Hope it is okay to post/ask this here. I am just a really lazy and procrastinating person. I grew up with no chores and a terribly lazy/dirty lifestyle. It was the kind of life where you opened a candy bar and just let the wrapper drop to the floor. Every three to four months someone would be coming to visit and so we would do a massive cleaning. Anyway. . .the problem is as much as I know this is not a good way to live, I see it in my adult life. I have come a long way, I have great hygiene now and such, but I just tend to put things off until they build and build and build. Even when I have the time to do it, I just distract myself with something else. I know addressing the past will help the future, but after that I just can not get it. I want to have a clean and organized lifestyle. I love the feeling when everything is shiny and clean. It has been four years now that I have been away from living with my parents. I just am desperate. Have tried hypnotism and it did not work. Have tried taking "before" pictures so that I can have "after" pictures. Have tried tons of lists and schedules both vague and specific. I hate having a messy place and it is one of the major reasons my husband is leaving me. I hate it but I can not stop it. Has anyone been in a similar situation and overcame it some how?

Hi hippohips,
I'm pretty new here but I do something that might be able to help you out as well.

Are you following an exercise program? If so why not build it into your warm up routine, something like this

Day 1: Dust furniture, then exercise
Day 2: Clean bathroom (s), then exercise
Day 3: Gather laundry, start wash cycle, exercise, when you've finished exercising the wash is finished and you can add it to the dryer (I do this quite often - feels like I'm doing two things at once)
Day 4: Sweep and/or vacuum, then exercise


You get the picture, this really works for me. I know that housework is not the best of physical activity but it makes me want to move more when I know that I've already accomplished something!

Hope this helps!

~Dee

I'm a big time procrastonater as well. I didn't really come from the same type of house you came from but I will let things go until the end. In my head, I want to be super organized and super clean but in reality, cleaning is the last thing I do. I am going to be moving soon and I am doing a big clean sweep of all the junk I have accumulated. The is so MUCH!!! I think if I would just keep on top of the junk/stuff, I would have a munch easier job but it is hard.

I have no idea how to tackle it but I am making a schedule like when I was a kid and until it is a habit, I am going to checkoff all of my cleaning chores as I do them. It sounds goofey and childish but I think that is how I'm going to have to do it for now.

I know what you mean about the checklist. . .graphs really help me with my weight loss. I just love filling in a little square for every pound as goofy as it would seem. Going to try this with cleaning as well.

Since you are moving, there is a website I know of to help you get rid of some of any extra "stuff". Will PM it to you since we are not allowed to post sites here.

Hi there! I tend to let things go too, but I have found a plan that works for me. What I do is set aside one day of the week (usually Sunday) for housework. On Sunday, I will take it easy getting up and eating breakfast, etc. Then, I start the laundry. While load 1 is in the washer, I start cleaning the living room and breakfast nook, and if I have extra time the bedroom and office. Put load 1 in the dryer and load 2 in the washer, then I go to the supermarket. When I get back, I put the clothes from load 1 away and put load 2 in the dryer. Then I clean the kitchen and bathroom. Put the clothes away, then I finish up whatever cleaning I was doing.

I don't do an in-depth cleaning every week, I just pick up the junk and put it all away, and put the trash away (my bf takes it out). I vacuum about once a month and clean the bathroom beyond putting stuff away every other week. (I know, most people do this stuff way more often than me!) It's more like once a month I have a big cleaning blowout, do all the vacumming, scrub the floors, bleach the mildew in the shower, etc., but weekly I make sure to pick up all the dirty clothes off the floor and put used tissues in the trash, etc.

When I was in college my dorm room used to get really messy, and it would magically become clean whenever I did the laundry! My biggest problem is leaving dirty clothes all over, I have never been able to reliably use a hamper. Anyway, I think reserving a weekly block of time for cleaning is a good idea, whatever method you use to do it. I usually only end up doing a total of a couple hours work cleaning on Sundays, so it's not like the whole day is gone.

Tell me about it! We are selling our house right now so it has to be always spotless. I am so sick of cleaning! I am usually a bit of a slob and my DH is neater than me, but still not a neat freak so I am way unused to cleaning as much as I am right now. I vacuum...daily!

I know the women in my family (Mom's side) are prone to clutter (Huh, you should see my Grandmother's house some rooms you can't even walk in!) And my DH is always saying stuff about how I am going to be the same way. Mostly my cure is to go visit my Grandmother. I think about how claustrophobic I feel in her house and how long it IS going to take to clean it when the time comes. This usually sends me into a cleaning frenzy when I get home.

