How far have you come?

[MessyKat]

I have a question for all of you. I am on a quest to gather information.

I have noted before that I have trouble keeping up with housework. I am sure part of it is due to my depression and I am convinced that part of it is something else.

My question to you is how far have you come in your housecleaning? To say my house if filthy is the understatement of the decade.

Have any of you overcome filth? Am I fighting a losing battle here? Am I just plain crazy?

[Darlene]

Don't give up, start with a room at a time. My biggest mess and it's mostly just clothing & dust is our bedroom. I don't spend much time in there and have 2 bookcases that collect dust. Every once in a while I just say enough and just do the room.
The rest of the house I pick up everyday and clean the bath & kitchen every day. The rest gets done when it needs doing. What works best for me is to get up in the morning and just get it done & I can relax the rest of the day guilt free. Put on some music or talk radio & go to town.

[Vannie]

I am sorry to hear that you are depressed.

Depression is probably the major culprit here. Are you taking something or doing something for your depression? That should be a first step. Also, take baby steps to getting a cleaner house. If you have old papers lying around, grab a stack and put then next to you on the sofa or floor, next grab big garbage bag and start sorting. You can do that while watching television.

If you have magazines scattered around, just walk around and pick them up and put into a box or plastic bag. If they are a month old and you have not read them, they go in the bag too Then put them in your car and the next hospital you see, take the magazines inside. THe front desk people will take them and put them in the hospital waiting room. Some senior citizen buidlings will take them also.

If you have a problem washing dishes, etc. Wash the dishes immediately after eating. Even is someone else is still sitting at the table. Or ask mate/kids to rinse dishes before putting them in the sink or on the counter.

Look around the house and first do the easy things that don't take major effort. Baby steps really can help to get you started. If you have a close friend talk to her while you are doing a choir.

This may sound odd, but doing volunteer work can help. When you go "outside of yourself" to help someone else, you feel better.

[dndylfe]

I used to do really horrible as well---and coincidentally felt really down when the house looked that bad. I think that being depressed and having a dirty house sort of feed on each other. You're depressed because the house is dirty, but you're too depressed to do anything. Anyway, I joined flylady.net for a little while and that REALLY helped to get organized.

It's all about a schedule and freeing up your time to do what you'd rather be doing. It really worked and today, I'd have to say, you could come over to my house almost anytime and I wouldn't be embaressed to let you in.

First thing in the morning, I make the beds and pick up the house, and last thing at night I plan the menus for the next day and make sure the kitchen is cleaned up. For me, these are the key things that help me stay on top of the housework. And if I let things slide for more than a day or two, crabbiness rules the roost here! So I try hard to keep up.

[AmyBoz]

You have gotten some great advice here! We're here for you every step of the way!

[MessyKat]

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful advise. Keep it coming!!

I do tend to let things overwhelm me quite a bit. I am taking medication for my depression (I couldn't survive without it).

The good thing is I am single and I do not have kids, so at least I am the only one suffering through this. The bad thing is I am single and therefore EVERYTHING is up to me.

I have been a flybaby for a couple of years now and it seems I go for a while then quit. I never get passed an evening routine.

All in all I need to realize, this is up to me and if it is going to get done, I need to do a piece at a time and try not to be so overwhelmed. I can do only what I can do in a given day.

I think the most frustrating part is that there are times I feel completely helpless, which I do not understand. All I have to do is get up and do something, and there are times that is too much.

Again, I want to thank you all for you support, your words of encouragement and the advise. I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.

[FrugalMomof3]

You've got some awesome advice, but I agree try one room at a time, I try to "upkeep" everday but I dont do a major cleaning everyday, maybe once a week.

Our only problem is clothes, the kids dont put it in the laudry basket so their rooms are always a mess with clothes all over the place, I would say my bedroom and bathroom are always the cleanest and the kitchen too (except hubby is remodeling it S L O W L Y ) so there's not much to do there but rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher and clean off the stove.

Remember one thing, we are always here for you when you need advice.

[guest32]

MessyKat,
Hugs for you and what you're dealing with. I too suffer from depression and could not survive (literally) without meds. When I was younger and before I was diagnosed, I actually suffered more with an OCD type of disorder. Everything had to be perfect! This led me to be a raging perfectionist that drove others away from me. Looking back...I was probably a horrible mom to my kids. Things were so extreme that I would comb the fringe on the rugs. So, try to set a balance. Make a list of what you think are the most important things to get under control. Then add things that need to be done, but can be worked at slowly. Do you have a friend who can help you? I have a friend who is disabled and suffers from depression, as well as having a very unstable family life. She gets so everwhelmed she doesn't know where to start. I go over and help her get the big chunks under control, and help her make decisions on what needs to be done and where to start. That seems to be the toughest part for most people.
Baby steps.

