Everyweek I set some non-weight loss related goals--but they are things which would support my life and my weight loss efforts. Last week I set two goals like that 1) to do my dishes every night before bed (no dishwasher) and 2) to catch up and keep up with the laundry.

I didn't accomplish either of them. And I don't know if I should set them again--or give up and regroup.

Now, this post is not so much about dishes and laundry--it's about being discouraged when I've set goals and not met them. What do you do?

If this were a weightloss goal: lose 2 lbs--and I didn't do it, we would back up and look at the things which support getting the goal accomplished. You would ask me how many calories I was consuming, when I was eating, whether I was exercising and so on.

But what are the questions for dishes and laundry? I'm truly stumped. I don't know how to fix this--and the forums where I would ask no longer exist. (Organized Home run by Cynthia Townley.)

What do I do? I'm so down--I feel like such a failure, it's ridiculous. And yes, I have been struggling with these sorts of things (house keeping things in particular) for years. (And yes, I've tried flylady.)

I could probably write the book: and I've read lots of them. But I'm hopeless. That's how it feels.

Can anyone help?

PS: I am a sahm. And I was reading in a procrastinaton book last night about how folks like me have completely unstructured time. And it is true. I have very few external constraints on my time. That may be a factor--but I can't assess it.

I struggle too. I run a full time daycare out of my home so it HAS to be spotless on a day to day basis. I do two big cleans a week (floors and bathrooms) sheets every two weeks. I wash and dry laundry all week and then it sits STACKED in baskets in my laundry room till sunday night. Then the WHOLE family pitches in (even the littles can help!) and it takes us one hour to sort, fold and put it all away.

Get a dishwasher. Seriously. I'd probably die without one.

Flylady sucks. That is all. If I followed her methods I'd be doing NOTHING BUT CLEANING ALL THE TIME. All of the time.

Thanks cfmama.

If we did get a dishwasher, it would have to be a portable--and those are quite expensive! Our counters are only 34" high--they need to be 36. Plus, I'd give up all my storage space the way the kitchen is laid out.

And I'd rather put down new tiles in the kitchen first.

Trust me. We need them.

I find that when I am busy I am much better at getting all of those little things done. It's when I have all the time in the world that it gets on top of me. It doesn't make sense! I totally understand your problem. I set goals and maybe achieve them for a day or an afternoon then revert back to old habits.
The thing that works best for me is keeping busy, but I have a problem keeping that up too.
I suppose all you can do is keep trying, resetting those goals and doing them as often as possible without getting disheartened if you lapse. eventually (I hope) this will help you create new and positive habits.
good luck!

We got our portable dishwasher on craigslist for 100 bucks, it seriously changed my life, my sink is empty, it was well worth it.

Other than that I cannot help much I am a terrible housekeeper, I just don't want to clean enough/that often to ever have spotless house, I used to be anxious about it all the time. Then I asked myself: Is it really a big deal that I only vacuum and do laundry once a week? Does it bother me that my laundry sits for a day or so before i decide to put it away? NOPE, doesn't really bother me...you know who is bothered by it? MY MOM! Every time I saw what I considered a mess I heard her voice warning me that I better clean it fast! I'm over it, I've decided it's my house and I will clean when/how I want.


There were things I wanted to get done on a daily basis though...like keeping my bed made and making sure my sink wasempty and wiped out...these chores I treat like exercise...I just do it! :-)

I bought a "countertop" dishwasher for about $200 online. Sure it doesn't do as much, it doesn't do like pots or pans, but it helps so much. And it only uses three gallons a cycle! My water bill has gone down since getting this washer and the best part is it plugs right into my sink It won't work though if you leave the food to crust on the plates and stuff. I usually do a quick rinse of the stuff while I'm loading the washer and remove the excess food and everything comes out nice and clean We probably do 1 load a day but it's just me and hubby- when it was four of us we did 2-3 a day.

I think it's one of those things where you just have to say "GET UP AND DO IT." Then just do it. Good luck.

I find this a challenge too.. but I find that a schedule can really help. That way you know when you are going to do what and it doesn't pile up. The other thing I try is that when my youngest daughter is taking a nap, and my eldest is occupied with her own activities, I make it a point to do at least one thing for the house. Then I reward myself with a little time on here, and do the next thing and so on.

Thank you all so much.

I appreciate the comments to get a dish washer--but honest and true, that's not going to happen. We have expenses we can't meet right now without going into debt and it is stressful beyond belief. And my son needs braces--so I may just have to get off my duff and start a part time job which is a whole other thing--I can't even think about it makes me so crazy.

Nope--a routine and a just do it attitude--I know that.

So, what on Earth is going to make me actually do it?

I don't have a dishwasher either (then again it's just me and DH) but I'm a strict "after dinner dish washer" and any snacky dishes i do during commercial breaks - i swear half my house cleaning is done during commercials, it's my little game - each commercial i gotta get up and do something so i might as well take a dish to the sink, or do a dish, or carry laundry downstairs etc.

My non-weight related goal last week was to kiss DH each day when i saw him after work for TEN seconds heehehhe he didn't know what hit him!!! of course i had to explain it's JUST a kiss heh

I don't think anyone can motivate you but you- like I said before it's all a matter of saying "JUST DO IT."

Could you be feeling depressed? There was a time I was so depressed cuz I wasn't working and was worried about money so I would literally would just sit on the couch all day and do NOTHING. It was a hard time for me