can a total slob clean up her act?
Answers:
I was the original slob. Imagine piles of dirty laundry, dishes being washed only when the last fork was used, bed completely unmade...
That was me. Now I'm almost a neat freak. (I said "almost".)
I decluttered my house first. This helped a lot. I didn't own a lot of stuff anymore, so that was less dust and less places to hide garbage.
I bought a washer and dryer and set up a laundry area. Once a day before work I dropped off dirty laundry in a basket on top of the washer. I did laundry when it was full.
I made it a habit to put things away. Whether it was the butter wrapper on the counter needing to go to the trash, to the dirty dish on the floor (which made it to the sink), even the clean laundry. I set aside about five minutes to put dirty things in their place and an hour every three days to put away clean stuff.
Once a week I vacuum and damp mop the kitchen and bathrooms.
I still don't make my bed. But I always have clean underwear, clean forks, and I can find my son's favorite "Lovey" at any time. I've learned that cleaning is more about habits than about being a slob. Take a day and relax once in a while... the mess will still be there tomorrow.
Other answers:
maybe consider living in a smaller house. I prefer my little digs for precisely the housework reason!
I like to paint the walls fairly frequently too, that's a good way to keep the place looking spiffy, and its only really practical in a small space.
It also helps me from overspending and buying things I don't really need.
maybe consider living in a smaller house. I prefer my little digs for precisely the housework reason!
I like to paint the walls fairly frequently too, that's a good way to keep the place looking spiffy, and its only really practical in a small space.
It also helps me from overspending and buying things I don't really need.
have a yard sale or sell everything on e-bay. Just get rid of things, then paint and get new carpet. You will want to keep it clean them.
It sounds like you have too much stuff. Have you ever seen that TV show where they clean out the house and have a yard sale with the extra things. You can do that too. Have one pile for pitch, one pile for donate, and one pile to sell. Get rid of all the things you don't need. If you haven't worn it in a year, pitch it.
Another good way is to do just one room at a time. Don't kill yourself trying to do it all at the same time. Just one room.
And here's how I got my closets under control. I donated everything I hadn't worn in a year and I bought plastic shoeboxes and put my shoes in them..and you'd be surprised how clean it is.
Don't beat yourself up over it. Just do a little at a time..and once that's all done...keep the clutter out. THat's the biggest enemy of a clean house. If you don't need it, get it out of your house.
nope
set aside 15 minutes every day to tidy the house.
I know exactly how you feel! We don't have an enormous house, but we do have a lot of "stuff", some of which is displaced at the moment! I never seem to "have the time" or be "in the mood" to get rid of the junk. I do clean the kitchen, livingroom and bathrooms all the time, but it's the spare rooms that collect the crap. Today I actually made a start on the second bedroom (which is where all my clothes, etc. are)...I didn't finish, but I've got separate piles for "keep", "try on to see if it fits then keep or not", "throw out now", and "Ebay". I'm definitely finishing it tomorow!!
The key to having a clean house is to develop a 15 minute pickup routine everyday and to follow these rules
*Don't let laundry or the dishes pile up if you dirty a dish wash it.
* If you accumlate one load of laundry wash it and make sure to put it away...
if you schedule one major chore for each day (example Monday: floors...Tuesday: dusting)
then having a clean house will be a breeze.