I need a medal | Imamother

Blue jay

Mon, Sep 01 2014, 8:52 am

seeker wrote:

I will have to try those Slob Comes Clean podcasts.
I don't find it so hard to be motivated for a big clean-up job. Hard to stick it out to get it done, but it is motivating to dig out of mess and rewarding to see the change. However, it is SUPER hard to keep myself motivated to do the day-to-day upkeep that it would take to prevent these disaster situations from forming in the first place. No clue how to do that. It just keeps happening over and over.

It is so much more rewarding to see the mess and than clean it to your hearts content!
Preventative cleaning does not work for me, its just the way I am...

What I have been doing is setting aside 2 hours each week to clean "whatever is screaming filthy or crazy disorganized" in my house. That adds up to about 8 hours of cleaning per month. I guard that 2 hour period and tell everyone the cleaning lady has arrived. I get my kids to pitch in too. They make their beds and put their toys away so I can vaccuum if need be. Usually my cleaning rounds always includes bathrooms and kitchen sink area but the other nasty spots of the house vary week to week.
After 2 hours are done, I drop the broom and go on with my life. Smile

seeker

Tue, Sep 02 2014, 1:15 am

2 hours a week wouldn't be nearly enough to keep my house clean, I can't figure out what you mean...

Meanwhile, I did that front closet which was much more frustrating than I thought. I straightened up what was there, left a lot of it (STILL can't seem to bring myself to purge my teaching games stash... and that's with half of them stored in school) and the rest I took care of in ways that did not leave me feeling so accomplished, e.g. moving to my parents' storage unit. Also posted some things to craigslist and freecycle, so for now they are just kinda sitting around cluttering up my newly-decluttered living space so as not to heap back into the newly-decluttered closet. I guess if they don't disappear soon they will get junked but that would be a pity.

(for the person/people who were interested in what exactly I'm selling, the list now includes: 6 pairs of toddler shoes, 5 of which are great brands in excellent like new condition - venettini, naturino. Also a whole bunch of assorted toys and books, toys mostly baby/toddler interest in new or like new condition, books assorted ages and conditions including a bunch of Harry Potter, Artemis fowl, and Sandra Boynton. A pair of pink soft cotton crib sheets new in package. Also a LOT of girly clothes both new and used, mostly sizes 0-2T but some bigger too up to around 4T)

Then I tackled some of the clothes situation, another possible mistake though necessary, because I had to very strongly control my breathing and thoughts not to succumb to that drowning feeling. When you sort and put away over and over and the dresser is still heapy and things keep sliding around... when there's no room left in storage box but there are still more clothes to cram in there and you can't just throw them away because the next kid will fit into them soon... and no matter how religiously I put or give them away, I still always manage to turn up at least some of the darling tiny baby things that stir up all kinds of feelings Sad

So here's what I accomplished: Purged the toddler's drawers and the shared closet of everything that wasn't fitting toddler so well anymore, things she's been refusing to wear and will outgrow before she changes her mind (strong willed creature and growing crazy fast), and some things that are going out of season but I left most because it is still hot.

Then I took out the large bin of things for her to grow into and refilled the closet and drawers carefully and neatly with the clothes that will most likely take her through fall. Took the remains of that bin and sorted it by season (I try to put them away neatly in the first place but as things get outgrown and tossed in at different times they get mixed up), and then put it back in order with the things for this winter at one end, followed by the next spring/summer things, followed by next fall. That just about filled the box but left some space at the top due to having removed things.

Then I took the things that had been removed from her wardrobe, sorted them into my favorites to keep for just-in-case-someday (siiigh), the good things in the "try to sell first" bag, and the less exciting things in the donate/toss pile. Then some things got fished out of there and put in the someday pile because they weren't good enough to sell but not bad enough to throw away either. I'M HOPELESS. I know.

THEN I took the stuff that had been heaped on top of the tall dresser, because that's where I put things that are outgrown until such time as I drag out the bins and do sorting, so this heap was extra tall because I had just purged some wardrobe in addition to the front closet which had accumulated stuff, plus everyone grows extra during the summer. B"H, B"H, etc. Anyway I sorted THAT into keep/sell/toss, sorted the keeps into sizes/seasons, put the sells and tosses into appropriate bags.

Then I put all those piles in appropriate bins/bags (the bags are only because they are for imminent disposal. otherwise it's bins under the bed for things someone will grow into, and my parents' storage space for the "somedays"), little DD is so big and growing so fast that I put big DD's outgrown things right into that bin of things for little to wear next year, squeezed in past the end of next fall. Put little DD's outgrown items into a bin that is mixed between things that won't fit big DD for another year and things that are waiting to be transferred to my long-term storage bins. Etc etc etc. Shoved the bins back under the bed.

And guess what? The tall dresser STILL has some heap and it avalanches every time I walk past Sad

So it was not a super fulfilling couple of days but I did do things that were high on my list, and I'd better get sleep because tomorrow I need to start on the things that need to get done OUT of the house which I really should have done before everyone got back from the country. All back-to-school shoppers CLEAR THE ROADS because I'm COMING OUT. I hope the kids are in a good mood tomorrow because I'm a girl on a mission!

Also dishes. And also sorting, photographing, and posting to craigslist or ebay all those things I can't bear to just throw away.