figure out what your values are – what you want out of life. Then come back home, and get your ish together. 

What makes a good home management system

Before we dive in, let’s get a few things straight about what a good home management system is.  And isn’t.  Be prepared, I’m not about to talk about superficial things like binders or trello.  This skinny section revolves around the mindsets you need to create a damn good household management system.  

The Clean Cure Home Management System is not about:

• Perfection
• It’s not about being a stepford wife  
• Perfectly cooked meals on the table that no one complains about 
• Having a home that has more of a museum vibe going on 
• Unrealistic routines that you seriously don’t have time for in any universe

The CC system is all about:

• Progress
• Small wins
• Playing to your strengths & personality
• Developing habits
• Doing your best and being ok with that

Home management is a five-ingredient recipe /

Let’s go over the must-have ingredients for a top-notch home management system.   Remember, this is my opinion.  I’m just a random on the internet. So if any of this resonates with you, awesome!  Feel free to use this as inspo to create your own home management recipe.  

But for now, here’s a quick run down of the 5 ingredients. 

🎤 Introducing, The Clean Cure Home Management Recipe /  

1. Priorities, Planning & Prepping 
2. Schedules & Routines 
3. Clutter, Organizing & Functionality
4. Deep Cleaning
5. Home Improvements & Joanna Gaines Stuff

Here’s how the 5-ingredients of home management work for a more simplified life and cleaner home

The first time you use it, it’s a step-by-step roadmap to a home that stays clean and a life that’s managed well.  When you’re trying to figure out where to start when getting your home together, just start at the top of the list and work your way down.

After that, it turns into a cycle that you run through over and over.  I’ll explain more on this later. 

Keep these things in mind when using this framework:  

1. ✅ Treat this like a step-by-step roadmap the first time you use it.  Start at level one.  Once you win it, you can move on to the next level.
2. ✅ Be prepared to stay on level one for weeks.  These are skill sets you must-have to keep your dreams of a well-managed home and life alive. 
3. ✅ After you complete the roadmap, run through the 5-steps weekly-ish to keep mess, clutter & chaos in check.  Once and for all.   

You might be thinking this sounds way too simple to actually work.  But after years and years of experience, this is truly all you need.  It’s what I and hundreds of others have used to tame our wild lives.  And you can too.  

Overcomplicated things usually don’t work because the human brain just doesn’t like over-complication.  Plus think about this – you’re trying to simplify your world. The LAST thing you need is some clunky process that’s going to turn you off and get no results.  And I know you don’t have time for games. 

What is a home management system – final thoughts 

A home management system is how you keep up with everything going on at home & everybody that matters.  Point. Blank. Period.

And the key to making a home management system that works is to work with your personality. If you feel disorganized or beyond help, it’s only because you haven’t found your organizational style or time management style. Or perhaps you don’t know your own values or priorities, therefore, your days are full, and yet you still feel like life is either moving in the wrong direction or not moving at all.

The list can go on and on. But the problems at home are usually just a symptom of a much deeper issue – or issuesssssss. Shine a light on just a few of those issues and you’ll be amazed at how life starts to come together for you.

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Been to 👉 The Clean Cure Vault yet? (It’s FREE) You’ll find some hottttt mess eliminating freebies – like the one pictured above.  As well as a free roadmap to help you clean your messy house, a total home cleaning checklist, a bathroom cleaning guide, a cleaning routine for moms, and other refreshingly useful printables and whatnots.    

If you’re looking to get rid of your messy house and get more organized, you should check out 👉 The C.H.A.O.S. Control 7-Day Challenge.  

It’s nothing but straight to action lessons and resources that’ll help you get your home under control & eliminate 99% of the mess, clutter and chaos from your life 👌.