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Help with housework, please!!!
Hello, I'm a SAHM with a 16 month old. I have a terribly messy house,
and am determined to get my act together and have a clean and clutter-free home. I am seeking books to read to help me with ideas on how to handle clutter and how to properly clean. I have never learned how to properly clean floors, bathrooms, etc. My husband and I both are huge clutter bugs and we need help in setting up an organizational structure and operating basis as well. For me, I'd like books from the perspective of also caring for small children while keeping a clean home. Anyone have suggestions for some great books or other resources? Thanks, Sarah |
#2
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Help with housework, please!!!
"Sarah" wrote in message
om... Hello, I'm a SAHM with a 16 month old. I have a terribly messy house, and am determined to get my act together and have a clean and clutter-free home. I am seeking books to read to help me with ideas on how to handle clutter and how to properly clean. I have never learned how to properly clean floors, bathrooms, etc. My husband and I both are huge clutter bugs and we need help in setting up an organizational structure and operating basis as well. For me, I'd like books from the perspective of also caring for small children while keeping a clean home. Anyone have suggestions for some great books or other resources? Thanks, Sarah Check flylady.com. She's got all sorts of ideas to get organized/clean and stay that way. Leigh |
#3
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Help with housework, please!!!
Sarah wrote in :
Hello, I'm a SAHM with a 16 month old. I have a terribly messy house, and am determined to get my act together and have a clean and clutter-free home. I am seeking books to read to help me with ideas on how to handle clutter and how to properly clean. I have never learned how to properly clean floors, bathrooms, etc. My husband and I both are huge clutter bugs and we need help in setting up an organizational structure and operating basis as well. For me, I'd like books from the perspective of also caring for small children while keeping a clean home. Anyone have suggestions for some great books or other resources? Thanks, Sarah Firstly, look at the pictures in books you read to your child: you will often see floors strewn with toys etc. I found I could quickly tidy up the kids' toys and have the place looking lots better - but they would get them out the next day and we'd be back to square one. However, if I tidied up my things, it wouldn't make as much difference straight away, but they would stay put away. The best advice I got was that if you only spend ten minutes an hour on housework, after eight hours, you will have done two hours worth. -- Penny Gaines UK mum to three |
#4
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Help with housework, please!!!
Now that your child is a toddler, you can start teaching gently how to
help and participate in keeping the place picked up. When you're playing together, make it standard operating procedure that these toys need to be put away before we get out the next toys. It helps to have the child's toy area organized in such a way that like-toys always get put away into the same box or on the same shelf. Eventually they will know where to put their things and be able to do it themselves with verbal reminders from you. They can also help you with simple household chores, which teaches them that everyone pitches in and gives them a certain amount of pride and self-esteem. For example, ds can help me get his diaper covers out of the dryer, into their laundry bag, and carry the bag over to the stairs to be taken up later. He can "help" sweep and mop and vacuum, carry a few plastic items out to the recycling bin and put them in, etc. He can "help" wash dishes, pans and tupperware will entertain him while I get the rest done. In your case, as you're fighting lifelong habits of both parents, don't raise a third pack-rat, or you're just doomed! Ds reminds dh all the time to close cupboard doors or turn off the dripping tap, which cracks me up! And being able to involve your toddler more will allow you to get a little more done around the house. You're hardest part is going to be getting the current clutter under control, after that day to day keeping up isn't too bad. With the current mess, be ruthless, absolutely ruthless, especially when you meet resistance from your partner over getting rid of stuff. -Karen, mom to Henry 3- |
#5
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Help with housework, please!!!
The best advice I got was that if you only spend ten minutes an hour on
housework, after eight hours, you will have done two hours worth. Check that math. 10 minutes an hour gives you 80 minutes, or 1 hr, 20 min after 8 hours. |
#6
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Help with housework, please!!!
I've just started to visit flylady.com. I agree, it's great!
"Leigh Menconi" wrote in message news "Sarah" wrote in message om... Hello, I'm a SAHM with a 16 month old. I have a terribly messy house, and am determined to get my act together and have a clean and clutter-free home. I am seeking books to read to help me with ideas on how to handle clutter and how to properly clean. I have never learned how to properly clean floors, bathrooms, etc. My husband and I both are huge clutter bugs and we need help in setting up an organizational structure and operating basis as well. For me, I'd like books from the perspective of also caring for small children while keeping a clean home. Anyone have suggestions for some great books or other resources? Thanks, Sarah Check flylady.com. She's got all sorts of ideas to get organized/clean and stay that way. Leigh |
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Help with housework, please!!!
