How do you find time to get housework done when all you want to do is quilt? My house sure suffers when I am in the quilting mood which is most of the time. Any secrets, please pass them along.

I let my house go. I used to stress over my housework, but I didn't get to enjoy anything I really liked to do. Now, if my floors get dirty, I say "Wow, these floors are nasty" and my husband goes and get s swiffer.

My uncle keeps telling me at 80.Ashes to ashes dust to dust. We will all be there some day so don't worry it is like not disturbing your neighbors. Keep on Quilting it will be enjoyed longer. :lol: :thumbup:

I have eight rooms, two baths and a basement. I once was able to clean it all in a day. No more. Now, I "refresh" one room a day. When I clean I have help so I don't have to get down on these old knees. The kitchen gets something done everyday. Fortunately, my husband is obsessive about a clean stove, so he takes care of that.

Quilting is more important that housework!!!!

LOL I can't blame quilting for my house being a mess. I've only been quilting a few years. The mess pre-dates the quilts.

Yes, our houses do suffer once we find quilting!

I can suggest the FlyLady method. She has a group on yahoo. It is a group for those with fibro. It's a method where you divide up the house in sections and work on different sections different days of the week. She teaches how to short-cut house chores and gives lots of tips.

Use a timer, work on the house, then reward yourself with quilting. The quilting reward makes digging into the housework not seem like such a chore, cause in no time at all, you get to be back quilting.

When life tends to take over, try to get at least 15 minutes of sewing in each day. You will not feel quite as deprived and the little bits of sewing daily tend to add up by the end of the week.

I'll be watching this thread to see what others have to share.

Pam M

I get up really early, try to finish all my housework or rather what needs to be done and than the rest of the day is devoted between family/quilting..

Ummmmm....... A housekeeper?? I have one right now for a little while. We brought her on when I had shoulder surgery and since I am working have kept her on. I hope to quit working here sometime in the next 6 mos and will have to let her go then.

hire a house cleaner...best 40 bucks ever spent :thumbup:
David

We don't get company so I really don't have to have a spotless house luckily. But it is clean, maybe a bit dusty ok... a LOT DUSTY. But at least it looks like someone actually lives here. :)

Yup, Flylady is the key to easy housework. Doesn't make me love it any more, but it does get done.

Now if I could train my long haired, white sensitive skinned Persian to allow me to brush her, I wouldn't find what looks like small white mice under the book cases or under the sofa.

(My son has a big white long haired dog, says when it sheds he sees what looks like a lot of dead white rabbits all over the yard!
As for inside, he buys a new vacuum cleaner every couple of years! )

My house gets bad when I quilt. Then it gets to me so I get it cleaned up. I once cross stiched a sampler that said Dust is a protective covering for furniture. Mine sometimes is protected a lot. My DH never seems to notice the mess, anyway he never says anything.

I set goals for certain tasks that I want to get dome each day, and when they are done, I reward myself with time to quilt!

I have found that if I get enough sleep which doesn't happen often/rarely ever, I can get everything done. When that doesn't happen, I do what my DH suggests which is quilt or read and take naps.

One thing that does work is to set the kitchen timer for one hour and then race around and get as much done as I can before the timer rings. I have found that I can dust, vacuum and clean bathrooms in that amount of time. If I put in a load of laundy when I start, I can get that done, too. It also serves as exercise for my heart because moving faster gets my heart rate up. That's a good thing. :)
When I mentioned vacumming, I didn't mean the carpets my DH does that. I did mean the kitchen, dining, laundry, entryway and bath rooms. I always make our bed, clean the kitchen and cook everyday. I hope you find a system that works for you.

I'm going back to my quilting now because I have already done several loads of laundry and cleaned the refrigerator and freezer. I just took a short break to eat an orange.

Housework? What's that? Lol

Oh, so true!

I realized NO ONE ever shows up when my house is clean! The only time there is a knock at the door was when I was juggling kids and spaggetti sticking to the ceiling. So which would I rather have a spotless house or friends...... My house is a mess!

Yep!! I'm with David, hire a housekeeper, I did and it works wonders for me, I now can enjoy my sewing and quiltng.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....hire someone?

I've had to resort to setting the timer, too. An hour of housework, then I can quilt.

I'm a housewife so for me, my home/family comes before quilting. That's probably why it takes so long to make progress on my quilts. ;) My house is super clean but my quilting is slow. I'm trying to get a good cleaning routine to help clear up some time in the afternoons everyday. So far it seems to be working. Key for me is staying on top of everything rather than letting things slide and then spending twice as long getting everything back to normal.

Good luck! ;) :D

My old addage is "Creativity is not a pretty Sight" that includes the messiness in my house.

"Housework" :shock: that is a swear word where a quilter is concerned, just put a sign up "Please don't write in the dust, it shows it up" :XD:

Life is too short to have an immaculate house. A littel clean is okay. The dust will out live us! I have to admit that my house gets pretty disgusting sometimes!!

i set a clock every day for 30 minutes and thats the amount of time i devote to cleaning - when the alarm sounds i stop.

by the end of the week the entire house has been cleaned.

housework??? that's what i have a hubby for!

:thumbup: i do the same .i work mornings to exercise and housework. afternoon and evening are mine to do as i please

This one is cracking me up right now! I just brushed kitties and Furminated Isla, the hair bear Manx girl, outside and it looks like beige mousies flying all over in the breeze.

Housework waits and doing a bit most days keeps the harder stuff at bay for a good while!

Have housekeeper every other week and for emergency situations (holidays and overnight company).

My house is a mess!

I love my cleaning lady. She even cleans things that I have not even noticed that they needed it.

Too right!!!! Mine has vacuumed through today while I was quilting!!!!! (Without asking!!!) I did put the washing machine on this morning and I have cooked meal tonight!! :thumbup:

Too right!!!! Mine has vacuumed through today while I was quilting!!!!! (Without asking!!!) I did put the washing machine on this morning and I have cooked meal tonight!! :thumbup:

I love the swifter dust wands. I have three bathrooms and I finally (after 23 years) bought enough duplicates of cleaning supplies to keep a set in each bathroom. It really saves some time. But, I wasn't a great housekeeper before I started quilting either, so can't blame that.

Cleaning??? I want to know how i can write IEPs, write Re-evals, and keep caught up w/ student's work/grades when I'd rather quilt!

I agree.

Good idea - will have to use. I do the dishes at night when watching prime time tv, every commercial I do as much as I can (how come there is so many for such a family of 3? and an awful lot of long commercials)

My boys (9 yr & 11 yr) are always wanting money for video games or the next R/C toy ... well, my fridge got cleaned for $10 this morning. And, no I don't rent him out. I will rent my 17 yr old out though ...

I don't open my shop or do any quilting on Saturday or Sunday.On Saturdays I do a complete cleaning from top to bottom. Then during the week I can just do a quick clean-up before I start my work day and it only takes about an hour.