Housework Blahs
 

I've neglected my house until I'd now be embarrassed if I had unexpected visitors. My husband doesn't see it as he lives in his office. I guess its a good thing its beginning to bother me.
I've decided (after I return from a long weekend vacaton) I'm going to to the old "spring cleaning" thing. Strip each room to its bones and do it: baseboards, ceiling cobs, wash and polish the hardwoods, take down and wash the curtains. etc.
But I need to make it manageable so I'll do it all. so I was thinking....................
What if I assign one day a week to cleaning......some rooms will be a snap like the bathrooms. That way I won't fell I'm trapped.....though I may dread the approach of that day.
How do some of you FORCE yourself to do the job. I need a reward system?
(My mother had a cleaning lady: that's why I don't have the housekeeping gene.)
MaryKatherine

i heartily endorse your one day a week plan! otherwise you will wear yourself out and quit or take shortcuts just to get done

I put on some loud music and let er rip!!

Seriously, I would do one room at a time also. If I have 2 easy rooms I may do 2 a day. That way I still have room for fun things. :)

Wow -- admire your enthusiasm and motivation!! -- I just don't wear my glasses and then can't see all the lack of clean!!

I do a bare- bones maintenance each day. Then, I'll do all the light fixtures one day,all the base boards another day..etc. lots of jazzy music helps,plus the knowledge that I immediately hit the sewing station when I'm done with that day's chore.

I "force" myself to clean by inviting company over!!!

I clean an area when it starts to bug me ... or when I'm in a bit of indecision. I'm not an organized or scheduled person, so it's done when I most feel like it; it may be only one area or one activity (dusting, vacuuming, washing a window).

This is what I do. It's a good thing that I have overnight company a couple of times a year.:thumbup:

I don't have a set schedule but will have an area (or 3) that really bug me. One day I will just dig into one of those areas and get it done. That mood usually hits every week or two. Different things will set off the cleaning binge - one day my husband asked if I would wash his caps - once that was done I went to put them away and decided the whole area needed cleaning - 3 hours later it was all polished and done.

Oh MaryK, I hear you! I've got the same problem. At first glance my home looks presentable.... but it really is quite filthy! A DEEP cleaning is needed. I just have a serious problem staying focused long enough to get things done. Perhaps I should follow your lead and take one day a week to thoroughly clean a room. It's a good thing I have a small home... where oh where to begin though! Loud music is always a bonus, so long as I don't start dancing to it instead of clean to it lol Speaking of housework, I best get back to it - only 4 hours until my guest arrive! Ughhhhhh!

I used to follow the Flylady program - http://www.flylady.net/ but fell off the program when I had a major fibro flare. I really need to restart this habit.

I never get done; work part-time, garden, ponies, cats, dog, etc. (and QUILTING) But I try to pace myself & just keep "treading water." If I go all-out for a few days, I tend to just make myself ill or in need of the chiropractor and end up missing a day or two of work and then I'm getting behind again. When he was little, my son asked why I'm always cleaning at the cabin when I should be on vacation. I told him that that house is small enough that I can get it all done when I'm there, unlike at home where's there so much more demanding my attention. Good luck to you!

My kids are due in next weekend so I will do hit and miss cleaning for now as with grand kid's I will have to give it a good cleaning when they are gone. With just DH and me we don't have to do the deep cleaning as much anymore and he helps me so much. My DD helps me a lot while they are here so we really don't have that much to do later. I am so bad about putting off the things I hate to do until I just have to do them. My sewing room really need a very deep cleaning and sorting out.

:D:D Accept Your Mother's Wisdom!!!!!!!!!! :D:D

I am a minimalist. Keeping around just the stuff you need and what truly makes me happy is soooo helpful. I can clean my entire house from top to bottom in a few hours. When you do this cleaning, keep a laundry basket with you for trash and donations or garage sale items. Get rid of the "stuff" so next time you have less to do. Start with a positive attitude and do one section at a time. Then look back and celebrate your progress. Put all your cleaning items in a basket so you can efficiently move through without constantly running to get cleaning items. Reward yourself at the end.

I have found 2 websites to be very, very helpful..... www.flylady.net and http://www.alejandra.tv/ .

I just hired 2 housecleaners for 4 weeks to get caught up!

I'm with you on the deep cleaning. I have to be "I the mood" to do that type of cleaning. So when it happens I turn up the music and get busy. If I dance along the way it just makes it go faster and at least I get to enjoy myself along the way. Thankfully this mood usually hits when my husband is gone or he would think I was totally nuts. LOL.

Ya' gotta' just get started..
It will free your mind for creative quilting juices to run amuck! So maybe think of cleaning as the "first step' in your next quilt. : )

I resent the time taken away from fun things to do cleaning. I usually divide the chores up into a couple of days and get stuff done. Baseboards are my nemesis! I see the dust and finally get down there and clean them, but in another few weeks they are a mess again! I have no words of wisdom I'm afraid, I guess just do what you can.

My house, clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy :) As long is there is no heath or tripping hazards, the house cleaning police won't get you!