Check flylady.com. She's got all sorts of ideas to get organized/clean and stay that way. Leigh I fully agree here! FlyLady is awesome! |
#8
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Help with housework, please!!!
Sarah ) writes:
| Hello, I'm a SAHM with a 16 month old. I have a terribly messy house, | and am determined to get my act together and have a clean and | clutter-free home. I am seeking books to read to help me with ideas | on how to handle clutter and how to properly clean. I have never | learned how to properly clean floors, bathrooms, etc. My husband and | I both are huge clutter bugs and we need help in setting up an | organizational structure and operating basis as well. For me, I'd | like books from the perspective of also caring for small children | while keeping a clean home. Anyone have suggestions for some great | books or other resources? Thanks, Sarah Hmm... I know you didn't ask for advice, but there are two things I really want to say first: 1. You have a 16 month old. Unless you can afford a full-time live-in maid, you can have at most two of these three things: a picture-perfect house, a happy kid, your sanity. That doesn't mean you can't improve things! But don't set your goals unrealistically high. Start small! 2. The only way to get rid of clutter permanently is, well, to get rid of it. Organizing is a wonderful thing, but there are limits to what it can do. You need to face your inner packrat, hunt it down, and kill it (or at least hurt it pretty bad). Okay, that said... For websites, I like http://organizedhome.com. Lots of good advice without sugar-coating, and message boards when you need specific answers or just plain encouragement. The only book I have on the subject is "Confessions of an Organized Housewife" by Deniece Shofield. She can be a bit, um, anal-retentive (cleaning the bedrooms three times a week?), but there's lots of solid advice here. The kind of stuff that you can see is common sense once you get past the mental blocks that keep you from thinking of it yourself, y'know? One book I've been wanting to get, which seems to get enthusiastic reviews from nearly everyone who reads it, is "Organizing from the Inside Out" by Julie Morgenstern. Good luck! - Cindy Kandolf, mamma to Kenneth (9) and Robby (3) ****** Bærum, Norway Bilingual Families Web Page: http://www.nethelp.no/cindy/biling-fam.html |
#9
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Help with housework, please!!!
Cindy Kandolf wrote:
Sarah ) writes: | Hello, I'm a SAHM with a 16 month old. I have a terribly messy house, | and am determined to get my act together and have a clean and | clutter-free home. I am seeking books to read to help me with ideas | on how to handle clutter and how to properly clean. I have never | learned how to properly clean floors, bathrooms, etc. My husband and | I both are huge clutter bugs and we need help in setting up an | organizational structure and operating basis as well. For me, I'd | like books from the perspective of also caring for small children | while keeping a clean home. Anyone have suggestions for some great | books or other resources? Thanks, Sarah Hmm... I know you didn't ask for advice, but there are two things I really want to say first: 1. You have a 16 month old. Unless you can afford a full-time live-in maid, you can have at most two of these three things: a picture-perfect house, a happy kid, your sanity. That doesn't mean you can't improve things! But don't set your goals unrealistically high. Start small! I totally agree. I was SO proud when I managed to clean out the top drawer of our chest in the living room. Then I went on to the top of the chest. I also make sure I vacuum the living room every other day. Since we don't have much furniture, this isn't as hard as it may sound. Jeanne |
#10
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Help with housework, please!!!
Cindy Kandolf wrote in :
Sarah ) writes: | Hello, I'm a SAHM with a 16 month old. I have a terribly messy house, | and am determined to get my act together and have a clean and | clutter-free home. I am seeking books to read to help me with ideas | on how to handle clutter and how to properly clean. I have never | learned how to properly clean floors, bathrooms, etc. My husband and | I both are huge clutter bugs and we need help in setting up an | organizational structure and operating basis as well. For me, I'd | like books from the perspective of also caring for small children | while keeping a clean home. Anyone have suggestions for some great | books or other resources? Thanks, Sarah Hmm... I know you didn't ask for advice, but there are two things I really want to say first: 1. You have a 16 month old. Unless you can afford a full-time live-in maid, you can have at most two of these three things: a picture-perfect house, a happy kid, your sanity. That doesn't mean you can't improve things! But don't set your goals unrealistically high. Start small! That is so spot on. I've read that caring for children under two is the equivalent of a full-time job. 2. The only way to get rid of clutter permanently is, well, to get rid of it. Organizing is a wonderful thing, but there are limits to what it can do. You need to face your inner packrat, hunt it down, and kill it (or at least hurt it pretty bad). Okay, that said... For websites, I like http://organizedhome.com. Lots of good advice without sugar-coating, and message boards when you need specific answers or just plain encouragement. The only book I I really like that web-site, too. There is also the newsgroup alt.recovery.clutter. -- Penny Gaines UK mum to three |
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