Does anyone else think cleaning is a waste of time?

[swampwitch]

I don't like cleaning the wet stuff, bathrooms and kitchens and mopping but do it when I have to. I tidy up because chaos makes me a little crazy. Our house is rarely "mother-in-law-coming-to-visit clean" but it's usually pretty okay for visitors.

 

[rubsluts'mommy]

Originally Posted by techiegirl

But here is my question.......
HOW DO YOU GET MOTIVATED TO DO IT?????

I mean, it should be easy to put the Diet Coke can in the trash after you are done with it right??? I threw away 3 from my night stand this AM - that was from the past few days.

I am not a pig but I certainly wouldn't let anyone see my place right now. Mostly it is just clutter - not hoarder clutter, but clutter nonetheless. And my family is so the opposite. When I am home, I will get up to go pee and come back and my glass will already be in the dishwasher! Shoot, I am worreid that if I sit for too long in one place I might be thrown out with the trash.

It's just me and the 5 cats - how hard can it be???

Where do I start????

HELP!!!!!!

I give myself a schedule... Aside from little things, I give myself a couple hours on my days off to do chores... and I'm ADD (w/o meds, thank you) so i get distracted by things very easily. Because I'm trying to start a business at home making things to sell, I've taken a day out of one of my jobs, cutting back hours. It also helps with gas (it's a long commute). So, Fridays I do the bathrooms and a few other small things, trash (non-kitchen, which goes out more often), dishes (I live alone, and have lots of dishes, don't need to run the dishwasher that often), etc... laundry. Tuesdays (with overlap into Wednesdays if I'm running errands Tuesday) I rotate the larger rooms: Living/Dining, Bedroom, Office. Each week will have one room. I've been lax on it up to now, but with the extra day it'll be easier to do.

I also may structure myself even more, like i do with my writing and editing. Again with my ADD raging... when i am at home and want to focus some of my time editing or writing, I have a small kitchen timer nearby. I set it for one hour and do nothing BUT that task for that hour. Oddly enough, the timer helps me focus. it also helps me push those da**ed voices that tell me to go do other tasks out of the forefront of my mind.

It also helps to close the door of the room you want ot work on to the cats... my two want to get into what I'm doing, so I close that room off somehow. It's hard to close the office door, so I use two of the metal shelves from those steel shelving units (like at Target) and they nearly fit across the door. It's a 3 foot wide door (my unit is wheelchair accessible), so I set one on the floor and then the second on top of it... they can't get over it (well, they haven't tried yet), so they usually wander off and nap somewhere else. That's how I got the office one HUGE step closer to being clean last week.

This week it's the Living Room and Dining area (which is now a sitting area extension of the living room). It's all baby steps. I don't expect to get that space immaculate this week... hardly... but I can get even more clutter out and possibly vacuum. I do need to work more on the office, as the walk in closet that holds my crafts and sewing supplies is not exactly 'walk-in-able' right now. and some of the things cluttering the living room need to go in there. I'll get to it. it may also continue Friday as well... With the extra day for myself and my Biz, it can only get better...

It's all about baby steps, really. For now, take a trash bag and walk through your place... anything that needs to be trashed, pick it up. Recyclable? have a second bag for those. I set a box out when I'm working on a room for stuff to go elsewhere... so I'm not running back and forth with one or two things at a time... and thus getting distracted (well, I know I'm working on the kitchen, but since I'm back here in the office, I may as well check my email... that sort of thing.)

Okay, I'm writing a book now... should go start sanding some wood to make a loom... yes, I've discovered another hobby... I can't STOP!!!!

Amanda

 

[calico2222]

That's a great suggestion! My problem is I look at the entire house and wonder where to start. It doesn't help that one room basically flows into another so there really isn't any clear cut end (as in door) from one room to another. Our living room, kitchen, dining room and family room are pretty much all one. If I have a full day to clean everything, by the time I finish the last room, the first room is already covered in dog and cat hair again! It just gets so frustrating!

 

[rosiemac]

Originally Posted by techiegirl

But here is my question.......
HOW DO YOU GET MOTIVATED TO DO IT?????

On a thursday evening when i get in from work i don't have anything to eat until my houseworks done. So the sooner i start it, the sooner i finish so i can relax

Once you get yourself into a routine with it it's so much easier.