6 expert tips for tidying when you're feeling overwhelmed – and 1 thing to always start with for a 'quick win'

Clearing up mess is a thankless, endless job, so if you're feeling overwhelmed about tidying your home, it's entirely normal.

Here, professional organizers share six tidying tips including starting with the smallest and easiest items to clear for an instant hit of dopamine. These simple but helpful tricks will mean you won't leave an even bigger task for your future self.

1. Create a list of "needs" and "wants"

At this point you know one thing for sure: you're overwhelmed but want to tidy your home. But pinpointing the cause of the feeling into something particular and actionable make tidying easier.

Kiera Malowitz, certified professional organizer and owner of Decluttered, says, 'I recommend that people seeking to tidy their home while overwhelmed start off by creating a list of what they need to do versus what they want to do. Dividing a list this way will help narrow down what you absolutely need to focus on, and what you can leave, making the task overall less overwhelming.'

Now instead of feeling that you have to tidy a whole house, you have a concise, smaller list of areas that need to be tidied in the first instance. This might include high traffic or very functional spaces such as kitchen counters, visual clutter in bedrooms or your small entryway, for example.

You can make this list on your phone, on a whiteboard like the TSJ OFFICE Small White Board from Amazon which can hang on a wall, or using good old fashioned pen and paper. When I make lists, I like to use a notepad similar to the ones in this 4 Pack of Magnetic Notepads for Refrigerator from Walmart.

2. Schedule in some time

Feelings of overwhelm can seem all-consuming and make the messy house around us seem even more in disarray than it truly is. This is because the longer we see the mess, the more stressed by it we become.

Scheduling time in your calendar to tidy up your home is a great way to regain control and keep a cap on the stress of uncleared mess. Whether you diary the job for later that day or week, you will know there is a finite time that it will be gone. It also holds you accountable and more likely do it as planned.

Jamie Hord, founder of Horderly Professional Organizing, says, 'Set enough time aside so that you don't feel pressured or have to stop midway if it's your goal to tackle a large area. Start at a time that you have the most energy and put on fun music to keep you upbeat!'

Millie Naor of Bella Organizers agrees with Jamie that it's a good idea to enter tidying in a light mood to the best of your ability and make tidying simple. 'Create a fun and light atmosphere – put on your favorite music, a podcast, or an audiobook to keep you entertained while you work. The background noise can boost your mood and make the process go by quickly.'

That is a decluttering tip called body doubling and is very effective.

Blocking out an hour in your day and setting a timer to tidy is another great scheduling idea to reduce the sensation of overwhelm if you have to tidy. This way, you know the overwhelming task has a clear end point: once your hour is over, you're done with tidying for the day.

The TIME TIMER Home MOD 60 Minute Clock on Amazon comes in many colors and will sit on any counter while you tidy, offering a clear, satisfying indicator of how long you have tidied for.

3. Keep it simple

Often when a person is feeling overwhelmed about a task, the hardest part of the entire process is starting. Once you get going, the momentum usually builds naturally.

Linda Samuels, certified professional organizer and founder of Oh, So Organized!, recommends starting going for "quick wins" instead of complex tidying techniques: tasks that won't take too much time but will have a high impact and leave you feeling motivated.

'It may not feel possible at times but it's always possible to tidy up, even when you're feeling overwhelmed,' says Linda. 'The key though is to do small tasks that will produce an energizing uplifting effect right at the start.'

Linda believes the following eight tasks are great beginning points for overwhelmed people trying to tidy up their homes:

1. Make the bed
2. Place dirty clothes into the laundry hamper
3. Close the dresser or kitchen drawers
4. Load the dishwasher
5. Wipe bathroom counters
6. Recycle the junk mail
7. Toss expired food from the refrigerator
8. Take out the trash

Ben Soreff, professional organizer and partner at House to Home Organizing, agrees with the ideas in this list, saying, 'If we are stressed, how do we tidy up? We focus on quick wins, like taking out the garbage. Here we don’t need to think or overthink and while trash may be gross, picking it up and taking it out of our home is a straightforward task.'

4. Ask family and friends to hold you accountable

A friend or family member in your life can more than likely relate to the friction you're feeling between overwhelm and tidying your home. I've definitely been feeling it myself lately as life has gotten more busy. Even seemingly small tidying tasks become amplified in my head!

Kimberly Corey, certified virtural professional organizer, and owner of Finely Sorted Organizing, recommends asking some people in your life to act as your accountability partners, whether you both tidy your spaces at the same time, or meet up to celebrate once you're both done.

'Maybe you will go out to dinner, get a pedicure together, have a picnic in the park…not only will the tidying be uplifting but that fact that you have solicited support from your people will also add to buoyancy knowing you have community you can count on,' says Kimberly.

If you're truly in a deep rut though and the people in your life are available, there's nothing wrong with reaching out for help by calling in a professional. 'Whether it is hiring a professional organizer, asking your significant other to help or recruiting your entire family, including the kids, to help, I am a big believer that you don't have to do this alone,' says Kiera.

Hiring a professional will help you to avoid tidying rules that are ineffective for the majority of people, but what works for few people may still work for you.

5. Start by putting away items that have a home

Items without a home can take extra time to put away as you don't really know where they are supposed to go. So, if you're feeling overwhelmed, it's a good idea to focus your attention on placing items back where you know they belong, since it won't take as much brain power.

'Keeping an area tidy is really about putting items back where they belong,' says Ben, 'So start by doing this and tackling the rest another time. If your other items don't have homes or systems set up to keep them decluttered, tidy and organized, they will be tougher to tackle.'

Wander through the house putting away anything you see which is out of place. Or if it works better for you, make piles in each room of items you pick up as you go: a pile of things that are meant to be in the kitchen, a pile meant for the bathroom and so forth. Then, put those items back in their homes all at once.

When I do this I like to make a pile or box filled with items that have no home to address at a later date after getting some rest. Dana Reder, a professional organizer and founder of Winnow & Bloom, refers to this as a "later basket".

'Corralling items into a "later basket" allows you to keep tidying and not get hung up on certain items, as you can instead address them at a future point in time,' says Dana.

You could use a nice decorative basket like the Woven Abaca Crate - Brightroom™ from Target and keep it as your permanent tidying assistant.

Each morning, I set a 15 minute timer with music accompanying it and go around my house, using the Pick Up and Place method to put the obvious things away. This might include pens, cups, and laundry that missed the bin.

I also use this time to open my curtains, shock ventilate the house, make my bed and drink my first glass of water of the day. It sets my brain up well for the day ahead and leaves my space feeling refreshed without the need for a gigantic tidying session to accomplish it,

6. Integrate tidying as a daily life practice

It's easier said than done, but if from this day forth you make tidying a part of your daily routine, it will subconsciously make tidying less associated with stress. If you suffer pain, chronic fatigue or illness, are dealing with mobility issuer or an injury, considering adaptive pacing when cleaning and tidying.

For anyone out there feeling overwhelmed it's something I would definitely recommend, even if you don't schedule it for first thing in the morning. Perhaps tidying as part of a 'closing shift' routine better suits your lifestyle.

Overwhelm can be a difficult feeling to navigate but rest assured it can be overcome. You can stop mental and physical wandering with some of our expert tips.