Hey Guys!
So anyone who follows my Naptural85 Vlogs can see that my home is not always spotless. In fact, my house is usually a freaking mess… and it drives me nuts! Because of it, I feel like I’m always in limbo, never settled, never comfortable, and downright stressed out! One of my New Years Resolutions this year (besides Having Fun!) was to keep up with my house work and form the habit of tidying up every day.
For me, this is a big deal. I was always the daughter that you had to threaten a spanking with in order to get her room clean, so this is not in any way, an easy resolution to have. I love a clean home, but when I let it get too messy, it seems like such a daunting task to get it tidy again. So I put it off until my head explodes, and then spend the weekend going beast-mode on it until my wrists and elbows ache. So I’m going to break down, finally listen to my mother (after 26 years on this earth) and start cleaning up on a daily basis. Ugh… don’t you hate it when your mom’s right… AGAIN!
I scoured the internet looking for tips and tricks on how to keep your home clean on a daily basis. It seems like common sense, but I wanted to see real-life solutions to this problem. Small things that I could do that wouldn’t be too annoying, but would get me headed in the right direction to becoming a regular Martha Stewart. I think they say it takes 28 days to form a habit, so I’m going to try and work it out for at least 28 days, in hopes of ending this struggle. Hey, if I can break my coffee habit, I should be able to do this!
I found lots of good info to work with, but I really liked this excerpt by Kathyrn Weber, “The 10 Habits That Keep Your Home Clean.” It shares really quick tips and easy methods to do everyday that will keep your home spotless, and cut down on the long weekend home overhauls. And since I’m trying to form a HABIT of cleaning my home, I figured… “Jackpot!” (You can find anything you’re looking for on the internet, it’s great! I could probably type in “Find me a three-headed monkey” on Google and get what I’m looking for. Ah, 21st Century Instant Gratification…)
Anyhoo, I thought I’d share the excerpt with you guys in case you’re looking for the same thing! I hope it helps!
Cya!
XoXo Whit
Source: The Red Lotus Feng Shui E-Zine
Source: The Red Lotus Feng Shui E-Zine
Source: The Red Lotus Feng Shui E-Zine
This is TOTALLY on my list of resolutions for 2012. https://flylady.net/ has been helping me so far. Good luck!
I so need to incorporate this in my liafe and home as well… thanks for sharing.
Hello Naptural,
Thank you for sharing that article with us, I could have written the same story as yours since keeping my house clean is one of my top priority this year too.
It's so hard to keep good habits, I hope we'll finally manage to adopt this new healthy way of life.
Keep us posted on your improvements !
xxxxx
Elise (a follower from France)
Lovely!
I have a lot in common with you in this regard. Peter Walsh's book "It's All Too Much" helped a great deal in shifting my thinking. I sometimes watch an episode of Hoarders on Netflix as my "scared straight" dose. Understanding the mindset behind the clutter and the procrastination helps me a lot. It leads me to evaluate my motives and thus change my behaviours…even when I stray.
Oh my goodness thank you for this because I've being going crazy trying to keep up with my house as well. It gets overwhelming when things start to pile up… and I am definitely at that point right now.(head exploding)
I think also, that part of the problem is the time that it takes to do housework. I made changes that have helped me stay sane. I live in a one bedroom NYC (i.e. small) apartment:
1) I use technology to make my life easier (i.e. my smartphone and computer) being synched then made a schedule that alerts me to what's on the to-do list for that day.
2) I only do housework during the 5-day work week. The weekend is for naps and fun!
3) I have a place for everything and place similar items together (no more searching).
4) Went to the Dollar Store for a cleaning tote and put all cleaning supplies in it so I'm not trying to figure out if I did buy my Swiffer dusting wands (I LOVE them) – supplies are in one place now. I paid $5 for mine.
5) Used to use a paper sack but now I have a basket to toss everything that doesn't belong in the room that I'm working on, into. I don't leave the room to put stuff away cause then I'm just wearing myself out walking around. Then when the room I'm working on is done, I empty the contents into whatever room it belongs in.
6) I assigned one room or set of tasks, for each of the five days – here's my list
Monday * Entryway / Desk / Hall
Tuesday * Laundry / Empty all trash cans
Wednesday * Living/Dining Room
Thursday * Bathroom
Friday * Morning * Bedroom * when I get home, there's no housework to do
My Cleaning Wish-List:
A laundry sorter!!! Something like this. I used to do something similar with 3 clothes baskets when I had a big closet but now I don't have room for that. It made laundry much simpler. I had to discipline myself to sort as I took off my clothing. Sorting clothes takes way too much time when you could just bag it up, throw it in a machine, and keep going. I've even seen a sorter where the sections can be used as the laundry bags – I'm on the hunt!!!
Mail – I am changing how I handle it AFTER I got rid of piles. I saved up the cash, called a shredding company watched the man drop all of those piles into a huge trash can, roll it out to the curb, insert it into a truck, and shred ALL of it! You talk about a load off – man! It cost me $80 but it can be much less if you don't have Mount Rushmore in your home like I did. 😛 All of my neighbors asked for info to get it done too. Anyway, if anyone goes this way, you want it to be an onsite shred so that every scrap of paper is destroyed and you see it done. Also, check bbb.org for their rating, and last, be sure that they are NAID Certified. My change will be to have a tiny processing area at the front door for mail. I've already bought the shredder, letter slicer, a little hanging folder doohickey. Now I have to set it up so it looks purposeful, then I'll have to discipline myself again.
And finally, an apron.
Yes I know I'm uh detail oriented. LOL but I am liking my home. It's relaxing to come here. 🙂