to the non-clean freaks

amymeenieminymo

This is sort of diet related, bear with me...

I like a clean house, but I often find I do not have the energy or time to keep it that way. It also doesn't help when you're married to the tazmanian devil. I swear I can spend the whole day cleaing the house and between my husband and the two cats (cat hair everywhere) the house is a mess again very quickly.

I try to keep up with the dishes, I put one dish in the sink and in no time the sink is overflowing with dirty dishes.

Anyway.....I've found that I am much better at sticking with my diet when the house is clean and neat. Last night I came home to a clean kitchen so I was actually excited to cook a real, healthy dinner. As dinner was cooking I loaded the dishwasher, and then finished the remaining ones a few hours after dinner. So today I get to make dinner in a clean kitchen again.

But on the days I come home to a messy house, dishes aren't done, I've been too lazy to go to the grocery store, we either end up eating junk, or getting take out and then the cycle goes from there.

Clean freaks can't really help me because you all love to clean no matter what....but for those that are like me, don't particular like cleaning/lack the energy to keep the house clean, how do you do it? Any tips? I'd like our house to at least be presentable, I want to die of embarrasment most of the time if someone stops by unannounced because the house looks so bad, and I want to stick with eating well and a clean house helps with that.

littlewords

I hate cleaning, but remind myself that I feel better (and so does everyone else!) when things are at least tidy.
Don't worry too much about the crumbs behind the toaster, just get the dishes washed, and make sure your counters are clear.

I hate doing it, but I JUST DO IT.
Period.
It's like going to work each day - who wants to do that? But you probably have to. So you do. Same thing with cleaning.

musicguy607

Tell your husband to help out just a little?

tritt86

Bump.

debydeb57

i totally understand what you mean about hair all over the place.. i have two german shepherds and one of them sheds like crazy year round... i swear maggie should be bald... what do i do... i just dust mop everyday for the hair....

then we have two parakeets that like to throw their food all over the place along with feathers.. i usually just dust mop the house into the living room and then vacuum up everything at one time...

you can do it honey... as for a clean kitchen... ackkk... we are just having our remodeled in about a week so its going to be messy as messy can get... just keep counting those calories and think before putting anything in your mouth about how many calories is in that item your getting ready to eat... i am hoping and praying that is going to work for me ... as the remodeling is being done and i cant cook...lol...

stay strong

calibethw

I know what you mean. On "those" nights we usually get take-out but I always look up the nutritional menu and try to choose the healthiest, low-calorie item(s).

skinnypigeon

I try to make sure there are NO dishes in the sink when I go to bed...just a single dish and it seems like they multiply over night, not sure what this phenomenon is!

Also right before heading to bed, do a survey and take anything that doesn't belong in the living areas and put it away.

I try to come home and spend 10 minutes...just 10! sweeping, spot cleaning etc. This helps keep things pretty tidy. I AM NOT A CLEAN FREAK! I have 2 huge dogs who shed and I am the messy one, not my husband. These tiny techniques help.

Also if you can try to make the bed EVERY MORNING. It really makes you feel good when you walk into your room when you come home. You definitely get more reward than the effort put in.

Good luck, and yes a clean house, leads to a clean mind, which leads to a clean diet!

mom2my5sons

You've actually answered your question yourself-just keep up with it each day. Load the dishwasher while you cook, empty it while you're busy tidying up, put things away when you're done with them, give the bathroom a quick once-over right after your shower-you get the picture

MinaAriel

Did you know you can log cleaning in under cardio? I wouldn't log short bursts here and there but cleaning a few rooms top to bottom every day will get you a little cardio in and help keep your house neat. It might be enough of an incentive for you.

Set up a chore chart for yourself and hubby. Start small. Say for instance, before you go to bed, the sink will be free of dishes. After that becomes habit, add another.

As far as grocery shopping, make a list on your computer of basic staples or menus. Print it and keep it on the fridge. As you run out of stuff or discover you are missing an ingredient, write it on the list. If you need a quick run to the grocery, just use the list. If you don't have it with you, call hubby and he can read it over the phone.

Hope one of those helps.

cmriverside

Try flylady.net.


She's a genius.

Rain_Howard

On a day when you have time and energy (hah) cook up several healthy options that you can put in the freezer. On those days when you just feel like cooking, pull one out. I also like to keep some easy meal ideas around. If you're selective about what you buy you can keep it pretty healthy.

If you want or need to have a take out night you can find some pretty healthy options if you look. Even pizza can be made lower fat and carb. Thin crust, chicken, that kind of stuff. Just stay away from drive throughs.

Elizabeth_C34

I'm in the same boat as you, although it's me, my husband, two cats, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large yard, two living rooms, two dining rooms, and a den to keep clean.

I usually do dishes at night before bed (we have a dishwasher, but I hand wash my pots, pans, etc.), and one room per day. Example: Monday would be front living room day (tidy up, vacuum, dust, get cat hair out of couches, etc.). Tuesday is front dining room day. Wednesday is guest bath and my office day. Thursday is kitchen day (scrub floors, polish stainless, dust cabinets, etc.). Friday is den and master bath. Saturday is casual dining room and our master bedroom. The guest rooms don't get dirty unless we have people over so I don't have to clean those weekly.

It only takes me 30-40 minutes per day if I do it like this. If I let the whole house go, it can take a full day of nonstop work to get it clean again. Our whole house is tile so I usually do a on-knees hand scrubbing of the grout and stuck on stuff once every 2-3 weeks as needed.

