Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Apr 30, 2009 17:52:25 GMT -5
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The "BDG Method" of desqualoring/maintaining
BDG was a longtime member of the former forums at Squalor Survivors.
BDG was formerly known as "Bad Domestic Goddess" but changed her name to simplify and uplift it.
Edited to add:
BDG often posted about her method of cleaning. It's brilliant!
I recently found two posts from her, here at Stepping Out of Squalor, that describe her method:
From June 2008:
The way I clean is ...
As I go back and forth through the house, I carry dishes to the sink.
When I go to make my coffee, as the water heats, I empty or fill the dishwasher.
You would be surprised at what you can accomplish in two minutes.
As I go to the bathroom through the day, I spend a couple of extra minutes wiping down the sink or tossing the garbage in the garbage can or cleaning the commode.
Since the washer and dryer are near the bathroom, I often fill the washer or dryer and start it as I walk by.
While it may not seem like you can accomplish much this way, think of 3 minutes spent organizing or doing something to improve your life every time you get up anyway -- and if you just do something say 20 times a day for three minutes, it adds up to an hour of work you barely noticed.
Also you don't have to finish the job, just start it and leave the cleaning stuff right there -- and start another three minutes the next time you go into that room. Eventually it will get finished.
To make this happen, I keep a small bottle that you buy that has the cleaner and the paper towels inside and you just pull them off and close the container. This way, I always have what I need to wipe down the commode or the sink -- plus you can toss them in the garbage. It seems wasteful, but I have not went through the first container yet and I purchased it months ago.
Anyway, you might want to try and build the habit of doing things as you are up moving around the house anyway. I have arthritis in my knees, a bad back problem, and I am struggling with other health issues as well -- and this is the only way I can clean; as once I sit down, I am not going to get up just to clean.
But if I have to ache and move anyway to go to the bathroom or to get food, or for whatever reason I find myself up and about -- then I might as well make those two or three minutes count for something extra -- so I clean.
This helped me clean up the house and it helped me maintain even though I am struggling with health issues.
From August 2008:
The hard thing is that once you sat down and rest, one tends to lose their motivation, and it is difficult to get started again.
I do something to reduce the clutter or work load every time I get up.
When I go to the bathroom or get a drink, I throw in a few little things like carrying the dirty clothes from the den to the laundry room, since I have to go by the laundry to get to the bathroom
Or if I need to get something from the kitchen, I carry the dirty dishes from the den to the sink.
When I heat my coffee water, I empty or load the dishwasher depending on which one needs doing. Sometimes I finish, sometimes I don't, but it is at least started and ready to finish the next time I get up for something.
That is how I clean -- the aches and pains are just too bad to get up to clean, I am not that dedicated. LOL. But since I had to get up anyway, I throw in some small bits of cleaning as I go.
This actually keeps the mess down to minimum and makes the house manageable.
I generally get up around twenty times a day for some reason or another. If I manage to get in three minutes of work during this time, I am actually getting an hours worth of work done.
Usually I probably do 3-5 minutes, so I accomplish a lot more than one would think -- and I barely notice it, since I am not allowing myself to get too tired and I have to be up anyway.
The "BDG Method" of desqualoring/maintaining
BDG was a longtime member of the former forums at Squalor Survivors.
BDG was formerly known as "Bad Domestic Goddess" but changed her name to simplify and uplift it.
Edited to add:
BDG passed away in Sept. 2008.
(but I didn't know that when I started this thread.)
Her daughter finally found us in May 2009, and let us know. See the post in which BDG's daughter uses BDG's logon to graciously let us know about our friend.
takeonestepatatime.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=5212
BDG often posted about her method of cleaning. It's brilliant!
I recently found two posts from her, here at Stepping Out of Squalor, that describe her method:
From June 2008:
As I go back and forth through the house, I carry dishes to the sink.
When I go to make my coffee, as the water heats, I empty or fill the dishwasher.
You would be surprised at what you can accomplish in two minutes.
As I go to the bathroom through the day, I spend a couple of extra minutes wiping down the sink or tossing the garbage in the garbage can or cleaning the commode.
Since the washer and dryer are near the bathroom, I often fill the washer or dryer and start it as I walk by.
While it may not seem like you can accomplish much this way, think of 3 minutes spent organizing or doing something to improve your life every time you get up anyway -- and if you just do something say 20 times a day for three minutes, it adds up to an hour of work you barely noticed.
Also you don't have to finish the job, just start it and leave the cleaning stuff right there -- and start another three minutes the next time you go into that room. Eventually it will get finished.
To make this happen, I keep a small bottle that you buy that has the cleaner and the paper towels inside and you just pull them off and close the container. This way, I always have what I need to wipe down the commode or the sink -- plus you can toss them in the garbage. It seems wasteful, but I have not went through the first container yet and I purchased it months ago.
Anyway, you might want to try and build the habit of doing things as you are up moving around the house anyway. I have arthritis in my knees, a bad back problem, and I am struggling with other health issues as well -- and this is the only way I can clean; as once I sit down, I am not going to get up just to clean.
But if I have to ache and move anyway to go to the bathroom or to get food, or for whatever reason I find myself up and about -- then I might as well make those two or three minutes count for something extra -- so I clean.
This helped me clean up the house and it helped me maintain even though I am struggling with health issues.
From August 2008:
I do something to reduce the clutter or work load every time I get up.
When I go to the bathroom or get a drink, I throw in a few little things like carrying the dirty clothes from the den to the laundry room, since I have to go by the laundry to get to the bathroom
Or if I need to get something from the kitchen, I carry the dirty dishes from the den to the sink.
When I heat my coffee water, I empty or load the dishwasher depending on which one needs doing. Sometimes I finish, sometimes I don't, but it is at least started and ready to finish the next time I get up for something.
That is how I clean -- the aches and pains are just too bad to get up to clean, I am not that dedicated. LOL. But since I had to get up anyway, I throw in some small bits of cleaning as I go.
This actually keeps the mess down to minimum and makes the house manageable.
I generally get up around twenty times a day for some reason or another. If I manage to get in three minutes of work during this time, I am actually getting an hours worth of work done.
Usually I probably do 3-5 minutes, so I accomplish a lot more than one would think -- and I barely notice it, since I am not allowing myself to get too tired and I have to be up anyway.
This is the most effective method I find for myself though.
But the unique part of BDG's method is the part that says:
!