My Bad Habit: Cleaning
Or perhaps I should have titled this: My Bad Habit: LACK of a cleaning schedule.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm not a slob...or at least not a total slob (although my mother might disagree with me on this one). I'm not going to be featured on any hoarders shows. But I'm not going to be featured on House Beautiful either.
The weekend has gotten away from me again and it's mostly because of this silly cleaning cycle that I have...and my bad habit.
Here's the pattern...my family and I go around doing the day to day things. Caught up in life as most families are. Certain things just don't get done. Again I say we are not total slobs. The dishes get washed (although the clean ones tend to hang on the drying rack much longer than they should). The clothes get washed, dried and (eventually) put away. But papers and mail do tend to pile up (not bills or things that need to be returned to school, but those "things" that I haven't thrown away or looked at yet...but I probably should have looked at and thrown away days if not weeks ago). On the kitchen counter circulars and coupons start to pile up. Coats don't get hung up...but are draped over chairs in the dining room. The dining room table becomes a repository for things that somehow land there with no where else to do. Toys in the living room "sort of" get put away, but not completely. Legos lurk under tables, sofas, rugs, etc. And the dust bunnies start to roll into town.
Time marches on and I realize that it's been a while since I have dusted or vacuumed and I think to myself, I really ought to do this soon. But days continue to pass by. And then I get annoyed that if I don't do it; it doesn't get done.
And then "it" happens. Something (a holiday, a visit from relatives or friends) comes up and I go into panic mode. The house needs to get cleaned. And it needs to get CLEAN NOW! I angrily start to clean and I'm not a happy camper. My family becomes the object of my rants and all in all it isn't pretty.
It happened again this weekend...and I'm hoping it won't happen again. After my ranting and raving. Some raised voices and a few tears...we've tried to come up with a plan. It's not quite in place yet, but I have my hopes. After all keeping a relatively clean, "normal" (as my son would say) house is not just my job, but every one's. I introduced my son to the vacuum cleaner the other day. He wasn't so great with it, but I have high hopes.
The other problem is once I start cleaning and clearing one project just leads to another. Like I said, we're not hoarders, but I have been keeping school work from my son since...well since he was in preschool! (He's in third grade now). I haven't kept everything, but I have kept alot! And in containers that were in the dining room. Deciding to clean out a bit, I got more bins (we have plenty of storage in our basement, but it isn't the neatest or driest of places either so I need to keep anything I want to save in plastic storage bins that can keep out the dank, mold and dust). I went through the bins I already had and while keeping some of the papers that I consider treasures, I did toss out quite a bit as well (which is why the front of my house looks like it does right now. The garbage truck comes by tomorrow, but the cans and boxes will stay lined up tonight making me look like...well, a bit of a hoarder!).
And it wasn't just my son's things that I tossed. Old curlers (anyone remember Hot Sticks from the 1990s when big hair was the rage?) went out in the trash too. I know if it hasn't been used in a year you should toss it (I think that's the rule). I can't go that far, but I figure if it was lurking in the back of the bathroom cabinet for at least a couple of years, unused (and unloved), it was time to go.
There is still a bit to do. (One weekend just won't cut it). But my husband worked on the hall closet this morning and it's looking good. He's promised to get to part of the basement this week. And I can see both the top of his bureau and mine for the first time in...well let's just say it's been a while.
And how am I going to keep all this on track? I've decided to use technology. I may not have a robot to clean my house (yet), but I do have Google Calendar. From now own, every first weekend of the month there is a reminder to do some heavy duty cleaning. I know I'll be doing some of that more often, but it's a reminder to the whole family that we need to asset what we haven't cleaned and at least make a monthly effort to toss what has been sitting around for the past month.
It may not be a perfect plan, but it is a plan. And hopefully it will lead us down a path of less clutter, more cleaning and much less stress, tears and bad feelings! And who knows...maybe some day I'll even get my sun parlour back!
