My home is a mess

Buddingblonde · 10 April 2011 at 10:11AM

Due to various reasons (ill health, work issues, family problems) over the past 6 months my home has become very messy and in certain places dirty :eek:

I am so far behind with housework and so exhausted at the weekends that it is all I can do to keep up with the kitchen, bathroom and clothes, towels and bedding washing.

OH has been great - helping with the tasks he is set but the house now needs

1. A bloody good declutter
2. A really deep clean
3. Money spent on it

The task is sooo over whelming that I would rather not start than start and get half way through and abandon it.

Help!!!

I have read the declutter thread and the old style daily cleaning plan - the problem is that as soon as health deteriorates I lose track and the mess starts again. OH has to look after me when I am not well so he cant do that and pick up the house slack too.

Have been up since 7 and done 3 washings - that is the darks, lights, towels and now I am doing the bedding. 10am and I am pooped.

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OMG - We are in the Newsletter!!!

I am naming and shaming all the messies that have found there way over here confess their sins - all 93 of us

procrastinator
jackieglasgow
buddingblonde
Greyqueen
Taliahmai
Loulou2010]
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yummymummy79
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*KT*
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bedshaped
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1 step closer
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mumofjusttwo · 10 April 2011 at 10:12AM

May be worth while looking at the flylady thread.

Will find link
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3151108

The first post will tell you all you need to know but you can focus on doing as much r as little as you like. Taking it in baby steps can be the key.

Good Luck

Butterfly_Brain · 10 April 2011 at 10:17AM

I would agree with mumofjusttwo about flylady - Just start on one bit at a time, none of us are superhuman. Babysteps and you will get there x

Barneysmom · 10 April 2011 at 10:24AM

I'm in kind of the same situatioin as you, except it's my hubby that's ill.
There are areas in the house that need a clear pout, so far I've got a huge box of curtains for my mom, and threw a bin bag of my clothes away leaving me with just 4 t-shirts to use on weekends.
I'm finding the less stuff I have in the house, the easier it is to keep tidy.

There are areas that have been neglected the last 6 months but I'm learning slowly to be a bit easier on myself. Cobwebs will grow long after we're gone, and it's quality of life that matters, not a tidy cubby hole.

If you can plan 15 minutes extra every other day you'll soon have it a bit more under control, and don't worry about it, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Mrs_B · 10 April 2011 at 10:31AM

Another one who says "come and join the Flyladies". I've not been there long, but they're an extremely welcoming bunch, they're never judgmental if you haven't managed much, but insteady just encourage you about everything you do manage to do - and there are folks on there who are not as fit as others, so there's plenty of understanding about the times when it is just not possible do keep up.

Buddingblonde · 10 April 2011 at 10:34AM

I have read and reread the flyladies - the problem is that I often dont have the energy to do bits every day after work and I feel that the house needs more than a bit doing every day - for maintainance I can totally see the flyladies being the way forward but it would take me ages to get everything done that by the time I got to the start again the house would be in chaos.

Buddingblonde · 10 April 2011 at 10:35AM

I have taken to commercial break cleaning - doing small tasks in the breaks of programmes that I watch. The problem is I get in from work about 5.30 and I am often in bed by 8.30.

jackieglasgow · 10 April 2011 at 10:38AM

I am in a similar position Buddingblonde. I am struggling to get just the daily housework done that the overdue stuff is really overwhelming me

My plan is to start in the kitchen and work my way through the house, doing the Flylady level one in each room - giving myself an hour a day to deal with essentials, and four hours a day on the other rooms whilst I am off work - I normally work five hours a day, and am translating that into housework hours to get on top of things in the next week before I go back to work. It means I can do it in parts, or all at once if I am so inclined, but five hours is the limit for the day, for everything, and the rest of the day is mine and my children's time

mumofjusttwo · 10 April 2011 at 10:40AM

Many people that are on the flylady thread focus on just doing Level 1. So for example clean work surface. If you have lots of stuff on there then you could just focus on a small area and see if you could clear it and then try and keep that area clear as the next week you would just need to give it a clean and would not need to declutter that area so will be done quicker.

Many people use you idea of commercial break cleaning and also putting something away each time you ned to go upstairs etc so it is never a wasted trip.

Mrs_B · 10 April 2011 at 10:42AM

I'd suggest you try the MSE Flyladies and see - starting with 5 minute efforts seems like a very positive start to me - and it sounds as if you could do with some support to accept that you can't do the impossible in the hours that you are at home - and awake.

CRANKY40 · 10 April 2011 at 11:06AM

I have arthritis in my spine, so my back hurts when I do too much. I do 15 minutes of housework then sit down for 15 minutes and so on. It's amazing what you can get done in 15 minutes, and then you have your little rest to look forward to before you start again.

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My home is a mess

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