The thing about being clean is making it a habit, because as I am learning it is easier to keep it that way than get back to it. Like Paperclippy I go on a bi-weekly cleaning binge. Which is much shorter in time then it used to be. The rest of the time I just use a few tricks and rules to keep things straight. First of all I read once in a "how to be organizied" article that if it takes less than a minute to do a chore just do it now. I try and remember that but I'm not great at it.

Also I have my rules of 3.
1) Three things I always do before leaving each morning . Make the bed, pick up dirty clothes, and load dishwasher
2) 3 days a week I do 3 tasks that take 3 minutes each. I.e. Give the toilet a quick scrub, pick up junk in the living room, and dust the bedroom
3) I don't have a third really but I feel like I should!!

When all else fails and I am sitting on the couch looking at my messy house not wanting to clean I tell myself that I can substitute 1 workout for cleaning. That way I am still burning cals.

Oh and if your husband has a problem with a messy house I think he should help out cleaning it!!!!

My husband grew up like this too - I'm so lucky he didn't carry much of it along with him! You've got lots of great advice already, so I'll just quickly say... I'd say break the work into little pieces, make a schedule, have one day where the cleaning gets done, maybe clean during TV commercial breaks. Also, I bet that there are some cool websites out there about cleaning and organizing and such. If you are working your butt off when you clean, I'd definately count it as exercise - so there's a little more motivation!

Some time ago I read a similar thread on another forum, and one person recommended the Fly Lady website (http://www.flylady.net/). I think it'll be worth for you to have a look.

I like the ideas that have been suggested so far, especially the "3 things" rules and all of newfiedarling's suggestions.

I think it's best to either do a bit each day or to dedicate a block of time each week, depending on what works better for your pesonality and your life style - and then stick to it.

I'll throw out some of the things that work for me personally, maybe some will be useful for you.
- it's not so much about cleaning as about being organized
- "Keep not Make": it's much easier to keep things clean and organized on an ongoing basis than to let the place go totally messy and then have the daunting task of cleaning it all ahead
(example for the above points: I keep my closet neat and organized by putting things away in their proper places right after doing laundry and at the end of the day; no need for big cleanouts and so easy to find the clothes I'm looking for!)
- start small: I hate dusting AND to see dust around, so I dust visible areas either regularly or as soon as I notice the dust; but I only deal with places such as the top of the furniture every once in a while
- doing my bed right after getting up, doing dishes right after meal (this way it feels like part of getting up or having dinner)
- taking the garbage on my way out daily or every other day (applies to recycling as well - this way I might have a few items, not a recycling-box load)
- sorting mail either on the stairs (I live in an apartment building with no elevators) or right after coming in and immediately recycling junk or unneeded flyers that come with bills or bank statements
- laundry: never "waiting for the laundry/ dishwashing to get done" by sitting doing nothing or watching TV: use this time for something else; do laundry either on a schedule or when clean clothes run low (NOT when they run out); putting clean laundry away immediately
- if I need to do something but don't have the time at the very moment, but don't want to forget or procrastinate, I'll make a reminder for myself (like leaving the broom in the middle of the floor as a reminder - yes, exactly so that I have to step over it or trip)
- evening: dirty clothes to the hamper (I like to sort them so that it's easier and faster when it comes to doing laundry - hate plowing through dirty clothes looking for whites, for example...), clean clothes for the next day out on the chair (check if ironing needed or a button is missing etc.)

That's all I can think of right now

I am normally quite clean and organized, but this summer has been a bit crazy because I am studying for the bar exam. What I like to do is take 10 - 20 minutes each day to do something around the house. It's such a short amount of time that it doesn't feel overwhelming but you can get a lot done over the course of the week. You can even break it down further and just work around the house through commercials when you are watching something on tv.

I also multi-task and do things like wash dishes or unload the dishwasher while I'm cooking dinner - I'm already in the kitchen and am often waiting a few minutes something to finish cooking. I also clean the shower and bathtub while I let deep conditioner and facial masks soak in - I'm stuck with wet hair and a green face for 5 - 10 minutes, might as well get a shiny shower out of it.

I try to look at it like a work out. I put on some good music, open the windows, sing along with the cd/radio. You know? dance make a fool of myself, and what not. Let the sun come in, even if I open a bottle of cleaner it smells so nice, that I want my house to smell like that.
Plus you can burn calories/work out while doing it. Running up and down stairs,lifeting things, vacumming, the general stuff.
I make lists, but I never follow them. But I also agree with a lot of the others comments.
Hope sometihng helps a little bit! **HUGS**