Just popping in to say "Hi" to you all. This week has been a whirlwind of house cleaning, getting ready for some visitors. My daughter's freshman college roommate and my son's girlfriend are arriving this weekend. And so, it has been Triple Red Alert here at our Little Red House.
I have to confess that I am a terrible housekeeper. I really, really hate housecleaning. So I tend to let things slide... And every time I get caught up in these crazy bouts of cleaning for guests, I swear that I will not let things slide any more.
So, would you guys please remind me to pick up a dust cloth once in awhile? ;)
Tell me, are you an Oscar or a Felix? Slob or neat freak? Or somewhere in between? And if you hate housecleaning like I do, how do you make it easier to accomplish? Any tips for this helpless housekeeper?
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My home use to be company ready almost all of the time, but I have really been slacking the last couple of years, and going down hill fast.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
Glenda
I think I'm somewhere in between Oscar and Felix. I'm obsessive about neatness, but not so good at dusting the corners. It's an ongoing battle. One of the things I do is try and do dust/clean/vacumn one room each day. That way I can keep up with things. Oh, and my husband vacumns the stairs for me.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
J is Felix, I am more like Oscar. We sort of keep each other balanced.
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend!
Oh boy, I think I'm sort of in the middle. I don't like messes, but I don't really enjoy housecleaning, either. It's a compromise. I like to wake up to a clean kitchen and usually straighten the living room before I go to bed, too.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to pick up that dust cloth!
I love FlyLady and think that she makes housework as fun as it can be. I set the timer for 15 minutes at a time and have at it and then usually impress myself with all that was accomplished in such a short amount of time. I doubt the kids are going to be looking at the dust. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI am a totaly Felix but since I became disabled I have had to lower my standards, alot!
ReplyDeleteI have simplified my decor so that dusting is not an ordeal. Hopefully our budget will allow me to have a housekeeper again soon. I am off to clean my shower.
Traci
Something that helped me get started was to tell myself that I can accomplish a lot in just 15 minutes. Oh lookie...Vee has the same suggestion. It really is amazing what can get done in 15 minutes...
ReplyDeleteHaving everything you need to clean the whole house in one storage spot is good, too. If you can just grab a carrying tray filled with your cleaners, rags, brushes, etc. you don't waste time going around gathering all these things...
I also like wearing a 3 pocket apron so I can keep clean cloths in one pocket and use one pocket for any junk I find that needs to get tossed or put somewhere else, etc.
I love cleaning but cant stand it if it is too tidy, I love a house to look like someone lives there.
ReplyDeleteGRAB A RAG & EVERYTIME YOU GO THROUGH THE HOUSE, GIVE IT A QUICK ONCEOVER. INVEST IN VINTAGE SUITCASES & WOOD TRUNKS TO HIDE STUFF QUICKLY WHEN COMPANY SHOWS UP UNEXPECTEDLY. I HAVE A 15 ROOM HOME, I KNOW FROM WHERE YOU SPEAK LOL GIO
ReplyDeleteI am somewhere in between..I like a clean house with that said, I keep my stress at a minimum with guests. I make sure their space is very tidy and comfortable.
ReplyDeleteIts going to be an awesome weekend for you! Enjoy.
Cheers.
Velva
Mary,
ReplyDeleteI'm totally the neat one!!! But as the years begin to catch up with me, I'm finding instead of my cherished Pledge and a dust cloth that I am getting reliant on my swifter duster. Put on an apron and...puff...I'm Carol Burnett! Ha! Enjoy your company!
Fondly,
Pat
Oh boy! I'm half and half Mary. I like everything in it's place and things picked up most of the time but if company's coming over I really have to clean - swiffer dog hair and dust! I guess my tip is to keep things picked up daily. The swiffering and dusting don't take too long. Enjoy your company. Pamela
ReplyDeleteI am my Danish Grandmother (could put a white glove test to the farthest, highest corner shelf and come clean), trapped in a tired and disorganized body with three 'little' boys and three dogs and a field of hay in my backyard and a dirt road, in front, and a wood stove to keep us warm. sigh. Top that off with some serious daydreaminess and constantly being distracted by an image and you get....a mess! A genuine, real, warm mess, though.;) If you find out the uber secret - please, do tell!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a warm and wonderful weekend coming up - have fun!!! =]
Mary, I've been thinking that I should share the news with you ...I almost emailed. I made it to the first page of popular on 500px and was picked as an editor's choice. eep. wow. the link is on my photo journal. The excitement will keep, though, and Cinderella's back to the ordinary. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm in between a Felix and an Oscar, leaning more toward the Oscar side. I try to make time to clean every Saturday but sometimes life offers more fun things to do than cleaning and after working a full-time job all week, any excuse is a good excuse not to clean. However, I love the smell of a clean home. And I function better when there's less clutter and dirt. I don't have any advice, but I share your pain. And I force myself.
ReplyDeleteTake pictures of it when it's clean. I love doing that, too.
I'm an Oscar! I hate cleaning and yet I love to have a clean home...yikes! I guess I do like you and whirlwind clean! I keep saying I'm going to do 'better'. I have lots of stuff and so add clutter to my profile.
ReplyDeleteOh Mary, if I had the answer to that, I wouldn't be sitting amongst increasingly aggressive and threatening Dust Bunnies. Who are advancing on me . . . .
ReplyDeleteI think my girls grew up thinking that "company" meant Mom madly cleaning -- BUT take heart that if you are hosting "kids," their standards aren't the same as our mothers' were -- so don't get TOO carried away.
Plus guests never notice everything you notice. At least that's what I tell myself when I realize that NO ONE dust mopped under the dining room sideboard, and the wood floor looks gray .... not that that ever happens, of course.
