Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Can I become more organized in 21 days?

So, here is my confession... I am not a clean person.  No, I don't mean personal hygiene, but I hate cleaning and my house is always messy.  I have some very organized friends and I am always getting down on myself about my homes lack of cleanliness.  Now, I want to say from the start, Poy is NOT the problem. He tries very hard to clean, but our routine is not working. So, I have started to read "Sidetracked Home Executives" by Pam Young and Peggy Jones. BTW, they are from Vancouver, WA :) Here is the system in a nutshell:
  • Using a 3x5 card box with dividers and cards write down everything that you need to do around the house. (They have a list to help you out)
  • You mark the card Daily, Weekly, Monthly etc.
  • Everyday you do your tasks on your cards... so I have to clean EVERY day!! You aren't even supposed to leave your house without doing all your tasks.
  • When you finish your cards you move them to the next day or week or month...
Anyway, they say it takes 21 days to change a habit, so that is what I am aiming to do.  In the book they actually say not to tell people, in case you don't do well.  I'm going with the opposite theory and if I feel that if I tell people what I'm doing I will push myself harder. So, I'm going to let you all know how I'm doing day by day.

Day 1: Yesterday I did all of my daily tasks (I have 17), and I cleaned all the mirrors in each bathroom, cleaned the oven and dishwasher door, vacuumed downstairs, did a load a laundry, except I have not folded and put it away still. (I swear I'm gonna do it when I'm done blogging) I took inventory of all of Nolan's clothes and removed the clothes that don't fit.

Day 2: Today I did 16 of my daily tasks, I skipped making my bed. Aside from my daily's, I took out the garbage, cleaned all toilets including the potty chair :), mopped all bathroom floors, cleaned all bathroom countertops, polished all faucets, washed my bathroom rugs.  Basically I spent ALOT of time in all 3 of my bathrooms. I also cleaned my microwave inside and out.

I am finding it very helpful to have a routine and know what I need to clean instead of just waiting until it is noticeably dirty.  I have reminded myself many times that although it is hard now and I feel like I'm cleaning all day long (well actually I AM cleaning all day long) it will not be so difficult if I stick with it.

Time to do the laundry...

3 comments:

Vanessa said...

Way to go Court! It sounds like you are really hitting it hard. I can't imagine cleaning that much with both of my kids home! I've tried that 3x5 card idea before, but your system sounds pretty good. I'll have to check that book out.

Unknown said...

Love the cleaning blog. It was inspiring and I am very impressed. Change isn't easy, and I know it with kids it has to be a big challange. Congrats to you and thanks for motivating me!! Becki-Mom

andrea roesch said...

Good Job Courtney! Having kids and working is hard enough-then cooking and cleaning on top?! It's enough to exhaust you just thinking about it!
I think I'll check that book out, since going back to work 3 days week, 1 or more practices 5 days a week and Steve gone-we'll let's just say my house is being badly neglected!