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| Authentic image of someone who cares much more about ironing than I ever have, or will. |
I'm at home all day with my three children, but I'm teaching, or reading, gardening, making stuff or cooking something. Activities I enjoy doing, for the most part. The part of staying home I'm not that fussy about is keeping my house clean and tidy.
I don't want to do it, but I like it having been done.
Also, I find that a clean, organized house is actually much easier to live in. I know where everything is, for real, not like in my messy house when I SAY I know where everything is but who knows if I really do. Also those things are much easier to access. I can very easily walk over to the shelf with the book I need instead of plowing through a pile of Lego, moving a chair, shuffling a bunch of papers around, and THEN getting the book off the shelf.
I have tried a lot of ideas to keep the housework from getting me down, and for the most part none of them have really worked. Partly this is because I can't commit to an actual system for more than a few days/weeks since my life isn't structured around housework. Any schedule that says 'On Monday clean the bathroom' assumes that every Monday I'm waking up to a clean slate of time that begs to be filled with bathroom cleaning. Some Mondays, sure, I clean the bathroom. Some Mondays I have three dentist appointments scheduled in a row and our library books are overdue and I need to hit the grocery store and my husband is going out of town the next day. I'm easily confused by these life events - what am I supposed to do? Wake up at 5am to clean the bathroom? Delay making supper to clean the bathroom? Ask my eight year old to clean the bathroom?
So cleaning schedules don't work for me. Every day is just too different. The only way I could guarantee to get any scheduled task done, I realized, is if it was so very small that it could be fit into any day. Like 'make your bed'. I could find time to make the bed every day even if the rest of the day was packed to the gills. And that's great but it doesn't clean the bathroom, or mop the floor, or any of the other things.
The other problem is that housecleaning isn't something I enjoy, and it isn't something I prioritize.
If I happen to have 30 minutes to myself I'm likely not going to fill it with sweeping.
Anyway, with that long, whiny explanation over, I have collected some ideas that DO work for me. Mostly. Somewhat.
1) No Unfilled Time.
A Youtube cleaning video taught me the idea of 'No Unfilled Time'. You fill the little free moments of waiting (for a kettle to boil, a cup of tea to steep, an oven to preheat, the washer to finish the last 3 minutes of the cycle, someone to take you off hold on the phone, a child to find their other shoe...) with some task in your immediate vicinity. Straighten the shelf of books beside you, wipe the counters, etc. I keep reminding myself of this and when I implement it regularly it makes a difference.
A Youtube cleaning video taught me the idea of 'No Unfilled Time'. You fill the little free moments of waiting (for a kettle to boil, a cup of tea to steep, an oven to preheat, the washer to finish the last 3 minutes of the cycle, someone to take you off hold on the phone, a child to find their other shoe...) with some task in your immediate vicinity. Straighten the shelf of books beside you, wipe the counters, etc. I keep reminding myself of this and when I implement it regularly it makes a difference.
2) Trash First.
One blog I used to read a lot suggested the idea of doing a first sweep through any area to be cleaned with a trash bag in hand. I do this all the time. Even if I'm absolutely certain I have nothing to throw out I always, ALWAYS have something to throw out. The old teabag sitting on a plate, a child's crumpled tissue... a broken crayon...what is that on the floor? Toss. Toss. Toss.
One blog I used to read a lot suggested the idea of doing a first sweep through any area to be cleaned with a trash bag in hand. I do this all the time. Even if I'm absolutely certain I have nothing to throw out I always, ALWAYS have something to throw out. The old teabag sitting on a plate, a child's crumpled tissue... a broken crayon...what is that on the floor? Toss. Toss. Toss.
3) Clean As You Cook.
My father liked to say that you should clean as you cook. I try to do this. I've sauteed the onions and now, rather than moving immediately to the next thing, I wash the saute pan. Takes a minute. One less pan after supper to wash. Cough. Like I'm washing the dishes right after supper. Cough.
My father liked to say that you should clean as you cook. I try to do this. I've sauteed the onions and now, rather than moving immediately to the next thing, I wash the saute pan. Takes a minute. One less pan after supper to wash. Cough. Like I'm washing the dishes right after supper. Cough.
4) Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
A Clorox wipe over the toilet and a squirt of shampoo in the toilet bowl, swish, scrub, flush. Done. You know what that's better than? It's better than nothing.
A Clorox wipe over the toilet and a squirt of shampoo in the toilet bowl, swish, scrub, flush. Done. You know what that's better than? It's better than nothing.
5) Use one tool for as much as humanly possible.
