I'm finding that I bought the wrong kind of house ten years ago. I wanted the self-cleaning model, but considering our current economy, my chance is past, and I now can't afford that kind. *Sigh* So, to deal with the disappointment, I've been sitting around eating a lot of chocolate (don't I wish) and thinking a whole lot about it.
When my brother and his wife were here this past weekend, they talked about getting their house ready to sell. I saw pictures of it on his facebook page, and it looks GORGEOUS! He told me of all the loads of stuff they took to D.I. I'm thinking one of the things I have to do is pretend I'm going to move and start in.
I figure there are three things that are preventing my house from being as orderly and clean as I'd like it to be, and I really want to overcome these things. This is where I could really use some ideas.
- My first stumbling block is motivation. What is it you do to be motivated to clean? What's in the back of your mind that keeps you going?
- Second is my almost two-year-old. He is into EVERYTHING and has to be watched all the time. He does take a good nap during the day, so I figure I can get things done then, but when you've got time to yourself, is that really what you want to do?
- Third, I really do believe that my house could in some degree or another "clean itself" if there wasn't so much stuff to clean up. Part of the problem is the stuff the other part is the people who leave the stuff laying around. I know how to get rid of stuff, I just have this weird mentality that thinks that it all has to happen right now.
I really believe there are so many of us in the same boat. So, what works? I've tried many things in the past, and I have to admit I'm an instant gratification kind of woman, but I know that in so many areas of life, that's just not realistic. I also know my personality well enough to say that I'm not a put on a front kind of person. If my house is going to be clean, it's going to be the entire thing or not at all. I'm not the kind that's going to have my most visible rooms clean for guests and the rest be a sty.
In August, I cleaned out two of the areas in my house that were getting out of control, and they still look pretty good. One was the linen closet, the other was the game closet. I was ruthless with the game closet. It, most of the time we've lived in this house, has been piled high with games and quiet toys the kids could play while younger siblings were napping. So much of it had small pieces. These pieces would get dropped on the floor of the closet until it was a TERRIBLE mess. For the most part, I threw these away this last time I cleaned. It feels so much better.
There was also one day in August that I woke up so motivated. I just had the feeling that something great was going to happen that day, so I made it work for me. I cleaned out half of the garage. This kind of feeling isn't common. It seems that often my days run me.
I was frustrated and grumpy this morning because I had pushed snooze too many times then T and A got up early. I had to battle for the chance to get dressed against T's pleas for "Pain-cake. Pain-cake." I picked him up at one point as he said, "Hod you. Hod you. Hugging. Hugging," I mean, who can say no to those requests? As soon as I got him into my still pajamaed arms, he pointed down the stairs saying, "Food!" Once downstairs, he got a hold of the gallon-sized jug of syrup (or what's left of it) and started drinking it when my back was turned. A bath ensued. Well, you
get the picture. This i
s what I'm up against. I
really could use some ideas.
I just took these photos so you could see the closets. I didn't clean or doctor these closets or photos before shooting or posting. They still look pretty good considering the time that has passed. This is what I mean by self-cleaning. There's just enough stuff in the closets that there's room for more, but nothing more to put in those spaces. This is what I want for my entire house. I know it's just a matter of doing it. So, when it comes right down to it, the motivation is where I'm lacking more than anything else.
7 comments:
I think it's a good idea to pretend you're moving. I can't believe how much stuff we got rid of. We also stored a bunch of stuff, thinking we'd be moving in August. I don't even miss that stuff and here we are in October. You could also try flylady.net.
I wish i had a SELF-CLEANING house, too!!! ha ha!
Wouldn't that be awesome!?!?!?
Julie,
It seems with an ever growing family and a house big enough to let everyone have their own space to grow in that our house has been in a constant state of clutter most of the time.
When we had Kelsianne I pretty much laid down the law (not that I hadnt tried to in the past)and told the kids that THEY, not I, would be responsible for keeping the house much cleaner.
