Mamas that are "Messies" Support Thread

[RealLifeMama]

I mentioned having this thread on another thread.
If you are a "messie"; Sidetracked Home Executive, whatever title you like, please check in here. Let's support each other.
I don't want to exclude anyone, but my intention is for this to be for moms that really struggle with this area, not just for those that have been a little busy and are falling behind, or need a little decluttering or whatever.
We all want to do a better job keeping our house clean and inviting and everyone has messy days (don't they?? ) That doesn't make you a "Messie" persay. So keep that in mind, especially if you are a "cleanie" what you read or see might shock you!






Things were OK in a couple rooms of the house a couple days ago, my counters were clear, sink empty at night maybe 2 nights in a row even, but now it looks like a bomb went off in every room of my house.
When things get like this, I get very overwhelmed and sort of shut down. But I have been on Flylady's list and read enough books on homekeeping to know that this will get me nowhere.
It is a dreary, wet, gray day outside and we don't have to go anywhere, so I am going to go get washed and dressed, then put some music on (probably classical or 80's) and the children and I are going to tackle 10 minutes in each room of the house.
We have: Entryway
Dining Room
Kitchen
Living Room
Spare room/computer room/toy room/office
DD's bedroom
Master Bedroom
DS's bedroom
Master Bath
Kid's Bathroom
Laundry Room

That is 110 minutes of work. We will take several breaks.
It will be fun!!!!
Maybe I will even take before/after shots so I can see just what 10-15 minutes can really do.

How is your day going so far?

[GotMyHeartFull]

Count me in!! Things are usually clean, like floors etc but we have so much clutter that it's crazy

[ChristianMother27]

LOL i have found that if i don't practice GOYB cleaning my house gets that way reallllly quickly. and i only have 1. i shudder to think how messy things could get with 2 kids! or more! one thing i've found that helps me is as i'm walking through a room if i see something i can easily pick up i do. and then for stuff that is not so easy (i.e. DD likes to pull ALL her bibs out of the kitchen drawer and deposit them in the den). in my example i go sit down in my chair and tell DD to go put them in the drawer lol. sometimes it takes 10 minutes to get her to do it, but... hey... lol.

whew but yeh i can definitely get there.... and don't even get me started about the mess on top of my entertainment unit... or the spare bedroom

[Benjaminswife]

I am messy by nature but I enjoy a clean house. My biggest issue is just not putting stuff away and waiting until I have to have a BIG cleaning day. I would rather do a little each day. My new method is to work 5 minutes at a time. It doesn't seem like much but I get so much done this way.

[Cheyenne]

I'm here! I also love things clean and orderly, but things can very quickly get out of control when I am having an off day. Those off days are pretty much weekly occurances. I work so hard to get them clean and then a couple bad days and it is all going South and then I am overwhelmed again. Bad cycle. I am currently on the downward sloap, but could get things completely turned around with babout an hour of work and laundry.

[erinee]

I definitely qualify. THere will be times I get the house looking really good and think, "Okay, now all I have to do is maintain." But then I'll get off track one day, and it's in a shambles until something happens (usually company) to get me really motivated again. In any case, messiness is definitely the norm around here, a tidy house is for company. I'd really like to change that, but I've tried Motivated Moms, Flylady, and a combination of both and nothing seems to do it for me.

So today? Megan is very sick and just wants me to sit on the couch and hold her. I'm still in my pajamas at 1:00 (she's finally napping now). I was supposed to work my transcription hours from 5-8 a.m. I got up, clocked in, and went back to bed, and clocked out at 8. That's not as dishonest as it sounds -- the requirement is 100 lines per hour, so I will give them 300 lines today -- it just means I"m behind now and have to catch up. I hate doing that during the day with the kids home, but tonight I have to go in and do my other job so I can have a decent weekend for once. And here I am on at GCM while Megan naps instead of using the time to do my 300 lines. So by the time I get that done, Zach will be home and Megan will be up. Hopefully I'll get dressed sometime before dh gets home and maybe while I cook dinner I'll get the dishes done and the kitchen table cleared off. I have a basket of laundry I would really like to get folded, too, because it's sitting there collecting wrinkles.

It's not usually *quite* as bad as this -- certainly having a sick child and getting behind in my work have contributed. But it's still not good.

Going to go do my 300 lines now.

[ChristianMother27]

Originally Posted by erinee

I definitely qualify. THere will be times I get the house looking really good and think, "Okay, now all I have to do is maintain." But then I'll get off track one day, and it's in a shambles until something happens (usually company) to get me really motivated again. In any case, messiness is definitely the norm around here, a tidy house is for company. I'd really like to change that, but I've tried Motivated Moms, Flylady, and a combination of both and nothing seems to do it for me.

So today? Megan is very sick and just wants me to sit on the couch and hold her. I'm still in my pajamas at 1:00 (she's finally napping now). I was supposed to work my transcription hours from 5-8 a.m. I got up, clocked in, and went back to bed, and clocked out at 8. That's not as dishonest as it sounds -- the requirement is 100 lines per hour, so I will give them 300 lines today -- it just means I"m behind now and have to catch up. I hate doing that during the day with the kids home, but tonight I have to go in and do my other job so I can have a decent weekend for once. And here I am on at GCM while Megan naps instead of using the time to do my 300 lines. So by the time I get that done, Zach will be home and Megan will be up. Hopefully I'll get dressed sometime before dh gets home and maybe while I cook dinner I'll get the dishes done and the kitchen table cleared off. I have a basket of laundry I would really like to get folded, too, because it's sitting there collecting wrinkles.

