(no subject)

[electricland]

I need to entertain more; it's the only way my apartment will stay tidy.

Let it be known, first off, that I am a crap housekeeper. I don't have the right habits and I can usually think of ever so many better things to do with my time, like reading or sleeping.

Also (and valancyjane will likely recognize the source of the quote) "I'd far rather sweep a dirty floor than a clean one. I'd see something for my labour then." I don't do maintenance well, with the result that usually the place gets right away from me without my noticing until I wake up one day to discover there's only one six-inch-wide path from my bed to the door, with a tributary off to the couch.

Living in the midst of chaos does bother me, though. I'm far happier and calmer in orderly surroundings. I think housework is going to have to be like going to the gym: I have to remind myself of the benefits, even when I don't want to do it. (I have gone so far as to write out some of the benefits; the problem is I don't usually look at the list.)

Anyway, our little tenants' get-together on Sunday pushed me to get the place in order (at least the public part). Fortunately Mary came over Sunday morning and watched while I cleaned; I seem to clean better with witnesses, it stops me slacking off. So I put away a ton of stuff, or at least put it into piles, and swept and vacuumed and recycled, and cleaned the bathroom sink (I find I can live with a lot if the sink is clean). I'm getting places. I am. I've started tidying up during commercial breaks as well; folding laundry goes well with TV, and I put away my summer clothes last night.

The problem is that I will probably get the place cleaned up, and I will be happy, and I will enjoy it for a couple of weeks. Then some cataclysmic event (like Christmas) will happen, and the place will be chaos again, and the whole cycle will start over.

There isn't really a point to all this, although if any better housekeepers than I would care to share their wisdom, that would be appreciated. Mostly, I guess I just want to memorialize this moment when the apartment is -- well, not PERFECT, but pretty much acceptable.

Comments

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely not a better housekeeper, because I have cycles of getting complacent or just not having the time. (Sometimes really big cycles. Bleh.) But drawing upon my childhood and at least a little bit of practical experience, saving your cleaning to do on the weekend (say, Sunday), once a week, is a decent routine to get into. Some things tend to be messier by the end of the week than others, so you'd see *some* benefit to your effort at least.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

My Mom's philosophy, which I see great merit in, but fail to consistently follow is "Put it away when you are done with it." Then it doesn't pile up and become a mammoth task. and YAY to laundry folding with TV, and to tidying on Ads. That used to keep me sane. My prob here is that I spend my evenings in the other end of the house, therefore fail to do the bits of tidying adn cleaning down here that are needed. THen it gets GROSS (like today) and I want to work but really feel I should clean/tidy, and it becomes a bad cycle where I do neither. Sooo. I will finish taking notes from two articles, then I will do some housework. I think.

*grumble* molly maid? anyone?

also:

[raithen.livejournal.com]

Let it be known, first off, that I am a crap housekeeper. I don't have the right habits
Quit being so DAMN HARD on yourself. :D.

[mindrobber.livejournal.com]

Good system, but procrastinators such as myself struggle with it.

I've found a dishwasher really helps keep me on top of the dishes.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, paralysis! I love that part.

Is a good philosophy, but yes, I struggle with it too.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I like this plan. And advice from unwilling-yet-largely-effective housekeepers is good too! Better in many ways, because you Understand.

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. There's also a little bit of merit in "clean as you go," but that's got limited applications for me. While I do that in the kitchen while cooking, I certainly don't do it after a shower. That tub will have to wait until Sunday! :)

[scapersuse.livejournal.com]

I hear ya. My friend Amy is coming over to watch Survivor tonight - we usually go to her sister's but she won't be home. I am as I type this getting my apartment cleaned and it is a mammoth - MAMMOTH - task. Ack!

[valancyjane.livejournal.com]

hee hee. I both recognize the quote and completely agree with it.

And I especially agree with this: I seem to clean better with witnesses, it stops me slacking off I'm forever asking people to come over and just talk to me while I clean, but no one will do it. They seem to think it will be boring. :)

My problem is that I have so many half-finished projects that there are a lot of things I literally *can't* put away, because the place I would put them is in pieces or has the drawers taken out or whatever, so it can be painted or something. And I've had these projects going on since I moved in. Which was four years ago.

Honestly, I think as long as you can eat/cook, sleep, bathe and find clean clothing, the rest is up to your personal preference. But then, that's coming from a woman who has probably a nine-foot-square pile of dirty laundry in front of the bedroom closet. So, you know. Take it with a grain of salt.

Re: also:

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Can't. I'm supposed to be perfect. :P

Re: also:

[raithen.livejournal.com]

oh, right. I forgot. *eyeroll*