September 29, 2009

I'm applying myself.

Me: the world's worst procrastinator. So you can imagine how hard it is to get cleaning done. I do love an organised, clean house, though, and the fact that I procrastinate about this is like rubbing salt in a wound. Throw in a little perfectionism (ie. not worth doing it if it can't get done perfectly) and it's a recipe for clean-house disaster.

SO, I am decided. For the next month I'm going to apply myself. I'm going to stick to the principles suggested in the book Speed Cleaning (Shannon Lush and Jennifer Fleming). I am a huge fan of Spotless, and this one (a sort-of sequel) is a seemingly wonderful book telling me how I can have a spotless house in just 15 minutes a day. Really? I don't believe it.

Well, I shall test it.

Aside from a whole lot of really helpful little hints, my summary of the basic principles of the book are:

1. Keep on top of it (ie. you make a mess you clean it up before you do anything else)
2. Make sure everything has a place
3. Do a little each day (with one day off).
4. Be organised in the method you clean.

I think my major problem is No's 1 and 3. I love to and can easily be organised. And I can have a place for everything, I just need to DO IT EVERY DAY, which is my downfall.



Yesterday was Day 1: I 'speed cleaned' the master bedroom. It took a little longer than 15 minutes (more like 30) because it was my first time, I had a sick (yes again) 13 month old hanging around, I am also sick with a cold, and there was more dust than I expect there will be next time. All in all I managed OK.

The verdict: Bedroom handles easily. We shall see how the next round is.

3 comments:

  1. i have this same problem, perfectionist - like it perfect ... and it gets worse as you get more kids. You start ignoring dust and little things ... and then it becomes too big a job and its groan material - so you're onto a good thing! :)

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  2. I would love to know how you get on with this approach. I have been thinking for ages about whether we should get a cleaner, but I always come down on the side of 'but they won't help with the biggest problem - clutter'. With three kids there are toys everywhere, and the paperwork is always overflowing - arrgghh! I don't even want to know how much dust is behind my sofas.... So good luck - if you have success I'd be willing to give it a try too!!

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  3. Good luck with it. Don't we all have trouble with this aspect on our lives! I have become a better cleaner since being at home everyday with my young'un. I am pretty good at #1, clean up after you make a mess. But then sometimes I stop and think all I ever do is clean (as you are always either making a mess or cleaning it up) and that can be a bit of a downer. So I think its about finding a happy medium. Good luck with finding yours!

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