Real life story to begin this post: the other night I went at a friend’s place, to spend sometime together doing nothing and drinking beer.
The obvious result, if you put three girls in a room with time, space and beer, is only one: a flow of words.
So, talking and chatting, we got to the “house chores” issue, said friend and house owner just moved in from a small apartment in the city to her “dreamhouse” just outside the city, consequently she has a lot more space, a lot more rooms… and a lot more chores to do!
Everthing would be much easier with superpowers
While she was enlighting us with her discovery “I made a checklist for every room, so instead of doing all the floors in one day, I do one room at a time and I’ll keep it up”, I was nodding, because I’ve recently realized this big housekeeping secret: making a room a day is quicker, easier, keeps the house more tidy, you don’t get as tired and most of all is way more satisfying.
Not even close...
How comes? Because what good is it to have shiny floors everywhere if every room is a mess? I think it’s better to have a splendid bathroom and a bed still to make… isn’t it? But most of all it’s a bigger satisfaction because when you’re done with the room you look behind you and everything’s perfect.
...this is closer, I just need some eyeliner.
So, since I was in a organizing-fever (we’re slowly finishing up some house-works, therefore we have buckets of paint, masking tape and so on scattered all around), I printed myself an excel table, every column is for a room, every room has a list, to follow the principle that says it’s much better to brake up to do things in smaller steps, so that you have an idea where to start, so that you don’t panic and so that everything seems easier, beneath every room, in the table, there are days… I have 5 rooms, so if I start on monday for the first, tuesday will be the second, and so on, rotating… in the end if all goes well I’ll be cleaning up every room twice a week, which is, if you think about it, more often and lighter than “saturday morning I’ll clean ALLLLL the house” :).
This will be me this winter, preparing woods for the fireplace...
What about you? Do you have checklists? Housekeeping tips and tricks? Secrets to undisclose?
Tell us! Tell us!
I wish!!!
PS
For those of you who are already worrying, please know that Mr Faun helps me, without complaining. But since I’m home now, I’m organizing myself
PPS
If you really have no clue, or you feel you need a support group or you think that sharing chores -even though it’s only virtually- can help, there is Flylady an online, free, mailing list service, that helps you organize and do housekeeping chores, a little at a time, everyday.
I miei consigli come hai scritto sarebbero identici ai tuoi eheheh… E’ verissimo che una stanza al giorno da molta più soddisfazione! 😀 E anche io mi sono fatta la lista su Excel… Le Bree che vivono in noi in questo momento sono fierissime secondo me! U_U
Molto soddisfatte, sì.
Domani tocca al salotto… voglio provare col bicarbonato sul tappeto (no cioè, hai capito? Mi ci esalto pure! XD)
Mi fate un po’ paura…
Io pulisco quando c’è bisogno e faccio la stessa cosa in tutta la casa: tipo l’aspirapolvere lo passo dappertutto (ed è la cosa che faccio più di frequente causa gatti), i pavimenti li lavo dappertutto, mentre adotto il principio di “un pezzo per volta” nei lavori di fino (il decluttering, per esempio) e per la cucina. Il letto lo faccio appena alzata, ma per ragioni pratiche: altrimenti mi si impelano tutte le lenzuola!
Quella di fare il letto subito per evitare pelodigatto è un’autentica tecnica ninja! non ci avevo mai pensato…
Penso che alla fine sia solo questione di come uno si trova meglio… il mio “spazio d’attenzione” è molto limitato, quindi mi trovavo male a fare “tutti i pavimenti” in una volta… Diciamo che sto sperimentando metodi per vivere in una casa discretamente pulita senza ammazzarmi di mestieri e questo sembra funzionare… vediamo ora per quanto XD
In ritardo ho letto questo post e ora che sto sperimentando le gioie del pulire casa devo dire che… Pulisco quando c’e’ bisogno (e quando ho voglia, se non e’ oggi e’ domani, non si muore) e faccio tendenzialmente cosi: aspiro in una volta sola tutte le stanze, dopo o il giorno seguente mi dedico a lavare i pavimenti di due stanze e il bagno, il giorno dopo l’altro pavimento e la cucina tutte le sera la passo… Insomma, non ho una vera regola, oero’ agisco piu’ o meno cosi’…