Ciel reminded me of my mail desk. Just under the mail area is the recycling box, so as soon as the junk mail comes in, anything unnecessary goes in the bin. If you sort everything right away, you won't have to rely on your "later self" to do it.
Ciel reminded me of my mail desk. Just under the mail area is the recycling box, so as soon as the junk mail comes in, anything unnecessary goes in the bin. If you sort everything right away, you won't have to rely on your "later self" to do it.
My later self really hates my earlier self. :mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by sweet sparrow
I have no ideas........ My basement has exploded! I've been cleaning and organizing top 2 floors and everything ended up in the basement. I've been trying to bring myself to do it and get it done but something always stops me.... like having a nap or watching tv :)
You just reminded me of Past and Future Natalie. Ha ha!!Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRyf2...p;feature=plcp
I was a messy child, teenager, and young adult.
I didn't mind the deep cleaning, but the tidying was something that just wasn't something that came natural.
I found an old book called " Housekeeping for people who hate cleaning", 2 tips were revolutionary for me;
The 1st was that because it is so easy to not to do something because there is not enough time to complete a job. Well don't worry about that. Just make sure as you go from room to room, to grab something that doesn't belong and put it away. The habit of doing this will make the other jobs smaller, so they will require less time to complete.
The 2nd tip was don't cover things. Like a toaster cover. You still have to clean the toaster, but in addition you now have the toaster cover to clean as well. Is dust really that big a problem, that you have to do extra cleaning? Certainly isn't for me.
I have also played tricks on myself to enjoy cleaning.
I like the feeling of coming home to a clean house. I am generally not so bothered any other time. So before I go anywhere I try to do a blitz, knowing the joy it will bring me.
I intentionally never collect my change in a single spot. If I feel like I need a couple bucks extra for spending money.....I have to clean up to find it. And as a bonus cleaning is a reasonable free activity.
If I am depressed or angry doing repetitive tasks over and over puts me into a Zen-like state. I can't even achieve the level of peacefulness from a great yoga session.
There are a bazillion other good reasons to clean, but these are the ones that get me moving the best.
Your top two floors must look amazing! Just do one box at a time or one area at a time in the basement. As a bonus, the basement is really cool in this summer heat too! When it's a hot summer day, turn off the TV, get into the basement and tackle a section of it. Try for once a week. By the time fall comes around, it'll look a lot better than it did!
OR, get into the basement, organize/tidy/clean until you're pooped, and watch TV with way less guilt! Naps are necessary though. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by HelenaZAE
Well mostly topics are about cleaning but just wanted to say for organizing, if you have a shelf or the cube organizer, it does wonders for hiding/clearing up a mess. :) i have a book shelf and i just bought a bunch of bins for them...cheaper a bit too because dollarama now carries some that aren't too bad =)
@HelenaZAE-if you had some famous person you'd love to show your basement to (or a person you'd batt your eyelashes at), what area would HAVE to be tidied down in the basement before your visitor could be received? Try the headgame and see if there is something you don't want the guest to see and tackle it while reeling out the visit in your mind...;)
I just washed a couple of rooms hey Spring cleaning in the Summer,but they look great and smell clean. My quick tip is use two rags at a time for scrubbing down stuff !!that way you don't have to keep going over to the bucket everytime to rince the rag.
My biggest step forward was after I read "Sink Reflections" by the FLYLADY....and then did everything she said....and then I married someone who was born organised....and now after having kids I am the one who does most of the cleaning, and then all the help I get from the DH is awesome, thank goodness for a man who was born organized!!
Now there's a good trick! :) That's also a "waitress" rule-- never go anywhere empty handed because then you're taking extra steps and those extra steps are killer when you're on your feet for 8 hours. If you take an order from a table, be sure to clean a dirty table on your way back to the kitchen with the order. It's not about working harder--it's about working more efficiently!Quote:
Originally Posted by carmanelectric
Guess I spent too many years in restaurants because it's how I live my life at home; there's never an empty hand. LOL. That and yelling, "HOT!" whenever I'm maneuvering around in my kitchen with a steaming pot of food. lol. My family looks at me like I got 6 heads...but they get the heck outta my way. ;)
I'm not sure I have tips for motivation to clean up clutter...I tend to just reach a point where I cannot stand it anymore and then the i-pod goes on and all else stops except for the sound of me cleaning the hell out of the house. However, I think the best tip to de-cluttering is learning how to part with stuff you're not really going to use anymore. You gotta ask yourself-- if I sold my house this second and I were moving to the new place, would I take this with me?"
If the answer is "no," it needs to go to the Goodwill or a yard sale or to the garbage.
I have found myself cleaning our a cupboard or two on days when the weather keeps us mostly inside...I stick to a cupboard or two as thats all I can clean out, organize, and put away within about 1 hour...so saves me from turning the kitchen into a total disaster and then becoming over whelmed at the project. Started by going through the med cupboard, then tackled coffee/tea cupboard, got through the spices, and one "junkish" cupboard...although I have done only these 4 over the span of 2 weeks, it still gives me better and longer lasting results than the constant cleaning up after the kids in the toy room or living room, so it is soooo much more satisfying to me. :) Yeah me!
Full hands in, full hands out!! It's a party at the dish cart!Quote:
Originally Posted by ninna
You're right, 'HOT!', always works better than 'BEHIND!', 'SHARP!' works good too... nobody wants to get burned or stabbed haha :)
If you've got an extra hour/half hour/15 min., put in some high energy music, turn up the volume, and clean/tidy!
For me right now, I'm loving Great Big Sea's Road Rage. We have no curtains in our window so the neighbours really can see me dancing with the swiffer! Someday, they are SO going to buy us curtains....
@sweetsparrow-you might get requests to teach dance steps!