Yeah, I'm an Oscar, with bursts of Felix. I'm a little Felix-y about the bathrooms and kitchen, but I can tolerate clutter in those rooms but not schmutz. I always think of "dust" in the rest of the house as the clean dirt. the kind that won't give you horrible diseases.
I hope.
Happy New Year, Jersey Girl!
Wasn't that NUTTY snow today?
I'll take it -- lots of flurrying and NO accumulation.
All the best in 2012, my friend -- Cass
OH two tips ...
ReplyDeleteOne from me: I use a timer, to divide my time into "must clean" and "need not."
I'll set the timer for 15 or 20 minutes and clean ... then take a break. I don't know why, but I play that mind game with myself.
Now the tip from my sister -- and I swear she does this -- when company is expected, she gathers up everything she's collected on her kitchen table and kitchen desk and other flat surfaces, and shoves it all in her car. Really. My kids thought Aunt Peggy just had a messy car ....
She says if you put it in baskets or closets in the house, you tend to LEAVE it there, but you have to get it out of the car and back into the house after the guests are gone.
:-)
Cass
My Motto..."Dust Protects Furniture"...you can have it as your motto also!!!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, just call me Oscar. I resolve when I retire I will be neat, but not there yet.
ReplyDeleteBecause I know your house only by your gorgeous photos I have a very hard time believing it is not always spotless! I have to admit that I am very much an Oscar with a wish to be a Felix:) I have found that having company is the best way to get me motivated for a good cleaning:)
ReplyDeleteHave fun with your company!
I know what you mean...
ReplyDeleteMarkus
I'm somewhere in between neatnik and slob! The place always looks good in spots and bad in spots - rarely is all great at one time!
ReplyDeleteI dont like clining , and i feel very bad about that becouse my mother in low, my housbands sister ,friends all the time are clining becouse they love it. No nice filling....
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI love a clean house and I don't mind cleaning but I just can't get up and down like I used to. I have a cleaning person come in every other week and I can keep it up from there. I was finding that I felt guilty doing all my projects if the house wasn't perfect. My blog was a new venture, quilts were ongoing and many other interests were suffering because of this. So now I feel balance and spend about 20 minutes a day "fluffing" and the rest of the day is mine!
Carol
I am a neat freak in mind, spirit and heart~
ReplyDeleteI am in between when it comes to getting the cleaning done.
As if by magic though, once spring comes, I really will be in the mood to keep everything more tidy.
Tips, hmmm, tips... my daughter told me I could hire a maid...but too private for that, I would not want to share my dust bunnies with anyone, other than the dust mop~
I had to come over to see what everyone else was saying! I'm with you Mary, I hate to clean but at the same time I know it has to be done. My husband is a total neat freak while me being the baby of 3, I like being taken care of. Luckily he does that pretty well! Though I know he grows frustrated with my total lack of organization. We go through ups and downs where the house will stay neat and tidy, and then it all falls apart for weeks on end. Right now with my back bothering me I'm even lazier than ever : (
ReplyDeleteThe 15 minute things sounds good! I'll keep that in mind!
I sadly do not have any tips, as I am also not the greatest housekeeper. Cleaning is my least favorite thing to do, and with two little kids that undo most of it right after I clean it, there's not a lot of motivation :) I would so much rather be outside!
ReplyDeleteYou sound like me! My husband used to invite guests over just to get me motivated to clean. Now, that doesn't even work! I do what I can when I can. But I do love a clean house.
ReplyDeleteI'm "betwixt and between" ... I love a clean house, but finding the time, energy, and even motivation is a challenge. Because whatever one cleans always needs cleaning again! But I'm reading Housework Blues by Danielle Raine, and I'm really enjoying it. The cover says "How to cope with the mental and emotional challenge of keeping a home." I'm about 2/3 done and no housecleaning hints yet, but really, most of us know what to do and how to do it. She addresses issues with housework such as boredom, futility, feeling overwhelmed, etc., and better attitudes we can have towards housekeeping. I recommend it. Hope you have a wonderful visit! Bess
ReplyDeleteOh Mary I so wish I could answer this truthfully mostly because I like to think I am a clean freak, but in reality I let things slide. That's life! So many other things that can be done. Like so many before me said: I allow myself just so much time to clean, and if guests are coming I clean the important stuff like places they will linger; kitchen and bath. With that said if anyone came to my house today... my pantry is super organized and cleaned. Of course it took me most of the day to clean it.
ReplyDeleteYour home is so welcoming and inviting, you can invite me over anytime and I will not complain about anything! I would be just delighted to be in your company! Have a great weekend, enjoy every minute!
I am a complex mixture of Scarlett, "I'll think about that tomorrow" and Monk - fastidiously straigthening pillows and turning objects to face the right way....
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can take on one major task a day and do general straightening - I do it to music -
Remember the old chore a day :
Monday: Wash Day
Tuesday: Ironing Day
Wednesday: Sewing Day
Thursday: Market Day
Friday: Cleaning Day
Saturday: Baking Day
Sunday: Day of Rest
Make one that fits you!
Hugs,
Kathy
I am like you Mary; I have a neat and uncluttered house, but I never have a really clean house. I usually clean in fits and spurts, but never get it all done. Then we listed our house and I made myself crazy. Hopefully it has paid off and it looks so good when I come in the door!
ReplyDeleteI h.a.t.e housekeeping...The house is fairly neat and calm looking.....but.....
ReplyDeleteThe best way I have tricked myself into dusting is having a cuuute basket of microfiber cloths on the book case in the main hallway. I grab one as I am going in one direction or the other and just drag it along what ever furniture I am passing....
Believe it or not, it works pretty well for me!
Otherwise, I'm with Colorchic...I would just love to be in your home and visiting with you!!
you can't be creative and houseclean at the same time!
ReplyDelete