Does anyone else out there hate doing housework?
I am finding that housework is very overwhelming for my poor little brain. I see the millions of things that need to be picked up, cleaned, organized.... and my brain goes into over load and I shut down and end up accomplishing nothing. I have heard of Flylady and the Queen of Clean and that sort of stuff. And I actually have two books that are just on getting and keeping your house organized and clean. I've read a little in each of them, but nothing substantial.
I try to focus on one task, and sometimes I am able to do it. But then I have so many things to do that it is hard to know what to do next. And of course any job is made more difficult when there are two kids on your heels. So, are you just a super organized person? Or do you struggle with these same things? What are your suggestions? What works for you? I am beginning to think that I am just lazy. But my house isn't "dirty" its just cluttered, and things don't have places. I'm suspecting that the smallness of our house and lack of storage space has something to do with it. Along with two little kids and everything that goes along with that. Combined with a husband that is in school all day and studies every afternoon and evening that he's home, not to mention all day on the weekends....I have a hard time keeping up with my own stuff, let alone three other peoples things.
I have currently make a little graph and stuck it up on my cupboards with four tasks/goals on it, and the date. Then if I do it, I get to put up a smiley face. So far, its not going well, but I'm trying. I'm going to try and put on a smiley face tonight after I clean off the counters in my kitchen.
My goal is to start small, so I don't get overwhelmed, and just work my way up to being like the rest of you out there. (OK, so I'm sure not all of you are like that, but you can't be any worse than I am.) So, HELP!! I need a little direction and advice to try. What I'm doing just isn't working. This "hate" of cleaning comes from my childhood when I would clean something and it wasn't EXACTLY like my mom would want it, and I would have to go back and do it again. Or how much she focused on us doing this or that rather than on leaving it up to us to do it. Just pushing and pushing so much that cleaning was the last thing that I ever wanted to do. (I'm a little obstinate and stubborn. Tell me not to do something and I will just because you told me not too......Andrew does the same thing, I wonder why......) So I have got to overcome this problem because I am determined that our next house will absolutely not look like this one. I also need some advice on how to get your spouse more involved in the upkeep of the home. I know he's in school, but HELLO, he can put his own trash into the trash can five feet away from him. That is not my job.
I await your advice and your genius. And you have all day tomorrow to post a comment because I won't have my computer until about 4 or 5 in the afternoon.....you would think without my computer to distract me my house would be cleaner.......
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5 comments:
Sigh. That's me, too. I get overwhelmed, and then I just shut down and don't do anything at all, which just makes it worse.
I've done some FlyLady back in the day, and one idea that is hers that I still use all the time is the timer. It works well for my sidetrackedness! Just pick one task, set the timer for 15 minutes and go to work. When the timer beeps, take a break and then move on to the next job. It helps keep me on task and breaks the housework up into manageable chunks.
I am very organized by nature, but having a cleaning schedule keeps things easier.
It's not a schedule set in stone, if something doesn't get done or the kids are sick or we're really busy, I just bump it to the next day.
On Sunday I change the cat litter. Monday I sweep and mop the floor and clean the upstairs bathroom. Tuesday is vacuum and dust day. Etc. This way I spend a little time everyday cleaning something instead of a lot of time one day. It helps to make a list of everything you need to do and then split up the chores. I don't do anything major on wednesdays because I work until 11 the night before and I'm usually tired. And I don't schedule anything major for weekends, because we might not be home, and if we are, my H is messy anyway.
Our house is small too, so I have found that getting rid of extra crap helps more than anything.
I've used Flylady's ideas, although I don't stick to her schedules. What I follow is the idea of choosing one part of the home that is to be kept clean at all costs. She uses her sink, I usually try to use my kitchen island-always having it clutter free, unless its directly being used.
Having homes for things is huge. In our old house, when it came time to sell, the only way I found to control the clutter for constant home showings was to create a home for things. I took 3-4 days per room, and spent all my free time finding homes for things in that room, and letting the rest of the family know where the homes were. Its easier to pick up if you know where it goes, and its easier for family members to help if they know where it goes too.
In this house, we are suffering from a lack of closets, so I've been trying to organize it by installing shelving in the closets we do have, putting up decorative hook-boards for the kids to hang their coats in the entry way & the laundry room, and again, creating "homes" for things to go.
I try to work on one of those mundane, never-goes-away tasks like laundry or dishes whenever I'm on the phone. That way I'm not wasting time, and when visiting with someone, you don't notice the drudgery as much.
Finally, some things required an attitude change. I make my bed every day now because I decided I deserve to sleep in a bed that's made. Same goes for wiping down the bathrooms.
Your background music is playing "good night my angel" by Billy Joel. My DH sings that song to me...thanks! I've really been missing him today.
I've got nothing for ya. :-D
i don't mind housework. what i do mind is clutter. i think if you get rid of the clutter the housework will lessen.
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