Please don't get me wrong. I'm not a slob...or at least not a total slob (although my mother might disagree with me on this one). I'm not going to be featured on any hoarders shows. But I'm not going to be featured on House Beautiful either.
The weekend has gotten away from me again and it's mostly because of this silly cleaning cycle that I have...and my bad habit.
Here's the pattern...my family and I go around doing the day to day things. Caught up in life as most families are. Certain things just don't get done. Again I say we are not total slobs. The dishes get washed (although the clean ones tend to hang on the drying rack much longer than they should). The clothes get washed, dried and (eventually) put away. But papers and mail do tend to pile up (not bills or things that need to be returned to school, but those "things" that I haven't thrown away or looked at yet...but I probably should have looked at and thrown away days if not weeks ago). On the kitchen counter circulars and coupons start to pile up. Coats don't get hung up...but are draped over chairs in the dining room. The dining room table becomes a repository for things that somehow land there with no where else to do. Toys in the living room "sort of" get put away, but not completely. Legos lurk under tables, sofas, rugs, etc. And the dust bunnies start to roll into town.
Time marches on and I realize that it's been a while since I have dusted or vacuumed and I think to myself, I really ought to do this soon. But days continue to pass by. And then I get annoyed that if I don't do it; it doesn't get done.
And then "it" happens. Something (a holiday, a visit from relatives or friends) comes up and I go into panic mode. The house needs to get cleaned. And it needs to get CLEAN NOW! I angrily start to clean and I'm not a happy camper. My family becomes the object of my rants and all in all it isn't pretty.
It happened again this weekend...and I'm hoping it won't happen again. After my ranting and raving. Some raised voices and a few tears...we've tried to come up with a plan. It's not quite in place yet, but I have my hopes. After all keeping a relatively clean, "normal" (as my son would say) house is not just my job, but every one's. I introduced my son to the vacuum cleaner the other day. He wasn't so great with it, but I have high hopes.
The other problem is once I start cleaning and clearing one project just leads to another. Like I said, we're not hoarders, but I have been keeping school work from my son since...well since he was in preschool! (He's in third grade now). I haven't kept everything, but I have kept alot! And in containers that were in the dining room. Deciding to clean out a bit, I got more bins (we have plenty of storage in our basement, but it isn't the neatest or driest of places either so I need to keep anything I want to save in plastic storage bins that can keep out the dank, mold and dust). I went through the bins I already had and while keeping some of the papers that I consider treasures, I did toss out quite a bit as well (which is why the front of my house looks like it does right now. The garbage truck comes by tomorrow, but the cans and boxes will stay lined up tonight making me look like...well, a bit of a hoarder!).
And it wasn't just my son's things that I tossed. Old curlers (anyone remember Hot Sticks from the 1990s when big hair was the rage?) went out in the trash too. I know if it hasn't been used in a year you should toss it (I think that's the rule). I can't go that far, but I figure if it was lurking in the back of the bathroom cabinet for at least a couple of years, unused (and unloved), it was time to go.
There is still a bit to do. (One weekend just won't cut it). But my husband worked on the hall closet this morning and it's looking good. He's promised to get to part of the basement this week. And I can see both the top of his bureau and mine for the first time in...well let's just say it's been a while.
And how am I going to keep all this on track? I've decided to use technology. I may not have a robot to clean my house (yet), but I do have Google Calendar. From now own, every first weekend of the month there is a reminder to do some heavy duty cleaning. I know I'll be doing some of that more often, but it's a reminder to the whole family that we need to asset what we haven't cleaned and at least make a monthly effort to toss what has been sitting around for the past month.
It may not be a perfect plan, but it is a plan. And hopefully it will lead us down a path of less clutter, more cleaning and much less stress, tears and bad feelings! And who knows...maybe some day I'll even get my sun parlour back!
Ooo I had hot sticks! You know my problem is that paperwork seems to multiply. Not only all of it at work which I can't do much about but the 10 odd free magazine subscriptions, the coupons, the cut out recipes the etc. Stacks of "paper" everywhere! Good luck!
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