Yes.
Me.
If you know me then your jaw might have just dropped (like mine did when my friend Sarah asked me to speak on that topic). I am not a very tidy person by nature, my sister Amber can testify to that. We shared a room growing up and my side of the room was almost always in a disheveled state.
However, I am not as sloppy as some - which I realized when I got to college and had to share an apartment with two cowgirls who worked in the stables and didn't wipe their feet before entering the apartment! The smells coming from their room would knock your socks off.
Yuck!
*Shudder*
I think I should clarify that I am a sanitary person (bathrooms cleaned dilligently every week, sheets washed twice a month, etc.) but as far as clutter goes I could use a little improvement. Quick note: when I use the word "clean" I am refering mostly to a decluttered house, but having a home that is sanitary and clean of dirt is absolutely essential.
So, for the presentation last night I collected my own ideas and gathered some info from the Internet and came up with some helpful tips for those of us trying to maintain an orderly home. Here is what I shared:
We all have different ideas of how a clean home should appear. The level of cleanliness I feel content living with may be very different from my neighbor's level of cleanliness contentment. I can handle a few crumbs under the table and fingerprints on the back door. Whereas someone else might not accept anything less than sparkling floors and shiny doors 24/7.
Know what level of clean you are happy with and aim for that. At first, don't set your expectations for yourself too high because you will just keep letting yourself down and get discouraged when you can't meet them. Once you can easily maintain your cleanliness contentment level then maybe you can think about raising the bar for yourself and work toward a new level of cleanliness.
I think this is a no-brainer. Who wouldn't want to have a clean home? Duh.
But I think if you were to watch the show Hoarders (I haven't ever watch it, only have heard of it) you would see that there are people out there that seriously could care less about the state of their home.
There are psychological as well as physical reasons why keeping a clean home is a better way to live. Some people absolutely must keep a clean home for health reasons; others do it because they are happier in a clean home (Ahem. That would be me); and still, some do it to avoid arguments with their spouse.
Last night during my presentation a friend of mine shared with the group that her husband clears away the toys in their kids' bedroom every night to make a clear path to the door and window in case there is an emergency in the middle of the night. I didn't even consider that! Can you imagine tripping over toys or stepping on Legos as you stumble around in the dark trying to find your way in a hurry? So obviously there are also safety reasons why you should keep a tidy home! (I once watched a true story on TV where the husband purposely put toys on the stairs in the hopes that his wife would trip over one and fall to her death. Now that is messed up! Joel has a hard enough time not tripping on the stairs when they are clear of objects. Things would get a lot more dangerous in our home if the stairs were cluttered).
I'm sure there are other reasons why we should keep a clean home. I didn't touch on all of them, but I did want to mention that I believe it is a commandment to keep an orderly home. See slide below:
Ok. Moving on....
Sometimes the hardest part is getting motivated to do the work that leads to a clean home. This is probably my biggest problem. On the slide to the left are some pictures that represent ways to overcome the "lazy bones" syndrome. Below I list what they are.
1. Prayer. If you feel like you seriously need help in this area go to the Lord. One of my favorite scriptures is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." He will help you! I know he will because he has helped me.
2. Visualize. I like to picture what my home will look like once it is all free of the clutter. Or, if I'm looking online or in magazines at other homes that are immaculate then I start wanting my home to look clean too.
3. Nothing gets me up and moving faster than finding out I will have visitors. When my parents come to stay I find myself cleaning above, below, around and behind things that I haven't touched in months.
4. Music is another way to get me up and moving. If I'm feeling a little sluggish then I'll put on a favorite song with an upbeat tune and that usually does the trick.
5. Incentive. I don't know anybody who doesn't like a little reward after some good ol' fashioned hard work. I use incentives to get my kids cleaning, why should it be any different for me? Usually I will tell myself that once the house is clean I will have lots of time to sit down with a good book and read ("lots of time" never seems like enough time to read). Or maybe you enjoy scrapbooking or blogging or chocolate or chocolate. Did I say chocolate twice? Well, it's an extra good reward for a job well done ;)
Ok. So now we know that we want to have a clean home, that we should have a clean home, and we've got the motivation to get the home clean. Where do we start? On the left are some ideas to help you get started.
These are systems I do in my home to keep things in order (most of the time).
I have a chore chart that tells me what I should do each day. There are a lot of chore charts out there on the Internet. Find one that you like, print it out and post it in your home where you can easily look at it daily. Or, better yet, make and post your own customized chart.
"Teamwork Time" is a big success in my home. Each of my children has a tag with a chore printed on it that they are responsible for doing after dinner. One chore gets the table cleared, one chore gets the floors clean, and the other chore is a "daily chore" and the child with that tag will need to check the weekly chore chart which is posted by the clipboards (where we keep the tags). The chores rotate every night so the kids are not doing the same chore each night. Below is a snap shot of my document for our "Teamwork Time"
Four "P's" is what we do every night to get ready for bed : Pajamas, pick up room, prayers, and polish (brush the teeth), and Pee (which actually would make that five "P's" but when we originally started we only had four and so that name stuck).
Weekend Warriors is something we started recently. We take one Saturday a month (it can be more or less frequent) and focus on one part of the house and do deep cleaning as a family. I keep a three ring binder with lists in page protectors that detail what needs to be done in that part of the house. When we have done all the jobs listed on the page then we reward ourselves by going out for donuts or getting slushies or a McDonalds ice cream...or something like that.
Morning Chores are the chores that my kids are expected to do every morning: get dressed, make the bed, brush teeth and clean room (if they cleaned their room the night before then that part shouldn't be too hard). We are much better at doing the morning chores on the weekends and during the summer when we aren't all running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get to school on time.
"Take Five." When the house is a mess and the kids are playing video games or watching TV I will say "take five" which means they need to pause what they are doing and spend five minutes cleaning up the house.
Summer chores for game time. My kids can earn up to 1.5 hours of video game time by doing a chore off the chore chart. Each chore is worth 30 minutes.
Lytle Dollars. The kids can earn Lytle Dollars when they show extra awesome behavior, give unsolicited service or go the extra mile. They can also earn them by doing special chores that I whip up off the top of my head depending on what needs to get done at the time. When they have earned 5 Lytle Dollars they get to pick from the prize bag - which is (hopefully) stocked with yummy treats like candy bars and boxes of candy (and no, I never steal candy from the prize bag...unless it is is a box of Junior Mints...or a 100 Grand...or a...maybe I should stop there).
I am far from being the perfect homemaker and I wouldn't win any "Keeping a Spotless Home" awards - if those even existed, which they don't thankfully! But I've been working at improving those skills and I have been seeing some happy changes happening in my home. And that puts a smile on my face. See? Smiling. I know you can't see me right now but I am smiling. Promise.
1 comment:
This is so helpful. thanks!
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