HTCI in 2015?

[SillyMommy]

My dh got me the book for Christmas, I'm about to get started... would love for some of you ladies to do it with me and/or those of you who have done it to chime in!

[mummy2boys]

I haven't heard of it. Will go and look it up

Does it have weekly/daily challenges in it? If so, you could post them for those of us who don't have the book and we could join in with you

[charla]

I'm having a mental block on the HTCI. I remember the book and have read it but can't remember what that stands for to look it up again.

I need to do some kitchen decluttering and cabinet organizing this year. Several of my kitchen cupboards are not working for me anymore. It would be fun to have a thread where we can cheer each other on.

[FarmMama]

I tried looking it up HTCI...but came back with all sorts of odd things that I do not think are the right thing (Like Hindu Temple In Central Indiana). Could you give the full title please? I am curious now.

[mummy2boys]

Originally Posted by FarmMama

I tried looking it up HTCI...but came back with all sorts of odd things that I do not think are the right thing (Like Hindu Temple In Central Indiana). Could you give the full title please? I am curious now.

It's called "The House that cleans itself"

[FaithnPraise]

Oooooh, I wanna do it!!!

[RiverRock]

I think I am on my third reading. I love this approach to housekeeping.

In a nutshell:
-a house doesn't need to be spotlessly clean, but it should function well for your family
-assess each room and decide how you would like it to function. If necessary declutter and add systems so that the room will work well for your family.

[ArmsOfLove]

I am still and always making improvements on the home with ideas I learned in this book - when something isn't working I go through the steps in the book and figure it out. I'm up for a support/community go at it

My goal for yesterday was to take down the holiday and I have fine tuned that over the years I also started reorganizing my beading and it is so much nicer to work with now

Today I'm working on getting the filing from the last few months organized (ideally I'd like to get to where I do this immediately as stuff comes in, but more reasonably my goal is at the end of each month to organize and file it all - I have a cute "catcher" fabric basket for everything until I get to it but with the last few months it's rather overflowing

---------- Post added at 10:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 AM ----------

Originally Posted by RiverRock

I think I am on my third reading. I love this approach to housekeeping.

In a nutshell:
-a house doesn't need to be spotlessly clean, but it should function well for your family
-assess each room and decide how you would like it to function. If necessary declutter and add systems so that the room will work well for your family.

I think one of the most valuable things I learned is that there are wrong ways, but no one right way, to organize.

And, along with that, if you walk into a room and the first thing you see is a spotless table and clean floors, then when you see that the bookcases are cluttered your brain registers a clean room with some messy bookcases. If, however, the first thing you see is the messy bookcases, and later the clean table, your brain registers a messy room with a very clean table in it. This revolutionized my layout and where I focused my attention when people were coming over

[Soliloquy]

[RiverRock]

Originally Posted by ArmsOfLove

And, along with that, if you walk into a room and the first thing you see is a spotless table and clean floors, then when you see that the bookcases are cluttered your brain registers a clean room with some messy bookcases. If, however, the first thing you see is the messy bookcases, and later the clean table, your brain registers a messy room with a very clean table in it. This revolutionized my layout and where I focused my attention when people were coming over

Oh yeah, sight lines! Stand from all vantage points of a room, and if possible look from above to help see where changes need to be made.

I used to have our piano in direct line with the stairs. When you go down the stairs you would see the clutter of music pages and music bags strewn about. I am in the process of changing the layout so you come down the stairs and see a nicely decorated buffet behind the dining room table, with nice decor above. When it is finished I would love to share photos. I have one more coat of paint to put on the buffet and table before I can assemble the room. The piano moved to a side wall that is out of sight until you enter the room.

[Llee]

There's an HTCI group on FB. It's a mixture of peeps from here and not from here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/507392416045771/

[mummy2boys]

for that link. I was trying to find one the other day and was unsuccessful

[Mother of Sons]

For me the biggest takeaway from the book is to change the house not the behavior. (Since behavior is harder and u likely to change) change the house to make keeping it clean as easy as letting it get messy.

After a year I finally found our shoe solution! We enter the house through the kitchen and there was constantly a mess of shoes strewn all over and it drove me nuts. So now there is a plastic shelf system (eventually I'd like to get something sturdier but this works for now) the kids each have a shelf and they keep their shoes on it along with a basket that holds their hats and gloves. It's working great so far!

Also a year ago I switched to cloths for cleaning and spills etc instead of paper towels. The original set cost me $16 and now after a year I replaced them (and kept the ratty ones for the dirtier jobs) Ivs save ALOT not buying cleaning wipes and paper towels. I also switched to ken homemade cleaner and then a store bought toilet cleaner which streamlines my cleaning and makes everything go faster.

[sweetpeas]

Count me in! I read through the old thread(s) here awhile ago and like the idea, got the book, started reading it, and got side-tracked, sigh . . . I want to get back to this. . . .

[FarmMama]

I'm here, just got the book


Although, a big part of my problem right now is just being sick, too sick to do much. But I am praying that I will start to feel better soon. I had a decent day yesterday, and was able to do some picking up and started the book. I am excited to read more and find out what this is all about.