It gives you clear routines and advice on how to start, and has really helped a lot of people!
For me, the biggest thing is not letting my house ever get to a point where I would be uncomfortable having anyone over to spend the night without more than 1 hour worth of cleaning time. That's my particular guideline - if it would take me more than an hour to get company-ready, the house needs to be cleaned ASAP. It's a good limit for me...gives me the flexibility during a busy week to let things get a bit messy, but prevents me from getting out of hand.
I made two promises to myself about 10 years ago which really changed my life:
1. I would never let clean laundry sit in a basket, I would fold it and put it away before I went to bed.
2. Never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink.
I've been really really good with 1, I think I've only skipped putting it the night it's done 1-2 times. I'm pretty good with 2.
One thing I found with me, dirty dishes in the sink (or clean dishes in the dishwasher) are a barrier for me washing dishes.
Another thing I always do - if I have to take out the trash under the kitchen sink, I empty ALL the trashcans (bathroom, office, laundry room, etc).
I spend 5-10 minutes each day wiping down all the counters and sweeping the floors so it doesn't pile up. I never go to bed with a dirty kitchen, I can't sleep if it's not clean.
Other than that, I clean almost everything with either Dr Bonner's or vinegar. I pour some borax in the toilet at night, let it soak, and clean it with the toilet brush in the morning.
To scour, I dip a cut lemon in kosher salt. Works wonders, and those are 2 things I always have on hand anyway.
DH does the vacuuming, he enjoys it lots. He mixes baking soda with a few drops of essential oil, sprinkles it on the carpet, and sucks it up a few minutes later.
My downfall is windows - I hate hate hate to clean them!
I just hate housecleaning period. The endless repetetive sameness of it - yuck,
I will certainly look at those websites, anything thaty will help speed things up will be a boon! thanks people!
I dislike cleaning only since it does not stay clean for long with 3 kids, hubby, 2 cats and a dog and a home child care! Love cleaning with natural & cheep products. Lots of things I would rather do with $50 bucks than spend it on a months worth of cleaning products. We are about 90% enviromentally friendly...the bleach is only I have a hard time letting go. Love flylady...she rocks. I use a blend of her theology with my own. And fully completely agree with the idea of not letting the house get more then 1 hours worth of work away from being presentable. That is about how long it takes for any of my family members to drive here for a last minute visit!
It gives you clear routines and advice on how to start, and has really helped a lot of people!
For me, the biggest thing is not letting my house ever get to a point where I would be uncomfortable having anyone over to spend the night without more than 1 hour worth of cleaning time. That's my particular guideline - if it would take me more than an hour to get company-ready, the house needs to be cleaned ASAP. It's a good limit for me...gives me the flexibility during a busy week to let things get a bit messy, but prevents me from getting out of hand.
I tend to make one room my focal point a day. Yes, I do the dishes and such in the other rooms, but if the family room is my room for the day, I make sure it is spotless before I go to bed. That is windows cleaned, everything dusted, vacuumed, toys, books and such put away before bed etc. The next day I choose another room, and only have to pick up a lil in the room I did the day before. Make sense? This way, I am not overwhelmed with a long list of things to clean, sort and put away. Usually the deep cleaning of one room, stays clean long enough until I clean it up again (on its own day). Yes a little cleaning here and there, but not a major overhaul.
Another flylady fan here. I don't follow any of her routines anymore but there are a few things that I took away from reading her site that stuck with me.
I can do ANYTHING for fifteen minutes!
Get up and get dressed in the morning.
And the one that was the most difficult for me to get over was... sharing the balance of the workload. I used to get so furious because I felt like I was the only one doing anything. I stopped complaining and b*tching and whining and crying about it, and just started doing it. And you know what?! I have way more help now. I also let go of things having to be MY way... who's going to help me if I complain about HOW they helped me?!
That was so hard for me to move past, but I have and life is much easier for me now.
Chores that in the past take over an hour now take me 15 minutes if the room has been decluttered. We're working on the basement now. Soon our entire house will be decluttered and it makes life -- and cleaning -- so much easier.
I agree with declutter. When we moved 3 years ago I got rid of sooo much "stuff." That plus putting lots of shelves in the walk in closet has helped me so much in keeping clutter free. (I bought 2 bookshelves, $25 each and they fit right behind the door. Wasted space before that.) Now my stash of paperback books goes in the closet. As does all of my office supplies. My desk area stays neat and I know where to find anything.
Otherwise I totally agree with doing one room a day...works for me and even the chore of window cleaning feels doable if it is one room.
I just hate housecleaning period. The endless repetetive sameness of it - yuck,
I will certainly look at those websites, anything thaty will help speed things up will be a boon! thanks people!
Housecleaning
Flylady is the bomb!
