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I am still a work in progress, but I would say yes, I am going from messy to organized. I was always more on the clean side, at least so far as I could get to areas to clean them. Meaning that my kitchen and bathrooms were clean, but the clutter would build up everywhere else, and get to the overwhelming point.
I have the advantage of having recently moved, and getting to start fresh, so I am making an extremely concentrated effort to make sure that everything gets assigned a place, so that I can truly get into the habit of putting everything back in its place after I'm through using it. In a lot of cases, that has meant that I can't keep everything I had because there just isn't enough room for all of it. But the reality is that I had far too much stuff anyway.
I am finding that the desire to purge and declutter tends to build on itself and it becomes easier and easier as I go along. But I am also trying to take my time, so I don't burn myself out and throw everything off.
I am also consciously working on building new habits for both me and my kid, like automatically hanging up our coats when we walk in the door. It's nice to not end up with a huge pile of coats that have to be put away after a week or so!
I struggle with being messy, for one simple reason--cleanliness is entirely too much work, and remedial work at that. If it required, say, 5 minutes of time a MONTH (yes, 5 minutes a MONTH), I could get up for it. Having to spend 1-2 hours every single day, that is entirely way way way way too much time that I could instead be spending doing FUN things.
The other thing, too, is it does nothing less than completely take over your life. You can't drink a soda next to your computer desk, because you'll have to remember to take it to the kitchen, and clean it, and put it away--so you end up drinking 16 oz bottles so you can just toss them. I've been known to burn my clothes and buy new ones because I didn't want the fuss of cleaning them and folding them etc, it's way too much work, and I've got better and funner things to do with my time. People who can afford maids, I can see why they do it, and if I have the funds I'd do it in a minute myself.
And yes, I have issues with things such as misplacing items I'm looking for, and yes--I STILL expect to be able to find them when I need them REGARDLESS of that I'm like this. It's my expectation, and I'm sticking with it. Now, granted, I realize being raised a certain way is no excuse, but growing up my mother was OBSESSED about housework, to the point that it seemed like everytime I turned around I was being nagged about it, to the point that I spend 1 hour of cleaning for every minute I was able to play (or something like that)--and I swore when I grew up I'd not do anymore of it than I could get away with, and right or wrong that's exactly what I've done.
All of that said, I have tried SOME amount of organization, insomuch that I hang the car keys up on a nail near the door, and so now at least I hardly ever loose the car keys. There are a few small things like that which I've managed to get done.
I struggle with being messy, for one simple reason--cleanliness is entirely too much work, and remedial work at that. If it required, say, 5 minutes of time a MONTH (yes, 5 minutes a MONTH), I could get up for it. Having to spend 1-2 hours every single day, that is entirely way way way way too much time that I could instead be spending doing FUN things.
If you are truly spending 1 to 2 hours a day just cleaning, you are either doing it wrong or you have an amazingly huge house.
I struggle with being messy, for one simple reason--cleanliness is entirely too much work, and remedial work at that. If it required, say, 5 minutes of time a MONTH (yes, 5 minutes a MONTH), I could get up for it. Having to spend 1-2 hours every single day, that is entirely way way way way too much time that I could instead be spending doing FUN things.
The other thing, too, is it does nothing less than completely take over your life. You can't drink a soda next to your computer desk, because you'll have to remember to take it to the kitchen, and clean it, and put it away--so you end up drinking 16 oz bottles so you can just toss them. I've been known to burn my clothes and buy new ones because I didn't want the fuss of cleaning them and folding them etc, it's way too much work, and I've got better and funner things to do with my time. People who can afford maids, I can see why they do it, and if I have the funds I'd do it in a minute myself.
And yes, I have issues with things such as misplacing items I'm looking for, and yes--I STILL expect to be able to find them when I need them REGARDLESS of that I'm like this. It's my expectation, and I'm sticking with it. Now, granted, I realize being raised a certain way is no excuse, but growing up my mother was OBSESSED about housework, to the point that it seemed like everytime I turned around I was being nagged about it, to the point that I spend 1 hour of cleaning for every minute I was able to play (or something like that)--and I swore when I grew up I'd not do anymore of it than I could get away with, and right or wrong that's exactly what I've done.
All of that said, I have tried SOME amount of organization, insomuch that I hang the car keys up on a nail near the door, and so now at least I hardly ever loose the car keys. There are a few small things like that which I've managed to get done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitt Chick
If you are truly spending 1 to 2 hours a day just cleaning, you are either doing it wrong or you have an amazingly huge house.