Truly, my house is so big, it's impossible to keep up. We have 5 people including a 16 and 20 year old son (SLOBS), a very lazy elder, and double sloppy hubby, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and a huge yard. I have laundry and no refer to it as the "L" word and I sweep up a new puppy every other day.

Anyway, I can have the entire house sparkling clean and have it look no different the very next day. I keep MY bathroom, my desk, my bedroom, my sewing area, and the kitchen clean. Those guys can clean up their own messes!

I do clean the guest bathroom that the boys use and supposedly clean if I expect company. I am afraid of their commode!

I'me at the end of my second round of kids (raising kids 33 years) one son is living here full time and commuting, the other just returned for the summer from 1600 miles away. They are neat by no means. I just try not to look when i go by their rooms. I do clean their bathroom every week. I absolutely love our very short summer, but we bought a camp a few years ago, and although it is so much fun with family and friends, I find I'm totally overwhelmed this time of year. With a pool and extensive gardens and a good size house it is a lot for me to take care of, not to mention the projects I put on myself. I do it all myself while my husband works long hours running his business and the boys work physical labor jobs to earn their college spending money. I hate spending the money paying someone else and I like to keep up on things. This time of year there is so much to do, it kind of ruins summer for me. I'm looking forward to downsizing in a few years.

Before my husband retired, I used to have a certain thing I did in a 2 week period, with Thusdays off. Laundry and ironing on Monday, windows on tuesday, baseboards and wall spotting on wed, etc. I was usually done with everything on that days schedule by 11 am, and in a two week period the whole house was cleaned. Then DH retired and it sometimes took me 2 days just to get the kitchen floor mopped. Since my heart trouble he does most of the house work (no cooking or dishes). He has just been great the past few years.

Here is your answer MaryKatherine, and others: http://flylady.net/

FlyLady focuses on one 'zone' a week on a repetitive basis so nothing ever gets really out of hand. She also talks about 'crisis cleaning' if you want to get the whole house done quickly. I don't really know how it works, just that it does. I didn't grow up with good housekeeping skills - I'd tear through the house when company was coming and make myself and everyone else miserable.

I've used her system (off and on) for years and it just amazes me how well it works. I've been off of it for quite a while - had a cleaning lady, she moved, I didn't replace her, the house had to get to where is was bothering me, now I'm slowly getting back to it.

Along with that, I'm doing some 'spring cleaning'. It started with the floor tile grout. Last week's zone was the main bathroom + one extra room (the laundry room for me) and since I was focusing on those two areas of the house, I decided it was time to tackle the gross grout. ugh!

That led to me getting out my steam cleaner (LOVE that thing) - did a super job on the grout. Of course the grout put me on nearly eye level with the baseboards so I steamed them while I was on the floor. They looked so nice! So I'm just working my way around the house working on the baseboards.

When you look at the detailed cleaning items for each zone, and think about those things getting done about every 6 weeks, it's easy to understand how easy it is - cleaning a window that was cleaned 6 weeks ago is a lot easier than one that was cleaned 6 years ago!

Give it a try - I think you'll be glad you did :-)

I am also in PITCH mode! Spending the winter in our RV makes us both realize how little we really "need". So, my plan (I am kinda sticking to it *wink*!) is to clean out one drawer or closet or cupboard in the house each day and "pitch" (re-cycle where I can). It is working so far and I feel really good about getting all "like" items back together in one spot. How many JUNK drawers does one person REALLY need? I have started in on my fabric, too, and will be donating a lot I'll NEVER use again to local group who use it to teach people how to make their own quilts. Plus the group makes quilts for hospital, nursing homes, etc. I LIKE that idea... It doesn't take much of my time and I always have plenty of time to do what I WANT to do.... Hope this works for someone else out there...... Happy Quilting...

I can't bring myself to spend hours every single day cleaning. You get it cleaned one day and in a day or two you have to do it all again, especially the floors. There is just my husband and I but he doesn't remove his shoes and since he is 70, it isn't worth the aggravation to retrain him. I just don't worry about it. Don't get me wrong, I do clean but I am not a "neatnik" I guess you could say. Our house is "lived in.".

Before I arrived from winter away I arranged for cleaning lady to do spring cleaning. I promised myself when that was allllllll done then I would set up sewing machine and NOT until then . For me it was worth every dollar to have the help. Even did the garage and it is such a freeing feeling. Extras went out at same time.
Set machine up today because of the virtual sewing weekend but now much easier to do weekly cleaning myself.
Good luck whatever you decide to do.

I invite people over for dinner, so the main floor gets done. Now we want to put our house on the market again, so that means really deep cleaning each room and decluttering. I went through each room and made a list of what needs to be done in each one. I plan to do a room a day when I can, and not stress over it. For each room I'll set up a day, get organized, then reward myself, by sewing etc. when that room is done.

I do the Flylady system (as best that I can). "You can do anything for 15 minutes."

I am another one who follows (mostly) the Fly Lady method. I don't spend all day cleaning but do have a daily routine. FLY stands for Finally Loving Yourself. The Fly Lady herself has an amazing story. Check out her website. I follow the Fly Lady Lite version so I am not bombarded with emails. Her products are wonderful too should you choose to get them. It certainly is not necessary. Free program established by someone who has been...and still is.... in our shoes as homemakers.