I do not enjoy cleaning, but I really love it when my house is clean and fresh looking. Hubby takes care of the yard and cleans up his own office.

Leigh_b

I'm the same way... much more motivated to stay on plan when the house is in order... strangely, that applies to working out as much as it does eating well. Probably due to feeling guilty about working out when the house is a mess when I should be cleaning instead....

Anyway, I work full time, have two young children, two cats and a husband who is very neat but travels for a living so is not home all that often to help out - though I will admit that he does pitch in when he can and is always happy to help.

Here is what works for us:

1. If things aren't picked up it's difficult to clean and makes the process much more difficult than it needs to be. Rule #1 EVERYTHING is in its "home" by the time we go to bed on Sunday night. This is the key to our success.

2. Same rule as Sunday Monday - Friday. No going to bed unless things are put away. This is usually pretty easy to maintain so long as we started the week with everything put away.

3. We make our beds every morning

4. We never leave dishes for the next day

5. Saturday and Sunday are for Laundry, Grocery shopping, and food prep for upcoming week

6. Every third week we cycle through the house: Monday night clean the bathrooms (we have 4), Tuesday night is dusting night, Wednesday is vacumming, Thursday night is anything else that needs to get done.

Not sure if that helps... but it is what works for us.

deeharley

Try flylady.net.


She's a genius.

^^^ This!! I love her.

amymeenieminymo

Tell your husband to help out just a little?

He does, he has his jobs (take out trash, mow the lawn, empty dishwasher, clean the tub) as well as just picking up after himself. But he doesn't keep on top of these as often as I would like, but it's difficult to get on him about it when I am no neat freak either.

amymeenieminymo

I'm in the same boat as you, although it's me, my husband, two cats, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large yard, two living rooms, two dining rooms, and a den to keep clean.

I usually do dishes at night before bed (we have a dishwasher, but I hand wash my pots, pans, etc.), and one room per day. Example: Monday would be front living room day (tidy up, vacuum, dust, get cat hair out of couches, etc.). Tuesday is front dining room day. Wednesday is guest bath and my office day. Thursday is kitchen day (scrub floors, polish stainless, dust cabinets, etc.). Friday is den and master bath. Saturday is casual dining room and our master bedroom. The guest rooms don't get dirty unless we have people over so I don't have to clean those weekly.

It only takes me 30-40 minutes per day if I do it like this. If I let the whole house go, it can take a full day of nonstop work to get it clean again. Our whole house is tile so I usually do a on-knees hand scrubbing of the grout and stuck on stuff once every 2-3 weeks as needed.

I do not enjoy cleaning, but I really love it when my house is clean and fresh looking. Hubby takes care of the yard and cleans up his own office.

I like this idea, picking one room a day. I think this would help a lot, because right now I come, see that the whole house is messy and just not want to deal with it at all.

amymeenieminymo

Did you know you can log cleaning in under cardio? I wouldn't log short bursts here and there but cleaning a few rooms top to bottom every day will get you a little cardio in and help keep your house neat. It might be enough of an incentive for you.

Set up a chore chart for yourself and hubby. Start small. Say for instance, before you go to bed, the sink will be free of dishes. After that becomes habit, add another.

As far as grocery shopping, make a list on your computer of basic staples or menus. Print it and keep it on the fridge. As you run out of stuff or discover you are missing an ingredient, write it on the list. If you need a quick run to the grocery, just use the list. If you don't have it with you, call hubby and he can read it over the phone.

Hope one of those helps.

Love the grocery list idea. There are definitely items that I buy every week so this would save me time of making the list and deciding what new stuff to buy in addition to the every week stuff.

wenrenee77

It is very hard to keep everything clean all of the time. I was a total clean freak for the longest time but now ... Well, we all have room for improvement, right?

Anyhow, while something is cooking on the stove or in the oven, take a few minutes to load the dishwasher, bag the trash, gather laundry, et cetera. Our son is 5 and he helps by bringing dishes to the kitchen and clothes to the laundry basket. My husband and I both have very busy schedules but if we don't have a clean home, we're not happy. It doesn't need to sparkle perfectly, but it does need to be comfortable. I tend to do a load of laundry after my morning shower, while I'm getting ready for work. Before I'm ready to leave for the office, the clothes need to go into the dryer. It works for us, hopefully it will work for you as well!

rml_16

Other than running the vacuum regularly, there isn't much you can do about the cats. But it sounds like you need to have a frank discussion with your husband and ask him to help you out with cleaning and picking up after himself.

I have a few baskets around my living room that serve as great catch-alls for things like shoes (you walk in the front door right to my living room), DVDs that don't get put away after watching, etc. I may take a day once or twice a month to go through those things and put them in the right place, but in the meantime, they're "away."

As far as the kitchen, just take the time to do the dishes before you cook. They need to get done and it honestly doesn't take that long. I don't use my dishwasher and even two days' worth of dishes (sometimes it happen!) never takes more than 20 minutes of washing. And that's from three people living in the house and my daughter's teenage friends who come over and eat and drink.

It's a PITA, but you just have to stay on top of it sometimes.

MinaAriel

I went so far as to divide my staples list by aisle of the our most frequented grocery store. That way, it makes the trips a bit more efficient instead of checking the list and walking back and forth in the store. It is also useful for the few times hubby had to go the store because I was sick/injured.