How Do You Do This Every Day?

FLYLADY!! www.flylady.net

It is a hard job to have - being a homemaker!! I have used Flylady for years now and love it! She makes it so simple to follow. It may seem strange at first but give it a try best of all - it's FREE.

M.

I've got no advice I'm right there with you. I detest cleaning and I feel like everytime I get a handle on it, It gets out of hand again in less than a day and I'm cleaning all the time.

Just wanted to say, I'm there with you! Ha! Luckily my husband cooks, but otherwise we somehow manage to get through the week doing what needs to get done to get us through the day. I do my best to catch up on the weekend.

Try visiting www.flylady.net. It is a free program and you pace yourself, build your own routines. I started it years ago (have fallen off of the wagon a couple of times only to climb back on). It's a fantastic program. For cooking check out the affiliated program www.savingdinner.com.... If you will try these you will love them.... happy Flying!

Since it bothers your husband more than it bothers you, perhaps it could be under his charge instead of yours. If it is his responsibility and you are helping him, in other words he takes the lead, but you both do the chores, maybe it would be more agreeable to you. My guess is that you do not like the responsibility of it all and therefore it is not enjoyable, but you may have a "helper" personality that doesn't mind doing it, as long as someone else is in charge of it. My husband was in charge of our cooking and I only cooked when I wanted to, which was rare. Not all women like cooking or cleaning or organizing. Don't feel guilty; just explain to your hubby how you feel about housework and cooking and enlist his help in getting it all done.

I also struggle with keeping a clean house while working part time and raising 2 kids. the biggest thing is know what you like to do and what your husband likes to do. If you are both working full time you should have equal responsibility at home. I do more than my husband now that I'm home more but when we both worked FT, we both cleaned equally at home. I hate bathrooms and he hates vacuuming so he cleans bathrooms and I vacuum. The other big thing si everything doesn't have to be perfect, a quick sweep of the kithcen floor and getting all the dishes out of the sink at night makes everything look better in the morning. We also do a 15 minute clean up at night where we both just clean for 15 solid minutes. When we slack off on that you can tell. good luck!

I'd say the best tip is not to try to tackle it all at once. Break down the chores over the course of a week and assign a day for getting things done. For example: Clean the bathrooms on Tuesdays and Fridays, Dust on Mondays and Thursdays, Laundry on Sunday, etc. Save the big projects for the weekends. The secret weapon of all the "wanna be Martha Stewarts" is an established routine.
If that doesn't work, you could always hire someone to tidy up for you once a week. In the current job market, there are a lot of people out there that would be glad to have the extra work and you could probably negotiate a very reasonable price.
One trick I use to make myself take care of something that needs organized is to put all my junk in a pile and place it in the most inconvenient place I can think of (like the middle of the floor, kitchen counter, or on my bed). You can become surprisingly motivated to take care of something when it's constantly in your way.
If nothing else, you could always hire someone to do it for you, and then all you have to do afterwards is maintain the process. I have no idea what the cost is for having that done, though.
Hope that helps. Good luck!

This may sound corny but I try to look at all things and especially my spouse and children as a "gift". When I am thankful for what and who I have in my life there is no room for complaints. (not that you are complaining) After four children and 15 years of marriage this is the best advice I could give. When we were first married we lived in a rented town home complex with a shared washer and dryer. We had our first born child there and doing laundry was a chore! I had to spend five hours at the laundry mat with my baby after a full week of work. Now when I do laundry I appreciate all of it...the smell of clean clothes and working machinery. I try to look at my home the same way. We now live in a large five bedroom home with multiple baths and when I clean I thank God for everything we have...working toilets and all! Most of all I am thankful when the work is done and I concentrate on how I will feel when I am finished and how much happier my family will be...It is all a gift! Don't be hard on yourself. Don't set your expectations too high and enjoy cleaning with your husband. Don't look to others as a barometer for how your home "should" be. Be sure to get sleep versus watching television when you want to "veg" out or read inspirational books instead. Make sure that you eat well during the day and exercise as much as possible. This will all give you more energy. Good Luck and God Bless you on your marriage.

what i do is pick a task each day that way things don't get too over piled but you don't have to feel like your doing massive chores each night, plus on a lot of chores they are quick so you still get your down time. I do them right when i get home so i am still in the active mentality. And if you know the next night you will want to chill just do 2 chores the night before. You won't have your down time but then the next day you can relax without thinking about what you should be doing.

I understand where your coming from. When I was still working I had a really hard time with it. I still do. I'm a sahm and I try but its hard. I also have ADD so its really easy for me to start something and never finish. I'm working very hard at getting better. I want to get better. I want people to randomly stop by and not be throwing stuff into a closet to pretend I'm good at this whole thing. Things that help... I will set an alarm and wake up 15-30 minutes earlier with the only purpose being to clean. I don't do anything but what I need to do. I don't quickly look at email or turn the tv on. I get up and straighten and clean. Check out Marthastewart.com and sign up for the organization tip daily email. It has really helped me. Not too many projects are the "yeah right I can make/do that" type. Its great stuff check it out. Now I need to follow my own advice, close my laptop and get to work. Good luck. It'll happen it just takes time... with me a whole lot of time.