It's not usually *quite* as bad as this -- certainly having a sick child and getting behind in my work have contributed. But it's still not good.

Going to go do my 300 lines now.

ITU that! that's the way i am - slip one day and then it's chaos! i usually start by picking up stuff in my den and carpet sweeping it. if my den is clean (the room i hang out most in) then i feel happier and more energized to wash dishes, and what not. oh that was another thing. using a carpet sweeper instead of a vacuum cleaner has done wonders for keeping my floor clean. it's so much easier to pull out the carpet cleaner than it is the vacuum. i hate the IDEA of pulling out the vacuum so half the time i don't vacuum. but the carpet sweeper is a snap. it might take a little bit longer to DO the work due to it not being electrical, but at least i actually get started instead of procrastinating!

my order of priorities for cleaning:

pick up stuff in the living room, carpet sweep it.
pick up stuff off the floor of the kitchen. fill up a sink of hot, soapy water and put up the dishes while that is filling up.
let the dishes soak while i take a break!
wash the dishes, wipe the counter and the table down.

there the two big rooms of my house are done

low items on my priority list - mopping the floor and doing the laundry. i'll wash and dry the laundry but i'm horrible about bringing it in to fold it up. i've been trying to do it while DD naps lately - it only takes like 5-10 minutes but it takes a lot longer when she's awake cuz she tries to "help" and ends up causing me more frustration and work than its worth.

[BlessedBlue]

I am such a "messy"!! Ask anyone in my family. My dad even called me deciduous (yeah, like a tree...). What really hasn't helped is moving, getting our household goods and giving birth to a baby all in the space of a few months.

I feel like I'll never get "caught up".

[hey mommy]

I'm definitly a "messie". I do pretty good for a couple of days and then I just get sick of cleaning.. I've actually just left the house so I wouldn't have to clean it. LOL.. Bad, I know.. and right now, I sit here doing dumb surveys on myspace to avoid cleaning.... ugh.. But then I'll complain later that it's a mess..

[RealLifeMama]

Originally Posted by hey mommy

I've actually just left the house so I wouldn't have to clean it. LOL.. Bad, I know..

With a nice support thread like this, no one will think "That is bad!" we will think BTDT!

So far, we have done nothing I said we would! I think part of my problem is that there are always other things that get in the way. I need to cut down on my activities until I get things managable but I can't!
I am an introvert yet somehow I seem to be in charge of a couple small groups that require my facilitating and lots of phone calls and email and such and that sucks all my energy and I have none left over for cleaning my house. I thought everything for tonight was all decided and suddenly I am having to email people and then I worry about what I wrote, etc. Someone as disorganized as I am should not be the one to plan stuff and make sure it all happens, KWIM? I stress over it way, way too much, trying to make sure everyone is contacted, feels included, etc.

[ChristianMother27]

ITU about internet and emails sucking away your energies. one thing i have found is that once i get on my computer i don't want to get off. so if i'm going to start cleaning it needs to happen BEFORE i get on the computer. so i try and pick one task i don't MIND doing so much... (for me it happens to be picking up the den and carpet sweeping it). once that's clean, i have the drive and energy to clean up the other problem spots, but i totally put off "big chores" and do only one big thing at a time - usually one every couple of weeks. Gonna tackle the spare bedroom soon.

[RealLifeMama]

Originally Posted by katirana

ITU about internet and emails sucking away your energies. one thing i have found is that once i get on my computer i don't want to get off. so if i'm going to start cleaning it needs to happen BEFORE i get on the computer. .

Yeah, unfortunately, this is kind of pressing since we were supposed to be leaving for this event in like 4 hours!
So I have been on the phone and doing email (and waiting for responses) instead of cleaning up.

[ChristianMother27]

Originally Posted by AandNsMom

Yeah, unfortunately, this is kind of pressing since we were supposed to be leaving for this event in like 4 hours!
So I have been on the phone and doing email (and waiting for responses) instead of cleaning up.

well sounds like housecleaning can wait then

[NayneeNoo]

I totally qualify!!! I know it's gotten bad when DH starts asking me if I'm going to clean anytime soon. It too me 6 hours JUST to clean the living room, kitchen and half bathroom yesterday. I was SOOOO unbelievably sore when I woke up this morning. I HAVE to do laundry (yet, it's 2:45 and I still haven't done a single load) as DH has no more underwear or undershirts left and quite frankly, I have no more underwear either.....the only problem is I haven't the faintest idea what clothes are clean and which are dirty b/c they're all on the floor.
I have so many schedules and routines that I've come up with to try and keep the house clean and they just. haven't. worked. I hate living like this. It stresses me out and is extremely embarassing to have company unexpectedly drop by. This stinkin' computer is the bane of my existence. But I am the first to admit I couldn't function without it.

[jamilyian]

I am on my way to being a reformed Messy, and I posted on the other thread, but can I offer advice here? Since I have BTDT, and I grew up in a disaster of a messy home? I've really seen it all ladies. My childhood home reeked of animal feces because no one cleaned the cat box and my mom had 2 snakes and bred feeder mice in addition to the cats all of which poop and pee. I can tell you stories of moldy refrigerators and hairballs the size of golf balls littered in the shower. Moldy half-filled cups of coffee. And then there's the paper. Stacks upon stacks upon stacks of papers, bills, envelopes, memos, lists, coupons...
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My first bit of advice would be to set your kitchen microwave timer to 15 minutes. And ONLY do 15 minutes of housecleaning. If you've done that, then give yourself a pat on the back for job well done.