Bless you as you little by little get back control of your home.

I really feel like a "failed grandmother". My 6yo DGD and I were in MY master bath which is used daily and doing our makeup and hair. She looked at me and said "Nana, why did you leave that big spider web hanging from your ceiling?" I said "there's no spider web"...so we argue about it for a minute or 2 and the sun streamed in the window and there was this long gossamer strand hanging from the ceiling, dangling down all the way to the tub. I should have just told her that was a "fairy rope" that I was using for decoration!!

I will blame it on the fact that I've had eye issues for the last couple of months!! LOL

I really feel like a "failed grandmother". My 6yo DGD and I were in MY master bath which is used daily and doing our makeup and hair. She looked at me and said "Nana, why did you leave that big spider web hanging from your ceiling?" I said "there's no spider web"...so we argue about it for a minute or 2 and the sun streamed in the window and there was this long gossamer strand hanging from the ceiling, dangling down all the way to the tub. I should have just told her that was a "fairy rope" that I was using for decoration!!

I WILL blame it on the fact that I've had eye issues for the last couple of months!! LOL

I really feel like a "failed grandmother". My 6yo DGD and I were in MY master bath which is used daily and doing our makeup and hair. She looked at me and said "Nana, why did you leave that big spider web hanging from your ceiling?" I said "there's no spider web"...so we argue about it for a minute or 2 and the sun streamed in the window and there was this long gossamer strand hanging from the ceiling, dangling down all the way to the tub. I should have just told her that was a "fairy rope" that I was using for decoration!!

I WILL blame it on the fact that I've had eye issues for the last couple of months!! LOL

I don't know how big your house is, mine is small. I use Swiffer and when I can find it, Endust. I got tired of having so many cleaning supplies I was running out room. I got down to basics. Regular dust mop and the Endust. My bathroom is 75% ceramic tile. To do it fast, I turn the shower on hot for a couple minutes, turn the shower off then spray all the tiles with those cleaning bubbles. Shut the for a couple more minutes. Then go in and wipe down fast. Bedroom and other rooms, I use those micro-fiber rags. I give myself a half hour for each room. I try to keep them picked up and I have dogs so I have to keep up with the dog hair. My reward is either a Snickers Ice Cream bar, heath bar or go to my girl friends house and have a conversation with her and the "Bailey's".

I call it deferred cleaning. For the most part, the house looks OK, but I know what hasn't been done in a while. Did my heavy cleaning in the kitchen today. Oven, refrigerator, microwave, vent screens, bar glasses, lemon oiled all the cabinets, cleaned out the toaster and toaster oven, scrubbed the tile floor, dusted the blinds, wiped down the counters and then I was too tired to cook dinner, so went out. Of course, I only managed to schedule this because I finished my latest quilt a couple of days ago. That's why I was so far behind.

make a list of things that really bug you and a list that has to be done make a list then go quilt:thumbup:

Haven't read all the posts in this thread so I may be repeating someone....but have you checked out Flylady.net? She has a wonderful schedule for cleaning...plus lots of tips and motivations....

I hate housework as much as the next person does, but it's one of those necessary evils that much be done. I used to be the type to procrastinate until it was just uninhabitable, but then it would take me even longer to do because I let it go as bad. Then I was introduced to the Fly Lady. She is incredible and has a no-nonsense, easy and wonderful way to keep your house clean by cleaning something every day. It may sound daunting, but honestly it isn't. Once you've done the deep cleaning to get everything back to where it should be, if you maintain everyday, it's a breeze. It literally takes me about 20 minutes every day to do my little list of maintenance and then I'm feeling great about my accomplishment, not guilty for sitting in my craft room for some me time and the house is presentable enough for any guest to drop by. OK, maybe not Mom's standards, but it's clean. I force myself to have all the dishes done everyday and go to bed with nothing in the sink unless it's clean and in the drying rack, I vacuum the whole house which takes about 10 minutes. (I have all hardwood floors and 4 dogs that shed something fierce), then I have my daily list of cleaning!

Her website is http://flylady.net/ and she is the bomb! Give her a real chance to get you where you need to be and you'll be glad that you did. Hope this helps some!

I totally understand....I love what my mom used to say..."make sure the kitchen and the bathrooms are clean and the rest of the house will take care of itself!" Seriously, I try to clean one day a week and I focus on one or two rooms..I wouldn't want anyone to come see me with white gloves for sure! I would hope they were coming to see me and not how well I clean! Right now my cat, Mr.Peach, is shedding and so I am having to run the vacuum cleaner almost daily. YUK!

I just read a lot of really good tips here. thanks to all. I found (on the www.alejandra.com site) a good way to start the decluttering process and I think I can keep up with that. She said you should take "30 min. every day" to pick up clutter and put it in it's place and eventually the clutter is under control. This is starting to work for me. The hard part was just decided "where" to start. ha ha (if you can't give 30 min. time each day, start with 15 min. or 20 min. and then it gets easier to do as you get used to it.)