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-   -   Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please? (http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/showthread.php?t=482491)

Cerulean 06-02-2013 11:13 AM

Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
My house is a wreck. I'm a terrible housekeeper, so this is nothing new. I'm ready to make changes (really, I need to make changes - we're hoping to put our house on the market within the next few months). I downloaded the Motivated Moms app, and am planning to use that alongside a condensed/re-prioritized version of the 52-week Home Organization Challenge.

I'm feeling a bit less overwhelmed because I've made a plan...but still overwhelmed. My DH doesn't have a lot of faith in me in this area, and I could use some encouragement. Anyone willing to hold my hand?

ArmsOfLove 06-02-2013 11:48 AM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
I signed up for it too :rockon :ty for posting about it :)

My home is pretty organized because I've been spending the last decade doing things like this, and I haven't had anything motivating me recently so a few areas have kind of slid into some little piles. We've decluttered and donated so much stuff, and IME it's the weekly/daily challenge breakdowns that accomplish the most over time :rockon

I hope you really enjoy it and can feel on top of your house as you go :hug

NewChristina 06-02-2013 07:48 PM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
I've looked into those programs, but ended up making a personalized plan myself which is really starting to make a difference!!

My humble advice is: Be encouraged by the small victories and take it slow. Set up a daily routine that you can stick to that is underwhelming and schedule frequent "catch-up days" or "days off" for yourself.

I started by simply picking one small area of my home (the computer desk) and keeping it clean and cleared off every day. It gave me some place to start each morning and somehow doing this simple task was inspiring and motivating.

Good luck to you! :rockon

Pilgrim 06-04-2013 01:16 PM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
Thanks for the Motivated Moms app recommend, I downloaded the lite version and think I will like it a lot. I am not a good housekeeper, and it is stressful to me. Well, I have made many small changes over the years, but there are many more to go!

Good luck with getting your house ready to sell. When our house was showing, that was the cleanest my living space ever was--but no kids, no DH, no pets, and I worked 40+ hours a week outside the home, so there weren't a lot of opportunities to get it messy once we got it to showing condition. My parents actually came and spent a weekend deep cleaning with me and moving things to storage for staging. I really recommend that--not having a long-term storage site, but it is a great tool for staging and reduces the amount that you have to keep clean in the meantime.

Cerulean 06-04-2013 02:22 PM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim (Post 5315405)
Good luck with getting your house ready to sell. When our house was showing, that was the cleanest my living space ever was--but no kids, no DH, no pets, and I worked 40+ hours a week outside the home, so there weren't a lot of opportunities to get it messy once we got it to showing condition. My parents actually came and spent a weekend deep cleaning with me and moving things to storage for staging. I really recommend that--not having a long-term storage site, but it is a great tool for staging and reduces the amount that you have to keep clean in the meantime.

We were planning on doing the storage thing.

I'm terrified about the prospect of showing our house - 2 messy boys and 4 pets...and DH works 2nd shift, so I'll have to handle the last-minute pickup and getting everyone out of the house alone for any evening showings. Not looking forward to it at all. :sadno

twoplustwo 06-04-2013 02:41 PM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
I like to organize! So I'll hold your hand.

I also signed up for that link! I like to get new tips & stuff!

Pilgrim 06-05-2013 01:33 PM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
Oh, I also have really enjoyed the book The Joy of Less by Francine Jay. It walks you through organizing and decluttering room by room. When I am in moving mode, I read a lot of minimalist living blogs and books to keep me motivated and in the right headspace. Also, and in a completely different direction, I have also found watching Hoarders and reading about the thought processes behind hoarding to also be helpful in decluttering. One really good book about hoarding is Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Gail Steketee and Randy Frost.

For me, I have to really work on my headspace to work on my outer space and these things keep me in the zone. We moved four times, three of them multi-state moves, in three years so getting things pared down was my first order of business so I didn't have to pack that junk up!

How is it going so far?

Cerulean 06-06-2013 09:04 PM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim (Post 5317259)
Oh, I also have really enjoyed the book The Joy of Less by Francine Jay. It walks you through organizing and decluttering room by room.

This sounds like a great place to start. Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim (Post 5317259)
How is it going so far?

It's going. I decided to start really small - making my bed every morning, and making sure the sink is empty of dishes every night. I've been doing well with those, but haven't added more to it yet. Hopefully I'll start actually organizing this week. I'm planning to add the rest of the "daily" stuff from Motivated Moms as well.

I think I need to work on giving myself permission to work on organization projects in pieces, instead of feeling like I HAVE to do one room start to finish in a day. (Of course, with that mindset...I never actually start said projects.) I like the idea of the 52 week organization thing - really seems like it breaks things down into manageable chunks.

Pilgrim 06-07-2013 08:37 AM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
Sounds good! I think the best (and perhaps only?) thing I took away from Flylady is that you can get a lot done in 15 minutes, and then have permission to quit. There's no way I would ever get a whole room done in a day--I'd just tear it apart and it would be worse than before.

Actually, when I was getting ready for listing, I did all our closets first because they were little rooms and I could finish them. When my parents came to help do the deep clean, they thought this was hilarious because it was opposite of most people's houses--mess where you can see, and order behind all closed doors.

Cerulean 06-07-2013 09:04 AM

Re: Housekeeping/Organizing - encouragement, please?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim (Post 5320223)
Actually, when I was getting ready for listing, I did all our closets first because they were little rooms and I could finish them. When my parents came to help do the deep clean, they thought this was hilarious because it was opposite of most people's houses--mess where you can see, and order behind all closed doors.

This totally sounds like something I would do. :lol


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