Messie revelation #3

[klpmommy]

normal homekeepers don't "like" doing housework, they just do it b/c it needs to be done.

:jawdrop

I don't like doing dishes & putting away laundry, etc. So I tend to put it off. And put it off. And put it off. And hope the home cleaning fairy shows up (which she never does!). I figured everyone else in theworld except a messie liked doing those things, that is why they did them. They like the result of a clean & empty sink, so do I. They like the result of clean folded clothes. So do I. The difference is they do the things that need to be done - for no other reason than it needs to be done!!!!

I am wondering if this is part of the reason why I am keeping up so well with cloth diapers- I have to do them. I don't take a huge amount of joy in doing them, although I am glad to not be filling up landfills with biological waste. But the truth of the matter is that some days I don't *feel* like washing diapers (usually b/c it means I have to take care of other laundry) but I do it anyway b/c I don't really have much of a choice. It isn't like socks where I can go to Target & pick up another package rather than washing or folding the ones we already own. :shifty

[IslandHome]

that's very true. i have the same thing with cloth dipes, but then dishes pile up....

maybe i need to imagine someone telling me i *have* to do things.. :giggle

[RealLifeMama]

How did I miss revelations 1 and 2? I will go look...

Anyway, I think this is a nice revelation, except that I really do enjoy folding my cloth diapers and things like that. I find it strangely satisfying.

[JJsMom]

I think this is what had a huge part in changing me from a messie to almost a cleanie. :yes I used to be a big messie. I had a room in our old house that was just mine for my things. It was a disaster. :blush Nobody saw it so I didn't care enough to do anything about it. My dh called it my "Scary Room". I would use all the dishes until my dh would just get sick of them or I would finally give in.
Then, as time went on and I was doing most of the cleaning, I would think "ok, I can do this now when it's not so bad or I can wait. It's still me doing it, they aren't going to go anywhere, I might as well do it." But even then, I was thinking "I hate this." I hated it and I said that if I lived all by myself and nobody ever came over, my house would be a complete disaster. I was only doing it for my dh or people that came over.
Then very slowly, I started to change. Now I can honestly say my house would be clean even if nobody saw it (plus it would be a lot easier if it were just me :giggle ). If my dh goes on a trip, I keep up with the house, even doing extra. I even *almost* enjoy it at times. Almost! Because I love how I feel when I'm done and that feeling is worth the drudgery of actually doing it. I am honestly happier when my house is clean.
I love these threads Kimberly. :heart

[KatieMae]

This is the big one for me. :yes2 I am *always* waiting for the right mood to hit me before I'll actually complete a task.

Just this week, I've been looking at a VERY dusty living room & dining room (after having the windows open during pollen season) but I kept thinking, "Well, I'll do that later. I'm doing something else right now." Days & days of that. Finally this morning, I was on a little cleaning rampage for about an hour (the baby slept REALLY late this morning) and it got done along with cleaning our incredibly filthy tv screen which was also bothering me for days & days. But why did I wait so long to do it? It took ten minutes. Big deal! Ten minutes! :doh All that stress & wasted brain energy trying to figure out when would be the "right" time to dust. :hunh

I think maybe if I JUST DO IT from now on & give myself permission to repeat "I hate this, I hate this" in my mind, then it'll be okay.

[Herbwifemama]

:yes

While I wouldn't go so far as to say I enjoy housework, I don't hate it, but it gets done because we don't have that many dishes, and if I didn't do the dishes, I can't make dinner. Diapers are the same- I vacuum because if I don't, we get ants. I make the bed because it feels so good to slip into clean, taut sheets at night. I do tiny pickups throughout the day because when the house is a disaster, it depresses me, and I get NOTHING done, and ignore the baby besides. (well, not her physical needs, but I'm not as attentive)

[Amber]

I was thinking the same thing this week. Lately I have been trying to keep things a bit cleaner and it really comes down to just doing it even when I don't want to. Unfortunately, I can't seem to keep more than one area of the house picked up at the same time :O

[ArmsOfLove]

one of the things I really appreciated from Flylady was the revelation that almost any chore can be done in 5 to 15 minutes :think I don't *like* loading the dishwasher, but if I go in at certain times of the day it takes about 5 minutes. That's not much :shrug And the reward is huge because I love the feel of a clean kitchen :heart But if I let it go (and I think this goes with revelation #2) then it's a huge chore that takes a long time and is harder to do.

