quax
New Member
Joined: August 2010
Posts: 52
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Post by quax on Aug 10, 2010 12:14:07 GMT -5
Was wondering if if it is better to complete a whole room before moving on to the next, or should I do a bit in each room? I have 7 rooms that are in level 1-3.
Thanks for your help.
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Blackswan
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Joined: October 2008
Posts: 6,388
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Post by Blackswan on Aug 10, 2010 12:18:47 GMT -5
It is usually better to do something in a small contained area, that way you can see the results, and then you can maintain that area.
Its not about the cleaning per se, its more about the keeping it clean. If you have a bunch of random areas cleaned, they are just going to be engulfed back into the mess. How about choosing one area, and keeping it clean for a few days, just that one area, to learn about maintainence. It can be a tabletop, it can be a small room (its its manageable to clean it up in a day or so), whatever it is, the point is to learn how to MAINTAIN, and the rest of the house will soon follow.
Welcome to the board by the way!
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Post by amberwind on Aug 10, 2010 12:35:51 GMT -5
Blackswan is absolutely right about picking a single, small area and maintaining it zealously - seeing that one small clean space can motivate you to do a lot.
I took a very atypical approach to the whole cleaning thing - I buzz around and do little bits everywhere. But my problem has never been getting clean, it's been staying clean since I tend to go through cycles of a huge clean sweep followed by months of inactivity. What's really helped me is to do a bit every single day, even if it's not much and only maintains the progress I've made since I joined. Taking out the garbage bag when it's full instead of letting it overflow, sweeping the kitchen floor when one of the cats tracks litter, re-making the bed every few days just to make sure El Hubby doesn't peel the fitted sheet off with his thrashing. It all adds up over time.
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Blackswan
Banned
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 6,388
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Post by Blackswan on Aug 10, 2010 13:20:13 GMT -5
In fact, what might help you more than anything else is to do an experiment. Choose one small area and maintain it for a week and you will learn more from that than cleaning up the entire house today.
Please think about trying that and reporting what changes you experience in your thinking. I guarantee you will have a huge shift in your mindset. You can report back here and your experience will help lots of other newcomers. And it will help you not struggle with cleaning and going back into squalor and cleaning and going back. It will teach you how not to struggle, this one little experiment, and it will help you vastlty for the resr of your cleaning career.
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Post by eagle on Aug 10, 2010 13:29:04 GMT -5
Welcome, quax. It's really up to you and your personal needs whether or not it is better to complete one whole room before moving on to any other rooms in the house.
For me, I'd say NO. Unless you choose a very small room, like a bathroom or a closet.
For me, I chose to start with my bed. Not the whole bedroom, just the bed.
I also needed to be able to use my kitchen, so I worked in there, too.
Once I got the bed cleared off and a place where I could sleep at night (I'd been sleeping on the floor in my living room in a sleeping bag), I did start on the dresser. But I did not complete my entire bedroom before working on the other parts of my home.
I worked in the bathroom every time I went into the bathroom, so several times per day for a few minutes at a time.
Maintaining what you get clean is imperative, as previously mentioned. But it really makes a lot of sense to do a little something in every room you enter, if you are going to be there anyway. For example, go get a drink in the kitchen? Why not wash a couple of dishes or put a couple of things away? You're there anyway. These are habits you need to build, so why not build them now?
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Post by Rory on Aug 10, 2010 13:39:05 GMT -5
The bed is a good place. To have somewhere to rest and feel safe when you are tired was something which worked for me. Also I picked up things which I was stepping over and started throwing rubbish out.
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Post by messymimi on Aug 10, 2010 13:40:07 GMT -5
Welcome, Quax!
Doing a bit in each room, and moving to the next room, lets you come back to the first area with "fresh eyes" as well. It's like it makes it easier to see what to do next, or gives a fresh perspective.
Staying too long in one place gets dull, and it is harder to concentrate.
messymimi
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Aug 10, 2010 17:35:45 GMT -5
I play it various ways. Rush-rush-rush crisis clean, where the mess gets stacked up in a bedroom with the door shut, or in closets. Or pick up all the garbage throughout the entire house. Or clean a room for an hour , then force myself to do something else. Or just walk thru a room with Eyes Wide Open, pick up and put something away. Or Erase the Evidence. Made a sandwich? Eat it and put everything back. Used the George Forman grill? Clean it and put it away.. No one way woreks. Just Do It.
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Post by success19 on Aug 11, 2010 0:45:18 GMT -5
I think you must take out obvious garbage (food stuff) first. Make sure there are ways out the doors and windows. Then whatever works for you. For me I like marathon cleaning - a whole bunch at once. Sometimes I listen to tv or radio and just am going from room to room - but my situation is getting it gone and fast. What ever method works for you is best. I will say if you take your time - it might never get completed. I find it is better to really push myself. But alot of it depends on whether you have family - kids and hubby to also take care of. I can do a marathon until 5 am and then sleep the next day till noon - but not everyone can do that.
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Post by yearning4order on Aug 11, 2010 0:51:42 GMT -5
Welcome Quax--I'm in the camp that I just needed to start with a square foot. Anyplace, any square foot I wanted. Eventually the early success of just "start where you want" led me to reclaim sections of specific floor, areas of individual rooms.
The biggest challenge for me was simply following my "interest" or inclination and shut down the negative self talk that insisted I was cleaning the wrong, wrong, wrong thing, always the wrong thing.
So the little successes of a square foot here and there really made a huge difference. Within a period of months the house was desqualored.
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 11, 2010 9:07:52 GMT -5
Hi Quax, and welcome! As you can see, there is a variety of opinion here, and what we've found is that what works for some might not work for others, and vice versa.
I usually suggest starting with one small area that will make a big difference in your daily life--something that particularly annoys you--like--do you trouble preparing food because your kitchen counters are all cluttered? If so, start with one kitchen counter. Or, is your bed full of stuff so you have to sleep on the uncomfortable couch? Or, is your entryway so full that you can't open the door and are embarrassed if someone rings the doorbell? Then start in the entryway so when you walk into your house you will see a neat area. Whatever will have the most emotional impact. Then do whatever you have to to keep that first area clean over the coming days--it won't help if you go on to a second area and let the first get dirty again. Even if you only clean that first area and keep it that way, you'll be better off than you were before.
Glad you're here, and keep posting!
Diane
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Aug 11, 2010 12:52:52 GMT -5
Welcome! There are as many ways to make progress as there are members--maybe more!
What motivates you to desqualor? Determing the source of your motivation will help you decide what to do next. For me, it was about being able to let someone into the house at any time--especially my family, but mostly about having the potential. I might not have anyone over, but I could if I wanted to.
One of the ways this insight helped me strategize was that I focused on areas that visitors would see. If I had to choose between the 1st or 2nd floor, I did the 1st floor.
For me, one of the best strategies I found was to try to fill the garbage and recycling cans every week. Since our trash is picked up every week, this gave me the biggest "bang for my buck."
I keep trying to build on this strategy. For example, if I'm driving past the recycling depot, I take the recyclables that aren't picked up curbside. I try to desqualor my car a day or two before trash pickup day. When I'm doing laundry, I check for dirty laundry as I walk through the house. If I decide to clean the kitchen floor, I wipe down the counters first, so everything falls on the floor before I sweep.
Aside from that, I found it most helpful to focus on areas that helped me with cleaning and organizing other areas. In my case, this meant the kitchen and bathrooms.
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