I hate cleaning my house. I am certain that there are many that share this sentiment.
I do clean my house. I can't stand a dirty house, although, I am willing to live with a little more clutter than most - in part, because I am a bit of a pack-rack and in part because I am so tired at the end of the day, that a couple of toys sitting out in the family room just don't bother me enough to put them away (at least not everyday).
When it comes to cleaning, unless I am cleaning towards a major event hosted at my house, I have a simple tactic that helps me stay on top of things.
I clean in spits and spats. The mere thought of cleaning the whole house on one day is daunting and, let's be honest, now that I have kids, could never happen unless someone takes them away for a day. So, I tend to clean a little each day. This way, things never really get too bad.
I do a load of laundry regularly, so that I don't wind up with a build up of laundry to clean, fold and put away all on one day. I load my dishwasher each evening and run it when needed. I wash my pots and pans, since they don't go in the dishwasher, each morning. I sort through the papers and mail on my counter each Tuesday evening, before the trash goes out for the week. I pay bills and do my filing on Thursday or Friday. I wipe down the bathroom counter every couple of mornings. I dust and vacuum during some of the mindless reality TV that I enjoy, where missing a bit of the conversation isn't such a big deal.
The one area that is a real challenge to me is the dining room. We don't use it and I have a tendency to put things there that I don't know where else to put. There is a stack of papers that my son has brought home from Kindergarten. We try to go through periodically and choose a few that are special papers, but I haven't figured out exactly where I am going to keep those special papers. I put my bags from clothes/household shopping trips in there and sometimes don't put them away until there are people coming over. I have future shower gifts and cards sitting on the table. It really becomes my catch all. It is definitely a good exercise to clean it up, it just doesn't happen as often as it needs to. It does get tackled before events hosted at my house, especially when we need the extra dining space.
When I have an event being hosted at my house, I do start to clean days ahead of time and make an extra effort not to allow things to accumulate. This way, I can do a quick trip through the house a few hours before guests arrive and touch up.
This approach is what works for me to keep my house clean. For more tips and tricks, check out Works For Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family.
It sounds like you have a pretty efficient method of keeping up with things for someone who hates cleaning! As far as the dining area clutter goes (my clutter area is the kitchen/sunroom)- it helps to invite people over more often! I always need that extra peer pressure to deal with those areas.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think with a daily schedule you keep up with things and you do not need to worry
ReplyDeleteThis system sounds like it would work for me too. I am trying to get into a routine and like the idea of doing a little at a time. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteI have the same dining table problem. I think what I may do is take the protective covers off the table and set it with something, either a few place settings of nice china, or even just a fancy centerpiece. We were so foolish when we bought it -- we could have furnished 2 rooms with what we paid. But it's an heirloom table for sure, and I know we won't regret it... it's so lovely I'd like to treat it right! But I know people do set their tables up and that helps. I have 2 little kids though.. not sure how that will work out for me. :-)
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