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

"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

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

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-

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.

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

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!

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

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

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