I used to be really good at cleaning the house when we first got married. And then life happened and I wasn't living in a dream world of a newlywed. There are so many other things I would rather be doing that finding the motivation to clean is hard for me.
So while I figure out how to be better disciplined, there is one sure fire way that keeps me accountable to cleaning my house. Want to know the secret?
Have people over in your home.
I can put off cleaning the toilet for weeks but if I know that we are having guests over that is the number one thing on my to do list. And shockingly takes less than 30 seconds to complete.
In reality many of the cleaning tasks I do, individually, takes less than five minutes. When you have a free few minutes, use it to vacuum...or wipe down the counters...or clean all the mirrors in the house. I think so often we look at all the cleaning we have to do and it is much too overwhelming. So we continue to put it off. But if we looked at it as one task at a time, taking advantage of small chunks of time, there is actually many small tasks that can be completed throughout the day.
So my life altering cleaning advice? Invite people over and take one small task at a time. Sometimes simple works. :)
Check out all 31 Days of Creative Homemaking series here.
*****
31 Days of Creative Homemaking for the Modern Day Woman is now available as an ebook! Click here to find out more about this entire series in an easy to read PDF download!
This is an area I am having to work hard at. Hubby works nights and gets home around lunch time, so as badly as I would like for him to come home to a spotless house, it just isn't practical for me or fair for the kids. That time of day is their play time. I tend to feel defeated at that point. We just disconnected the cable, so I am sure that will be a lot less distraction for myself and the children. But it is very true, one of the biggest reasons my husband likes when we host things is because the house is spotless... and I usually keep it that way for a week or two after.
ReplyDeleteThis is what motivates my mom to clean, too! :o) It definitely works. Things you'll let slide when it's just you at home are never okay when you're having company!
ReplyDeleteAnd if you're wondering why I'm suddenly your newest follower, I'm having to refollow everyone with my new Google account since I didn't renew my custom domain account. :o)
5 people + 1 toilet, takes more than 30 seconds ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm such a cleaning when people are coming over type of person. Love when I'm making everyone help clean and the kids ask who is coming over.
This is an issue for me because I am definitely one of those people who look at the WHOLE picture of EVERYTHING that needs to be done and just shut down. I've tried to make a list of things individually and that seems to help. But I still have a lot to work on in the cleaning area. lol
ReplyDeleteHi I like your blog! Your photos are darling! What I find that helps me is breaking the room into sections and doing one section a day. For instance, all of my counters in the kitchen are done one day and the next day I might choose all the cabinets and sweeping. The next day would be the appliances (stove, fridge and microwave) along with mopping to finish up the floor. This works for me and I feel that although I didn't clean the whole room yet at least I've made progress and I'm on my way.
ReplyDeleteJust read this post and I have got to recommend the FlyLady! Check her out at FlyLady.org.
ReplyDeleteShe is a life saver for many of us.