:) LOL lesterjoan---6 months (twice a year) seem a practical frequency. When I moved to this new apartment I didn't do it for 2 years. I really don't recommend letting it go that long. Payback is HELL!

Now I do the cleaning once a month tied to my Tysabri infusion or my cycle week....but I'm thinking this 6 month frequency might work too, tied to daylight savings time,or when I'm suppose to change the batteries on the smoke alarm, so I don't forget to do it. 2 years is a bad house cleaning frequency. 12 times a year might be too much. Twice a year sounds just right! I'll check it out, starting this month--damn this month IS daylight savings time :(

I am not, and I mean NOT, a naturally tidy person. There are two reasons I have started with some kind of routine. One is for the MS. The other is that if I don't get some kind of pattern, I just won't bother doing it until the house is a bombsite and then, as has been mentioned, payback is hell.

Things that help me:
It sounds obvious, but the best way to have a tidy house is not to make it dirty. I have to consciously make the decision to put things away when I'm done (yes, I would otherwise be THAT lazy), decide on a place to keep things and always place them there, that sort of thing. The routine is key.

If I have a day when I want to get things done, but I'm not feeling great, I put in place a plan of attack. Pick a couple of chores that I can do in an hour. Get up, do them, sit back down for a rest - trying not to make it longer than the period I worked for, if possible!

While I'm resting, I plan the next session, so it might be that putting on the laundry is in session one, hanging it out in session two. And I try to have the chores on the same level of the house (we live over 3 floors) so that I don't keep tackling the stairs. If I'm tidying, I make a pile of things that need to go upstairs and take them all up together.

Or, the other thing I'll consider is if I get up to make a drink, do something while I'm up, even if it's only for ten minutes. It's the 'little and often' method which works for me and means I don't get defeated by it.

As for hoovering, I try to do it once a week on a Saturday morning as I can have a rest in the afternoon if I need to (two flights of stairs with a vacuum cleaner is a nightmare, so if it's only downstairs, so be it). We had a ceiling collapse recently and there was plaster all over one level of the house. I basically closed it out of my mind and didn't go up there if possible until it was fixed. Out of sight, out of mind!

And I'm also lucky that hubby is great at pulling his weight. If I say to him 'could you do this while I do that' we get double done in half the time - sorry, not helpful if you're on your own.

Ultimately though, you do what you can and enjoy what you accomplish. Housework is not worth making ourselves worse over, so find a way that suits you and don't let it get you down.

Good luck!

Hi Carol

I'm home all the time, have 2 dogs and lots of dog hair! Yuck. But love my babies!

I find doing a little in one room a day really helps. Just picking up stuff makes a difference. If my house is a mess and i have no energy it just gets me down. by making myself clean up just one room gets things in better perspective.

I have tried making lists and working on them but it never works for me. Could you get a friend to come in and help you? Once in a while even to do some of the harder things. It helps to have someone to work with you, gives you a boost getting help and someone to chat with.

mimi

My family all chipped in and paid for a lady to come in and clean everything really well in my downstairs for my sons graduation party last summer. That was heaven! I had never had someone clean for me before (other than my mom - she loved to clean so who was I to stop her. haha) and I thought it would be hard but it was so nice that I just might do it again once spring hits. It was so much easier to keep up with it until just lately with all the snow and icky stuff that gets dragged in with it.

Alright, I will fess up to my other approach - I only clean when we have company and I tell potential company I am too tired to clean so either we go out or go to their house. Not bad Huh? : ^ ) I do try and keep up and have 2 teens home to help out. My mother in law actually likes coming to our house because it is "lived in". My mother usually has something to say though.

Have a good night all!
Miki

There doesn't seem to be an exact answer to this delimina unless you can afford a cleaning person. Learn to celebrate all your accomplishments, no matter what size they are and let it go.

If you live in a house, it will be messier more often than its all clean. Definitley keeping things simple helps. I have four young kids and it was impossible to keep up with all of our mess. Simplify as much as possible. It has really helped. Get rid of whatever you don't use. Even clothes. Having a simple, neat environment to start from can drastically reduce the amount of time it taked to neaten things up. A schedule can be helpful. Especially if you plan around what time of day you have more energy. Think of the MAIN things you would like to have done that make your space look neat. Vacuumed ro swept floors are really a huge boost.. But having to clean around too much can be time consuming. Maybe Fly Lady should come up with a modified cleaning plan. Have you looked at Fly Lady? I don't follow her plan, but just seeing one might give you some ideas on how to structure your spacea and cleaning routine. But I can't stress enough that LESS is MORE. As in less stuff means more free time from cleaning and stressing about it.

I followed the flylady.com plan before and it is helpful. Especially having a clean kitchen. She says that if you have a clean sink it is easier to get going on the rest. I guess it works - I do feel better if at least the kitchen is cleaned and the living room is picked up each day.

OH - and I never let company go upstairs at our house anymore. That way if I am in a pinch for time and energy I can just put all the "junk" upstairs till the next day and not worry about it. LOL

Impeccable job on the house cleaning! Every nook and cranny sparkles, and the attention to detail is outstanding. It feels like a breath of fresh air in here – thank you for turning our home into a spotless haven!

Hey Carolina,

It literally takes me a week or more to clean my 2 bedroom apartment with a lot of stopping to sit or lay down and take a nap lol.

tbh, I do think that focusing on one room at a time helps more than anything else as we do have an inability, unlike others.

Getting rid of unused things has made a huge difference in my home life as there isn't as much clutter.
Which in turn helps my brain to stay focused on any task at hand.

thanks for posting