One cleaning product, preferably in a spray bottle, to clean as much as you can. One vacuum to do the rug in the livingroom, to run over the shelves as 'dusting', to vacuum up things around the edge of the kitchen, to run over the sofa cushions. Just one. Complexity will make me throw my hands up in the air.
One cleaning product, preferably in a spray bottle, to clean as much as you can. One vacuum to do the rug in the livingroom, to run over the shelves as 'dusting', to vacuum up things around the edge of the kitchen, to run over the sofa cushions. Just one. Complexity will make me throw my hands up in the air.
I've stretched this to other areas as well when decision making fatigue has taken over in my life. One meal plan (Cook meat in the oven, defrost a frozen vegetable in the microwave, serve store-bought, seedy whole wheat bread. Every evening meal. Until the stress goes away.) I buy one kind of bread, one kind of milk, one kind of snack, one kind of apple. If I can manage the decisions, then that week you'll get the fancy mangoes and the weird leafy green we're going to try for the first time. If I can't, you get what you get and you don't get upset.
6) Figure out the blockage.
There is always a point in a chore where you hit a wall, and although you may not have thought about why that wall exists, it's there for a reason. This was the case for me and laundry. I was happy as a clam to toss a load in the washing machine, switch it to the dryer, and then put it in a basket. But that's where my blockage was - I simply couldn't seem to manage to fold and put away the clothes. I tried folding from the dryer, and that drove me crazy and just moved the blockage earlier into taking things out of the dryer. Now laundry got backed up earlier in the system. I tried getting the kids to sort the clean laundry into piles for me so at least I didn't have to sort, but that didn't work either. Trust me when I say I tried all the techniques I could find to just get myself to FOLD THE LAUNDRY AND PUT IT AWAY WITHOUT A GIANT FUSS. And they didn't work.
You know what worked? Figuring out why the blockage was there. What specifically did I detest about sorting, folding, and putting the clothes away? It was the process. I didn't like all the bits and pieces of the process. I found it all very frustrating and overwhelming and annoying and I delayed having to do it because of that. So I thought "how can I remove the whole blockage from the laundry system?" And I realized if I sorted the clothing before I even washed it, according to type, then the end product would require zero decision power. Now I wash according to the following groups:
Stuff for the boy
Stuff for the girls that gets hung up
Stuff for the girls that doesn't get hung up
Stuff for the parents that gets hung up
Stuff for the parents that doesn't get hung up
Sheets and bedding according to the bed
Kitchen
Cleaning rags
Other categories as necessary
I don't sort according to colour or fabric. I don't wait to have a full load. These things are sacrifices because I would prefer to do them but I have to remind myself of #4 - Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better to wash this 1/4 load worth of kitchen towels and dishcloths than wait until I have a full load but no towels and am all stressed out. Do it imperfectly, but at least do it.
6) Figure out the blockage.
There is always a point in a chore where you hit a wall, and although you may not have thought about why that wall exists, it's there for a reason. This was the case for me and laundry. I was happy as a clam to toss a load in the washing machine, switch it to the dryer, and then put it in a basket. But that's where my blockage was - I simply couldn't seem to manage to fold and put away the clothes. I tried folding from the dryer, and that drove me crazy and just moved the blockage earlier into taking things out of the dryer. Now laundry got backed up earlier in the system. I tried getting the kids to sort the clean laundry into piles for me so at least I didn't have to sort, but that didn't work either. Trust me when I say I tried all the techniques I could find to just get myself to FOLD THE LAUNDRY AND PUT IT AWAY WITHOUT A GIANT FUSS. And they didn't work.
You know what worked? Figuring out why the blockage was there. What specifically did I detest about sorting, folding, and putting the clothes away? It was the process. I didn't like all the bits and pieces of the process. I found it all very frustrating and overwhelming and annoying and I delayed having to do it because of that. So I thought "how can I remove the whole blockage from the laundry system?" And I realized if I sorted the clothing before I even washed it, according to type, then the end product would require zero decision power. Now I wash according to the following groups:
Stuff for the boy
Stuff for the girls that gets hung up
Stuff for the girls that doesn't get hung up
Stuff for the parents that gets hung up
Stuff for the parents that doesn't get hung up
Sheets and bedding according to the bed
Kitchen
Cleaning rags
Other categories as necessary
I don't sort according to colour or fabric. I don't wait to have a full load. These things are sacrifices because I would prefer to do them but I have to remind myself of #4 - Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better to wash this 1/4 load worth of kitchen towels and dishcloths than wait until I have a full load but no towels and am all stressed out. Do it imperfectly, but at least do it.
7) Something In Every Room.