I have to agree. I have a bad habit of "hiding" things and therefore have about 10 junk drawers! I do keep things straight, but I am terrible at organizing. I have been meaning to clean one of my daughter's dresser drawers for about a year now. I will say that the daily thing helps a lot. I will clean one bathroom on Monday, the other on Tuesday, vacuum on Saturdays, and I try to do laundry a couple of times a week(or I spend all day on Saturday or Sunday doing it). I don't clean everything weekly like I wished(like dusting and toilets), but I do make sure they get done at least every 2 weeks(again, not all in one day, though). The one chore I do make sure of is that dishes are done everyday b/c they will pile up quicker than you can imagine and it only takes a second to put them in the dishwasher or a minute to wash.

One thing I have learned in my 30's is to really not sweat the small stuff. I wanted to have the perfect Martha Stewart house, but I realize that is just not me! Life is too short to worry about a little dust or a load of laundry or fancy napkins. If I really don't feel like it, I don't do it-I would rather play with my daughter, anyway. I have found that sometimes that motivates me more the next day to get it done. I also tend to have the most motivation first thing in the morning. Therefore, if I have made up my mind to do a project, I start right away and a lot of times I will get more done than I had hoped to get done.

You're young. Enjoy life-but keep in mind it gets harder to manage all of this once a baby enters the picture, so trying to establish some sort of routine now will definitley help in the future.

Start with just picking up. If you are walking toward the bedroom and there is an item in the living room that belongs in the bed room, pick it up and take it with you. On the weekends, make on day to be the "cleaning/laundry day". In my house that day is Sunday. We have Saturday to goof off and take a break from work. If you make sure you pick up during the week, then the cleaning day will not take but a few hours, with the exception of laundry. In my house with a husband and two young daughters, laundry is never ending. If I do not finish it on the weekend, I will do a load a night on the week days and fold while I veg. My husband has his own duties, he makes sure the pets are taken care of, the girls take their baths, the trash is taken out, and he unloads the dishwasher. Sometimes he will change out laundry for me when he knows I am busy and cannot get to it right away. Keeping the house running smoothly is hard but we work as a team and get it done. Once you are able to get the picking up and cleaning as a routine, the organization of your home will fall into place. Good luck!

I have been using http://www.flylady.net for a few years and my home looks better then it ever has. She reminds us to shine our sink, that we can do anything in 15 min. And that we are never behind. Best wishes and happy new year. Sincerely G.. http://www.ginaedwards.net

baby steps and use Flylady.net!

I can totally relate.

the latest and greatest on organization has said.. pick an area that needs organizing and ONLY work on it for 10 minutes. I have tried that because it doesn't seem so overwhelming that way.

give it a try.

K.
a sender of cards

Do little chores each day for 5-10 minutes a day, like wiping down the bathroom counter or cleaning one toilet right before jumping in the shower. Designate either Sunday or Saturday as your major cleaning day to do the more time-consuming stuff. Make to-do lists for everyday, put them on a clipboard, stick it on the fridge, and just rotate for each day. It'll make things more manageable and will help remind both you and hubby. Get hubby to agree to do certain tasks as well. You can even have a contest to see who finishes the most chores each week. Winner gets a back rub. :)

Or, hire a maid to come in every other week! LOL! Good luck!

FLYLADY!!!! Go to www.flylady.net. :)

Try www.flylady.net

Take care,
N.

How about getting child involved, along with dad to organize?

try the flylady program. go to flylady.net and follow her step-by-step plan. if you really read it and do what she says (and don't do extra) it works so well. you just have to be patient with yourself.

It would proably help you try and start a Routine for night, morning, and afternoon/evening. For example befor eyou go to bed at night lay out your clothes the night before, brush your teeth, moisturize your face, and take any meds you might need to take before bedtime.
Morning shower and dress to shoes. Make your bed when you get out. Just start out simple and add as you go down. Cooking with crockpot helps also.
I got these ideas from ww.flylady.net Also remember that your house didn't get in chaos overnight so therefore don't expect to get it cleaned and organized in just one night. Do it in babysteps so you don't get oeverwhelmed. Hope this helps. My email sis ____@____.com if you would like to chat more.
Kathy in Athens

I recommend www.flylady.net - not for everyone but it has worked for me...you can sign up to get daily emails that motivate and offer ideas. The website is fantastic - the basis of "flylady" is that you can do anything for 15 minutes. Housework is divided and organized into 15 minute increments. I am married with a 2 yr old and a 3 1/2 yr old and work full time - definitely not enough hours in the day to get it all done and this has been a great source of help and inspiration for me. Good luck!

You probably are not getting anything done because you are overwhelmed with what needs to be done. Working full-time, whatever age you are and especially if you have children, can use up your energy.
Use the weekends to work on household projects, decluttering, and organization tasks. Do not overwhelm yourselves with many projects. Make a list and tackle two or three each weekend; you still will have time to play!
During the week, concentrate on preparing dinner and cleaning the kitchen each night. Maybe plan on doing one load of wash and dry when you come home from work so laundry needs to not get out of hand. Also, it's always better if both spouses participate in household duties. Decide ahead of time who will do what and when.
I think the key is to be organized in your planning. Make a list and do a little at a time. Once the list gets smaller, you will feel that you have accomplished a lot.
Good luck!

Try Flylady.net!! This will help you get though all the chaos in your house.

Well... to let you know you are not alone!! I can't wait to see what some of the other ladies have to say.All I know is when I do finally get in the mood to do it. I don't stop until it's done. And that means sometime I'm up until 1 AM. But I have to get it done while the energy is there to do it. Hang in there maybe you will get some good ideas we both could use!

I'm dittoing the FLYLADY! :) Good to see so many other Flybabies out there!