[klpmommy]

I was thinking the same thing this week. Lately I have been trying to keep things a bit cleaner and it really comes down to just doing it even when I don't want to. Unfortunately, I can't seem to keep more than one area of the house picked up at the same time :O


me, too. Right now I am just goaling to keep my kitchen clean. Except all the tools I decluttered from dh's junk drawers are sitting in a bin on the countertop. But it shouldn't take me more than 5 min to clean my kitchen this morning. Which is a *huge* accomplishment for me.


This is the big one for me. :yes2 I am *always* waiting for the right mood to hit me before I'll actually complete a task.

Just this week, I've been looking at a VERY dusty living room & dining room (after having the windows open during pollen season) but I kept thinking, "Well, I'll do that later. I'm doing something else right now." Days & days of that. Finally this morning, I was on a little cleaning rampage for about an hour (the baby slept REALLY late this morning) and it got done along with cleaning our incredibly filthy tv screen which was also bothering me for days & days. But why did I wait so long to do it? It took ten minutes. Big deal! Ten minutes! :doh All that stress & wasted brain energy trying to figure out when would be the "right" time to dust. :hunh

I think maybe if I JUST DO IT from now on & give myself permission to repeat "I hate this, I hate this" in my mind, then it'll be okay.


yeah, I am sooooooooo guilty of this. I spend more time walking around the obstacle course leading to my washing machine than it would take me to just clean it. :bag Maybe I *need* to take care of that today (but there are so many other fires.....)

[ArmsOfLove]

this is why FLYlady stands for "Finally loving yourself, Lady!" Because you are WORTHY of having a clean house; you are WORTHY of not sitting in a house full of dust or of watching a tv that isn't covered in dust. If you decide you are worth it you will start doing it; in circular logic if you just start doing it you usually realize you are worth it :hug

[ThreeKids]

Okay, but then "normals" confuse me on this when they have strong opinions about how something should be done rather than THAT it gets done.

[klpmommy]

Okay, but then "normals" confuse me on this when they have strong opinions about how something should be done rather than THAT it gets done.


maybe those are "cleanies" instead of normals? :shrug

[ThreeKids]

Okay, but then "normals" confuse me on this when they have strong opinions about how something should be done rather than THAT it gets done.


maybe those are "cleanies" instead of normals? :shrug


That's a better term. "Normals" is a term used in ADD vs. non-ADD discussions.

[StrangeTraveller]

this is why FLYlady stands for "Finally loving yourself, Lady!" Because you are WORTHY of having a clean house; you are WORTHY of not sitting in a house full of dust or of watching a tv that isn't covered in dust. If you decide you are worth it you will start doing it; in circular logic if you just start doing it you usually realize you are worth it :hug


Woah. I didn't know that's what Flylady was. I'm gonna hafta chew on that for awhile. That's a big deal.

AFA the OP: I've realized this in my latest nesting phase (a messie who is nesting can be busy for weeks..and I tend to nest at the end of all 3 trimesters). I've been able to keep the house pretty clean, even tho' I have to MAKE myself get up and the whole time not wanting to do it...but I feel so much better when it's done.

[klpmommy]

Okay, but then "normals" confuse me on this when they have strong opinions about how something should be done rather than THAT it gets done.


maybe those are "cleanies" instead of normals? :shrug


That's a better term. "Normals" is a term used in ADD vs. non-ADD discussions.


my first "revelation" was that the world is not divided b/w messies & cleanies, but that there was a *normal* out there.

[ArmsOfLove]

Okay, but then "normals" confuse me on this when they have strong opinions about how something should be done rather than THAT it gets done.
There actually are some "right" ways to do things--mostly from practical evaluation. I'm talking ideas like cleaning a room from top to bottom--so that dust falls down and then is vacuumed as the floor is done last. If you vacuum and then dust you are dirtying the floor you just cleaned.

There are other things that work best with this dishwasher or for that person. For example, my dishwasher needs the food rinsed off but doesn't need close attention to pre-cleaning dishes. My friend's dishwasher is more like a sterilizer--if I loaded her dishwasher like I do mine she'd have crud burned onto the entire load :doh

And then there are personal preferences. For these if I'm having someone else do a job I just let them do it--but I have to walk out of the room. when I do it I usually do it the same way every time and do consider my way the best :giggle