Karyn Parsons on Getting the House Clean & Organized

I don't understand how people with kids keep their homes clean. I mean, I get it when I go to [former Fresh Prince co-star] Will Smith's house: It's tidy because he has people cleaning up after his kids all day. But my friends who don't have hired help have clean houses, too. And that boggles my mind. I mean, if I chose to, I could be cleaning up my place 24/7 and it would just be OK. The fact that I can't, and I don't, makes my house a total mess.

Sometimes I think it's just the way I'm organizing things—or not organizing them. I'll see these storage bins in the store and think, "If I get them for Lana's room, then it'll all be OK." So I buy them and it doesn't work! Sometimes when I'm in Lana's classroom at school, I tune out of what the teachers are saying so I can study the room: where the books are versus where the very small toys are and where the larger toys are. I think if can figure out their organizational system, then I can do it at my house and the place will look clean. Nope. I've tried it. It doesn't work.

I buy magazines for organization ideas; I look at all of my friends' houses, in hopes that something will just click. Maybe I'll magically figure it out and my house will no longer be a mess. But I just can't seem to get it together. The whole clean-house thing is still a mystery to me. Can anyone offer me some tips? I'll try anything.

What else is on Karyn Parsons' mind?

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