When I leave a room, or enter a room, I try to do one small thing. I don't want to have my hands empty as I walk. If I'm going into the bathroom, I'll take the thirty seconds to tie up the bathroom trash and carry it with me to the kitchen when I leave the room. Now I'm in the kitchen and I can put that cup into the sink from off the table. And as I head back into the living room where I was to start with, I can put the dvd into it's case and tuck it in the cupboard before sitting down to hear lessons. I was going into the rooms anyway, and three more little things got done.
8) Keep A Spot For Donations.
I keep a cardboard box on top of my chest freezer and throughout the day I put things there as I find them to donate. It's a box I will also donate, so I don't have to worry about changing out the container when it's time for it to go. Also it is not too big, or bulky, just a plain cardboard box. I only put in items that are already clean and ready to go so that there isn't another layer of 'I have to remember to wash those hats first and make sure the books don't have bookmarks still in them before I send off the box." When the box is full, I put it in the car. And put out another box. Books and media to the public library donations spot, clothing and household goods to the thrift store. Period. No deviations from the system.
9) I Am Not Responsible For The Emotional Well Being Of My Things.
Continuing from #8 - my stuff is stuff. I look at the options for how to get it out of my life, I pick a good choice, I stop thinking about it. Again, #4 - Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good! Maybe there is a needier charity, a more environmentally conscious recycler, a generally worthier place to give my things. Maybe. But I have made a choice, and I don't spend MORE valuable time and energy researching better choices. The thrift store I donate to is not a charity, it's a business. They are going to sell my used stuff to customers. But it's better than the landfill, it's right on the route to a lot of my shopping, and they'll give me a 20% off coupon if I donate a box of things. Decision made. No more thinking.
10) Find A Way To Include Others That Isn't Horribly Dull
My suggestion here is the powerful weapon of The 10-Minute Tidy. Gather the peoples. Explain that for 10 minutes we will race around as fast as possible and clean up. When the timer goes off we will stop. It helps to give newbies to this process a few hints and ideas of what they might do so you don't end up with someone playing with dolls and whining "I don't knoooooow what to dooooooo!" Then set the stove timer and work as fast as you can. Upbeat music helps. Lots of yelling and shrieking and encouragement helps. Frantic, comical running around like a crazy person helps. There are five people in this house and that equals 50 minutes worth of high energy tidying. If everyone is focused it's enough to tidy my whole house.
Image of ironing lady is from here.
When I leave a room, or enter a room, I try to do one small thing. I don't want to have my hands empty as I walk. If I'm going into the bathroom, I'll take the thirty seconds to tie up the bathroom trash and carry it with me to the kitchen when I leave the room. Now I'm in the kitchen and I can put that cup into the sink from off the table. And as I head back into the living room where I was to start with, I can put the dvd into it's case and tuck it in the cupboard before sitting down to hear lessons. I was going into the rooms anyway, and three more little things got done.
8) Keep A Spot For Donations.
I keep a cardboard box on top of my chest freezer and throughout the day I put things there as I find them to donate. It's a box I will also donate, so I don't have to worry about changing out the container when it's time for it to go. Also it is not too big, or bulky, just a plain cardboard box. I only put in items that are already clean and ready to go so that there isn't another layer of 'I have to remember to wash those hats first and make sure the books don't have bookmarks still in them before I send off the box." When the box is full, I put it in the car. And put out another box. Books and media to the public library donations spot, clothing and household goods to the thrift store. Period. No deviations from the system.
9) I Am Not Responsible For The Emotional Well Being Of My Things.
Continuing from #8 - my stuff is stuff. I look at the options for how to get it out of my life, I pick a good choice, I stop thinking about it. Again, #4 - Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good! Maybe there is a needier charity, a more environmentally conscious recycler, a generally worthier place to give my things. Maybe. But I have made a choice, and I don't spend MORE valuable time and energy researching better choices. The thrift store I donate to is not a charity, it's a business. They are going to sell my used stuff to customers. But it's better than the landfill, it's right on the route to a lot of my shopping, and they'll give me a 20% off coupon if I donate a box of things. Decision made. No more thinking.
10) Find A Way To Include Others That Isn't Horribly Dull
My suggestion here is the powerful weapon of The 10-Minute Tidy. Gather the peoples. Explain that for 10 minutes we will race around as fast as possible and clean up. When the timer goes off we will stop. It helps to give newbies to this process a few hints and ideas of what they might do so you don't end up with someone playing with dolls and whining "I don't knoooooow what to dooooooo!" Then set the stove timer and work as fast as you can. Upbeat music helps. Lots of yelling and shrieking and encouragement helps. Frantic, comical running around like a crazy person helps. There are five people in this house and that equals 50 minutes worth of high energy tidying. If everyone is focused it's enough to tidy my whole house.
Image of ironing lady is from here.
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