I'll be watching this thread, I need some pointers. wish I had some for you....

well, I know making lists is a good thing. I make very detailed lists so that I can cross things off quicker. Like instead of "clean living room" I might write "clean off coffee table", "dust TV stand", vacuum rug...etc, etc. That way I feel like I'm accomplishing more.

Works for me...but the lists are always incredibly long and impossible to finish in any given day.

I have exactly the same problem as you, Hanna- with incredibly long lists that are impossible to complete. The only thing different I do is I give myself rewards by having two lists- one of things I "have" to do and one of things I 'need" to do. So, for example, once you did 5 things off your "must do" list you could do one thing off your "want to do" list? Sometime that works for me...

That's a good idea Harriet. But with all the list making I do already...it's so hard to decide what I "need" to do and what I'd "like" to do. Hmm. I guess I'll figure out a good list eventually.

It's usually company coming that gets me off my but and cleaning. My place isn't nasty - no dirty dishes or anything - but dusty and cluttered. Books all over, stacks of mail on the dining room table...simple stuff to take care of but...

I hear ya Sulli. I have just a lot of stuff around. A lot of clutter. My house isn't dirty, it's just messy. I CAN get things done, I just need the motivation to do it. I'll probably make my long ass list and try to chip away at it today. I have until tomorrow afternoon....so I'll probably hold off until tomorrow to do most of it. But I have to get some stuff done today or I'll never finish in time!

I've made very long lists like that before, and I've realized they don't work. You need to make shorter lists. Maybe things that you can get done in the house, things you can get done on the weekend, things you want to get done before the fall is over, etc. those work better...even though they're still frustrating they don't kill as much as the really long collective lists. i tend to push myself in the morning before i do anything else to get my ass up and do my ritual housework before i do anything else, otherwise it bothers me!!!

i make list as well and i just love the way it feels to mark them off as done and i just get up and do it and it is done with.... this works for me. hope it helps....

I made a great big room by room list of things to do. I haven't done much in comparison with the size of the whole list, but I've gotten some things done in a couple of rooms. It makes me feel good to cross things off the list too. :)

Nowhere near done, and nowhere near motivated to do anything, but I'm slowly but surely ticking away at the list.

Any other suggestions?

In addition to a list like you make I set my timer for 15 minutes at a time. You'd be surprised what you can get done in that length of time plus I can stay on task for that length of time. Just a thought.

I find a really great music channel on the tv, I pump up the volume, and I go jamming around my house singing and cleaning the floors.....gees, if only my neighbours had bincolulars!

Oh, personally, I would NOT be able to follow such a detailed list, I would just be way too overwhelmed.

I normally pick sections of the houe like

Clean floors
Clean kitchen
Clean bathroom

Because I pretty much know when I'm in there what needs to be done

A highly effective business executive was once asked how he accomplished so much and became so succesful. You know what he said. He picked three things every day to accomplish and he made sure he followed through with them. Just three things! But just think how it builds up three things every day for a week is 21 things. My list usually involves stuff like clean the kitchen, straighten out the claim for my health insurance, clean out my closet. They're manageable tasks and you know what it really works! Hope this helps its really worked for me!

yes music is a very good motivator for me- the problem comes when cleaning around others

we just moved and i am determined not to let that stop me- plus the place is bigger than any we have had- so i can clean another room

just hard to clean- 1 person with one seriously hurtin and the other unmotivated at all

trash piles up the most and its heavy- need a wagon + a lift!!! (i'd go for the wagon though)

i have made a list of what i have done- as i go- its great during demoralizing moments-

making lists themselves is a lot of work- but i do like organizing them in my manic moments- just sometimes i end up writing the list and then not DOING anything!!!!!

more space is a GREAT help- for my depression- just when we get sick things pile up-- so now i must concentrate on getting all of our immune systems up- that is hard just for me- and i have to remember to focus at least on me- worryin about others is derailing- tis hard not too.

but again music helps- anger too- got music for that as well

One trick is to clean the toilet and sink and bottom of the tub and then spray ammonia aroundn the bathroom to make pp think you really cleaned hard. hahahahah

My sister in law takes brown grocery bags and marks them "end table by polelamp" and stuffs everytthing from there into the sack and puts it in her room. Then she goes around the living room and dinning room doing the same.

Fabreeze every where including closets.

Get a big basket and put all shoes in it by the front door.

Bribe children to keep their room doors shut. High stakes bribe.

Just pull blankets and sheets all the way back each mornung dont try and make bed. One less chore to do. Plumppillows.

Make her entry area and her space and her bathroom as clean as possible. (fresh little bouquest of weed flowers are sweet). Dont worry about the rest.

If you can afford it buy non slippery kitchen rugs for kitchen floor. I have a tiny kiitchen, 2 rugs--you can hardly see all the dirt.

Put a big smile on your face. I did the same thing for my mom. She visited me twice when she came to Seattle 14 times. She always said she liked taking me out to lunch.