[MessyKat]

Okay, here is what I have gotten done so far

Cleaned and organized the table in the entry way where I keep my keys and bills and things so I don't lose them (thus making me late for work...)

My sink is shining!

I doubt I will get much done for the next few nights as I have to mow. My yard is rather large (2/3 acre) and I have to push mow, so it takes me several evenings to get things done.

baby steps...I just have to remember baby steps.

Thank you all for your support....

[suzysaver]

Your already making great progress! I have been depressed in the past, I have been much better for the last 5 years. I make lists of everything, I have a notebook that lists every little chore for every room.....I have broken each room into a different day of the week. Monday bathroom, tuesday kitchen, ...ect...If you can start a routine, this can help . I also have a nightly routine of picking up, and making sure there are no dishes left in the sink (I hate to wake up to a sink full of dirty dishes). Wow push mowing 2/3 acre sounds like alot and a little time consuming, can anyone help you with this....or the boy down the road...for a couple bucks? It sounds like your ready for a change and reaching out for some help and this is a huge step.

You have come to the right place, this is the nicest group of ladies. You will not be judged here, there is a lot of wisdom and help in here. You might want to check out the humor section for a little giggle once in while too.

We are here for you and please keep checking in.

[guest7]

A long time ago, I got a book from the library. SPEED CLEANING Wow!! it revolutionlized my cleaning! I no longer dread cleaning.

Canadiangardener, aka CJ, has some threads about.. "the bathroom that cleans itself" "the kitchen that cleans itself" very interesting read! It has the same principals of speed cleaning. I started putting her philosophy to practice and now I have more time to be on the computer.

First and foremost. You will not be able to keep your place clean and tidy if it is full of clutter. Get rid of the clutter. Amyboz has lots of thread on organization. do a search- she's done a lot of research on the topic.

To keep it clutter free... you want to keep it simple. Less really is more. The less items you have, the less you'll have to clean. That means furniture too.

My momma (RIP) always told me that as long as your countertops and stove are clean, your home appears clean. Interesting... I've followed that for many years, and that is how I view other homes too. Except, momma didn't consider the bathroom as a room that needed to be clean. So, I always make sure that it's always clean- always.

Change your perception of cleaning. Think of it as a great outlet to get your aggression out, to think, to exercise, to be alone (no one wants to join the cleaning brigade!). When I get anxious or angry (god forbid) I start cleaning and scrubbing! Strange thing. I feel better when I'm done.

[MessyKat]

Thanks for everything!

I didn't get any cleaning done last night, but I did get the front yard mowed. (Since the yard is so big, I divide it into 3 evenings...front, side and back). I felt better after getting that done.

Unfortunately I can't hire anyone to do the lawn on a regular basis. (Every now and then I have some extra $$ to do this, and I always take advantage of doing so).

I was actually looking forward to mowing last night, as it will increase my exercise time and help with weight loss. I am working on putting the same mindset into place for cleaning. It is exercise...

I will read some of canadiangardner's posts. She seems to just really have it all together. I have looked for the book she suggested called Houseworks, unfortunately I have not been able to find it.

Well I guess I had better start working before I really get in trouble...

[AmyBoz]

Just to clarify...canadiangardener is Margery....homesteadmamma is CJ.

[marei]

Go to www.flylady.com and join. They have suggestions what to do every day and their motto is you can do anything fifteen minutes at a time and advise babysteps. I have been away and am behind but the good thing is all my drawers and closets are clean and not much clutter as she tells you when to toss stuff so will sign in again to-morrow to get the daily e-mails and get back on track.

[staceyy]

Each morning I get up, make my bed, finish cleaning the kitchen, turn on the dishwasher and put in a load of clothes in the washer. This really makes me feel like I'm doing something even if the appliances are really doing the work. Then each day I tackle a section of the house. One day it might be vacuuming the downstairs and cleaning the bathrooms. Another day it might be changing the sheets and dusting. I find if I do a little each day I'm able to keep on top of things and not get overwhelmed. I hope this helps.