This Summer we set up our family assignments. Each room assignment has a list of things that is needed to be done for that room to be counted as "clean" - I can send those to you if you want.
The kids are each responsible for keeping clean - including dusting, vaccuming, tidying, de-junking, etc..
1) their own room
2) 1 bathroom (we have 4 now)
3) 1 extra room (tv room, library, kitchen, etc)
4) their own laundry ( this one started with preston's mom - once kiddos turn 8 they are responsible for washing, drying, folding, putting away their OWN laundry)
The kids are responsible for these areas every day and their laundry 1x/week. Extra jobs or rooms can be doled out as needed (one of our rules that is if I have to pick up or trip over backpacks after school I get one extra job/chore from that kiddo - usually something hard like washing dishes or extra vaccuming, etc)
We rotate the extra rooms each week - we have done it by assignment or let the kids draw theirs out of the "job jar".
I usually try hard to not have the same person be in charge of the kitchen if they are in charge of the meals just to keep someone from getting piled with the big jobs.
The other thing we have put in place is having the big girls tag-team the little boys - the girls help the little boys get dressed, breakfast, brush teeth, etc. It helps me a ton to be able to let me have some time to get myself and Kelsianne ready each day. It really cuts down on the chaos and me having to do everything for everyone.
We have pretty much applied this to everything and the kids have learned alot more responsibility and I am not feeling like I am everyone's servant. The house, amazingly, has stayed really clean!
It also has helped us find balance - no one is overwhelmed with ALL the house and the kids are learning life skills as well as responsibility.
It has worked really well for our family. I feel like we have more order & cleanliness and everyone seems lots happier too.
Hope this helps - let me know if you would like me to send you those lists -k-
the other thing I forgot to mention in my rambling reply was about my little guys - they are 5 & 2 - their jobs are to "help" the big kids with their jobs - even though the boys are small they can help unload the DW, sort socks, clean up toys or put spoons on the table. They feel like they are being "big helpers" and I can use those teaching moments to help them learn more.
Spot cleaning is my favorite way to clean on a daily basis. Yes, the deep cleaning still has to get done, but if the bathroom stinks it's because Eli or Matt dribbled on the floor, so I clean just the toilet and the floor around the toilet. Problem solved. I don't need to scrub the whole bathroom to solve that problem. I also use the trick of thinking, "What ONE thing am I going to accomplish today"? That one thing might be sweeping and mopping of floors or scrubbing a bathroom or making sure I keep up with laundry. I also expect my kids to do their part. Each day they are required to clean their rooms, help with designated kitchen jobs and I try to have them help with one "Help Mom" job a day, though ever since school started I haven't been to good about making sure that happens. And last but not least, D.I is my friend. If I know that it is not going to be used or we have to many toys laying around I do not hesitate to give it away. I can't stand the feeling of excess stuff laying around. I think the idea of pretending that your moving is brilliant. Start with just one goal a day. It helps a lot.
I'm positive our house is messier than yours, for whatever that's worth. That said, I can identify with a lot of what you've said and between your post and the comments here, there are some good ideas I'm going to try out in our household too! Thanks.
Have you checked out flylady.net? She helped me once upon a time get on top of my house. She has checklists and ideas and mantras ("Just fifteen minutes"). She doesn't suggest cleaning methods or products, only how to climb on top of your pile, whatever it is, get rid of it, and stay on top of it. She also has a yahoogroups mailing list where she'll send email reminders all day long— "Do you know where your laundry is?" or "Time to shine the sink!" or "Spend fifteen minutes decluttering one hot spot."
I don't flylady at present, I'd gotten from her all I needed/wanted/wished for, but it was a good starting place.
As for real-life experience: some days I plead with the children, some days I ask nicely, some days I speak with volume and a creased brow (when I say it that way does it cover up that I'm yelling?), and some days the house is just a lived-in, disorderly minefield. Sigh.
That's life with children.
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