Negative. Clean people spend an amazing amount of time cleaning. They just don't realize it. It's a habit and they do a little whenever they are home, so they don't know how much time they spend doing it. Now I get that housework is important to them, but it isn't so much for me. It's a waste of some of the few years I have to live on this earth. When I'm on my deathbed, I'm never going to tell my loved ones, "I regret not spending more time doing housework." It's just not that important to me. I have to consciously think about, "Well, I should dust all the furniture today. It's overdue," instead of just doing it while the TV is on. Or, "I need to mop those nasty floors," twice a week instead of once a month. Now I am cleaner than shyguy because I know I should keep it up somewhat and, more importantly, gf would nag me if I weren't, and I'm glad. But a lot of days, the only housework I do is dishes and filling up the dogs' food/water bowls
Growing up, my room was always messy - all the way through college. Once I graduated I swung to the completely other side of the spectrum: our house (my wife and I) now stays pretty spotless. It's probably easy with just the two of us and a dog though.
I'm naturally messy, or not even so much messy as lazy, lol! I don't mind decluttering and putting things away but I hate hate hate any kind of 'wet' cleaning, scrubbing, elbow-grease type work - kitchens, bathrooms, floors, ugh. However, I've realized over time that these things are much easier if you pre-emptively don't let too much build up, rather than try and clean it all in one go. We recently bought our first 2800 sq ft home and I was immediately scared by all the cleaning I'd have to do, so I'm working really hard on changing my habits while keeping things as low-maintenance as possible. Some things that helped me a lot is having a dedicated place for everything, so that you never get those little piles of random crap that then keep growing and growing and making the place look messy. Something as simple as having a tray for the keys and mail, rather than just dumping them on the counter, makes things look neater right away. Putting things away as soon as possible - shoes and coats go in the closet, not left in the hall, important mail in the office, etc. Having lots of baskets and containers to organize closets, drawers, toys, crafts - my son now knows where everything goes so keeping the playroom organized is a snap.
Because I'm lazy I also try to minimize amount of work involved in cleaning - keep as much as possible tucked away in closets and cabinets and the common surfaces as empty as possible. A cute basket in the living room where I can sweep up toys and any random things into if I need to clean up quickly. Minimal knick knacks or decorative things to dust and clean around. Minimal cutesy things cluttering up the kitchen counters. Keeping all the bathroom toiletries in one basket rather than all over the counter means that to wipe down the counter I only need to lift up one thing, not 20. Wiping down the bath and shower stall dry after each use = less mold and grime to scrub later. I also keep paper towels and disposable cleaning wipes on hand in every bathroom and kitchen so I can give it a quick wipe-down whenever I notice it's needed without having to go get out the cleaning supplies. Oh, and after getting fed up with sweeping the hardwood five times a day (kid, crumbs) I asked for a Roomba for my birthday - best.thing.ever.
I think adults can change from the way they were as children, but it is hard to change from messy to neat if you were never expected to be neat.
My room was messy when I was a kid, but I did enjoy the feeling of cleaning it up and making it tidy when I was forced to. I was pretty messy and disorganized when I had 4 kids at home and worked, but that was only because there are only so many hours in the day.
Now, when its just my husband and I, I am very neat in most ways, and get nervous if something gets out of control. Like now that the busy holidays are over, I am disturbed by the state of my closet, shoes and clothing. A little voice will nag at me until I do a purge. I also don't like a messy garage, but I know that will probably wait until spring. One thing that really bugs me is the way DH empties out his pockets of receipts and change, etc, and dumps it onto the nearest flat surface. I put this in the category of picking my battles and don't say anything. I just go around and sweep the stuff into a basket.
My dear OP, I for one hate dusting (and I pile paper, I don't "see" paper as "clutter", but as "information"). I hate moving the stuff and then also dusting the stuff. I never remember to do the highest-up stuff first and save the mopping for last, when all the dust has been knocked to the floor.
Clearly one possible answer is this: Have less "stuff".
Helping a friend move was a real eye-opener for me in this respect, and I decided at that point in time that I was going to start functioning "as if" I would be asked to move at a month's notice at any time. It is emphatically still a work in progress, but I think it helps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks
Negative. Clean people spend an amazing amount of time cleaning. They just don't realize it. It's a habit and they do a little whenever they are home, so they don't know how much time they spend doing it.
Conversely, it's also said that it's cleaning only once a month (or twice a year ), that is what tires people out. The daily "pick up after yourself" may not take any less time, but it feels like less time. Running "spring cleaning" basically every time you sit down to clean and spending 6-12 hours doing so, is what really tires some types of people out, and sticks in your mind as the onerous sloggy PITA it is, thereby turning you against future major cleans, making it less likely you will do so. "Euch, I have to cleannnnnn?!? AH-GAIN?"
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), that is what tires people out. The daily "pick up after yourself" may not take any less time, but it feels like less time. Running "spring cleaning" basically every time you sit down to clean and spending 6-12 hours doing so, is what really tires some types of people out, and sticks in your mind as the onerous sloggy PITA it is, thereby turning you against future major cleans, making it less likely you will do so. "Euch, I have to cleannnnnn?!? AH-GAIN?"
