I wanna be neat! | Imamother

saw50st8

Sat, Jan 08 2011, 5:09 pm

Tamiri wrote:

Ruchel wrote:

Wow Tamiri!! Do people really manage to keep all that? You should be a cleaning coach to help others! Wink

I wish. I am neither Yemenite nor Tunesian/Moroccan. I am the daughter of Americans. 'nuff said :-)
OTOH, we DO clean the whole house top to bottom every Friday. My DS #1 says it's insane but then complains about places that aren't clean. I ask him: how do you think places get unclean? By not cleaning them! Duh.

I was wondering...that list is crazy. I guess that's why my house is messy :-D

DH is a naturally neat person, but has slacked off for me :-/

I found the best thing to do was:

1) Reduce amount of stuff
2) Add one task to your schedule. Once it becomes part of your routine, then add another.

My house is still a mess, but less so LOL.

ra_mom

Sat, Jan 08 2011, 6:18 pm

imaima wrote:

Invite a cleaner ONCE and try to maintain the house after that. When the mess is EVERYWHERE it is so overwhelming, you don't know where to start. Also, watch her clean - she might have some smart tricks.

Besiyata Dishmaya wrote:

For a start, I would tell you to work on ONE THING. Make sure there should not be anything laying around on the floors, table, chairs, couch.

I agree that these should be the first steps you take.
Come back to this thread after you have done this for a few weeks. Smile

Tamiri

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 4:19 am

saw50st8 wrote:

Tamiri wrote:

Ruchel wrote:

Wow Tamiri!! Do people really manage to keep all that? You should be a cleaning coach to help others! Wink

I guarantee that list is incomplete. I wasn't born into that type of neatness and cleanliness but observed it (much to my delight) in the homes of women I worked with while in the army. I adopted some ideas, but it's not ingrained in me or my kids so we aren't perfect. You need to take into account that the ladies who kept house like this were used to hard labor at home (even if they held another job, such as cleaning other houses/institutions), did not read or write for enjoyment and were expected by their husbands to uphold these standards. There were few items in the house which would cause clutter. They usually did not work full-time outside the house; I mentioned cleaning jobs and also babysitting jobs.
My DS1's nanny had floors you could use as mirrors. She was married to a sanitation husband who was out from the very early hours (think: still dark) - so no help there. She had 6 kids of her own, all at home, plus she babysat for my son and one or two others, depending on the day. There were 3 bedrooms and a mirpesset, a bathroom and a toilet, kitchen and LR/DR to keep clean. The place literally sparkled. I have no idea how she did it PLUS brought up lovely children (we are in contact nearly 25 years later) and always had a smile on her face. No TV, computer or books to sidetrack her housekeeping.

saw50st8

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 4:39 am

Tamiri wrote:

saw50st8 wrote:

Tamiri wrote:

Ruchel wrote:

Wow Tamiri!! Do people really manage to keep all that? You should be a cleaning coach to help others! Wink

If I got rid of all distractions in my house, I would probably find new ones LOL.

I think its partially ingrained in you. My mother had a traditional yekke upbringing. She was great at keeping our house spotless, despite single parenthood, working full time, having 3 difficult children to raise....but she did it all herself.

I hated how everything always had to be 100% put away. It drove me crazy. Hence, I turned towards messiness.