A cycle problem... the best cleaning tip I've ever gotten!

**elphie** · 02-26-2009, 12:00 AM

This is an excerpt from an interview with Peter Walsh in the latest O magazine. I love, love, love him (and did before Oprah found him... we used to watch Clean Sweep so much that my kids would play a game of putting their toys in a "keep it" and "sell it" pile, lol)

Anyway, for some reason this answer has really resonated with me.

O:One of the unnerving things about physical clutter is that it's stealthy. You clean the house, but two days later it's a wreck again, and you don't know how it happened.

Walsh: Ah, that's the cycle problem. If you put a load of clothes in the wash, and halfway through you turn the machine off and leave it for a few days, you will come back to a mound of smelly laundry. You have to finish the cycle. When you have a bowl of cereal, does the box go back in the cupboard? When you bring in the mail, do you immediately open and sort it? At night, do your clothes go in the hamper or on the floor? We have a choice: to be mindful and complete the cycle, or to end up with a stinky load of washing in the metaphorical machine. Inside we're all 8-year-olds expecting someone to pick up after us. Those days are gone.

Now every time I start to think... "I'll finish later," I get a mental image of icky soured clothes sitting in stagnant water and I immediately rinse my bowl an put in the dishwasher instead of sitting in on the counter next to the sink. My house is cleaner than ever AND I actually have MORE free time.

**Milly** · 02-26-2009, 08:53 AM

What a great analogy. Thanks for posting.

**Patty A** · 02-26-2009, 08:56 AM

It really puts a picture in your mind when you turn to walk away without finishing the job!
I think this one will stick with me......

**Grainlady** · 02-26-2009, 12:35 PM

I'm another Peter Walsh fan from his Clean Sweep days, and his book, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? . There was a piece in the newspaper by him and he told about the most horrible homes they did on Clean Sweep.

By nature, I'm a do-it-now person. I think I learned that as a kid. If I did the assigned homework, housework or yard/garden work early and quickly and got it out of the way, I could do something I liked to do with the rest of my time. I didn't like to be nagged about something and didn't like confrontation - so all that contributed to my early training. I didn't have to have a parent or older sibling nagging at me to complete a task, my OWN mind managed to do that!

Our neighbor has some kind of adult attention deficit and he doesn't have the ability to finish tasks, unless he is required to do so in his job or under pressure, so that's another challenge for many people - not just training or creating good work habits. He mows for a few minutes. Runs into the garage and will watch TV for a few minutes. Grab the weed-eater and do a little bit of trimming. Run back into the garage and watch TV. Back to the mower.....TV...trimmer, etc. Makes me crazy just watching him.

**TexasPeanut** · 02-26-2009, 12:47 PM

Thanks for posting this it will help a lot of people who always question how things never get clean or done. It certainly does help to think the way he said though. I know personally before I completely de-cluttered my home I would be in the middle of trying to clean up something and have to stop to tend to life and it's needs and it seems I could never get right back to what I was doing, so I always had to start over. Eventually that gets so overwhelming you just give up.

Then one day I woke up and said no more. I went and bought totes and garbage bags. And got busy. Once I finally got rid (tossed or donated 90%, stored away what was left) of all of that extra "stuff" in my house, the house remains clean and is extremely easy to keep it that way. I immediately put things away because they have a place to go and I can get to that place without having to move other things first. It truly is a blessing to have a clutter free home.

**rainbowgc** · 02-26-2009, 01:08 PM

I really liked the post - gives food for thought!

**TigerGirl1226** · 02-26-2009, 01:13 PM

I have to admit finishing project/housework has never been my strong suit. As I type, my sofa is askew and the vacuum cleaner is out from my "clear under the sofa" endeavor.

I will definitely keep this in mind.

**monkeywrangler71** · 08-11-2010, 08:30 AM

Bumping this up because I missed it the first time.

I have a terrible time staying on task until it is complete and taking care of things right away. I think I suffer from the same problem as Grainlady's neighbour, my focus shifts very quickly.

This is why I need to keep an uncluttered home. Everything has to have it's own place, and that place needs to be easy to get to, otherwise I never put anything away. One of the problems I am facing here in my parent's house is that they have so much stuff - dishes in particular. Everything has a place, but that place is usually wedged in between or behind other things and things need to go in a specific way to fit properly. I'm not doing a very good job of finishing the cycle here.

**Russ** · 08-11-2010, 08:54 AM

well crud. My washing machine has clothes hanging out of it. That's how distracted I get.

when I'm doing a project, it will get to a point that it's "good enough and functional" so I can come back later and finish it. Tools are thrown on the bench because, I'll need them later" to finish that job. *sigh* You see where it goes...

Thanks for the bump MW.

**Ceashels** · 08-11-2010, 08:56 AM

Oh, that helps me define my issues much better! I missed this the first time around too. lol

Time to finish the cycle!

**thefrug** · 08-11-2010, 12:05 PM

could this be why my house looks like the Goodwill threw up? I'm thinking it is.*sigh* where do you even begin. ugh

**monkeywrangler71** · 08-11-2010, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by thefrug

could this be why my house looks like the Goodwill threw up? I'm thinking it is.*sigh* where do you even begin. ugh

I think you begin by finishing something you already started.

**kimmy4433** · 08-19-2010, 09:48 AM

Oh that explains my stinky laundry! lol Everytime I get started on something I get destracted by DD or life in general. Infact as I type this on the diningroom table our dishes are still here from last nights dinner. I can't believe I just typed that lol!

Guess I need to get back in gear and declutter some more and start picking up. Good thing I have all weekend to do this and DD is going to my moms for the night tonight and DH will be playing softball. I should have at least 3 hours to myself to get things in order.

However At 9 weeks pregnant I just have NO energy!! lol