Ugh. . . . tell me where to start.

[ellemoon]

So my father in law just "surprised" us by stopping in to see the kids. The house is a disaster. Laundry pile, kids toys, books and newspapers, dog hair tumble weeds, dishes in the sink - your basic nightmare scenario.

Help me get this under control. Fly lady? I've looked at it and it seems so overwhelming. Practical advice needed.

Thanks!
Elle

[doubledutch]

if he's already there?! yikes . . . if he's just there for a couple hours, forget it. if he's there overnight: dishes first. then throw the laundry in the wash and call it good. if he showed up for an extended stay, then tomorrow you can scoop up all the stuff into a basket (or a couple piles), sweep/vacuum the dog hair, and put the stuff away. don't forget to finish that laundry. you have my condolences. i would die in that situation (and would be in that situation if someone showed up unexpectedly, most days).

[ellemoon]

Ha, he came stayed for a few hours and then left, probably scared he might get lost in the laudry pile! I should have made it clear in my original post that I am looking for a way to never get caught like this again! I just can't seem to stay organized. Small house . . . too much stuff . . . busy and I'll admit lazy = MESS.

Thanks for your response and condolences

[sapphire_chan]

For about a year every time dh and I decided together that we would do a big housecleaning FIL would show up the day before

Like "hey, let's clean the house Saturday, it's really messy," he'd stop by Friday evening. We'd actually start greeting him at the door with "ah, we were expecting you!"

[flowmom]

IMO, the Flylady system is a good way to go for avoiding things getting totally out of control. I don't follow it to the letter, but when I do the routines that she recommends, things really never get chaotic. Rather than focusing on weekly giant cleanups, the focus on doing a little bit daily and that makes all the difference. It doesn't matter what day of the week someone pops over . I've got a long way to go with the routines, but there's a big difference in my home just from doing it partly. To avoid getting overwhelmed, you can simply follow the system by reading Sink Reflections -- it's all in there without cluttering your inbox. Also, Flylady's podcast on BlogTalkRadio is really good to listen to when you're trying to change the mindsets that cause chaos in the home (getting sidetracked, being perfectionistic, etc.). I consider her an excellent life coach for those of us who struggle to "get it together".

[Knittin' in the Shade]

my brain files will change your life (or, at least, they'll give you a good idea of how to get your own files going for your specific needs ) Seriously, just break it down into daily maintenance steps and within a few weeks, your house will shine!

[ellemoon]

Thanks for the replies. I signed up for Fly Lady. Those brain files are AWESOME! THANKS!!!!!!!!!

peace!

[completebeginnings]

Under flylady there is a section called crisis cleaning. It is for "emergencies".

[AutumnMama]

FlyLady's Crisis Cleaning pod cast thingy is good. It takes you through the main areas that a guest would see in one hour. She splits it up into 15 minute segments (Kitchen, Living room, Bathroom, Rest), and divides those into 3 minute segments.

She is so cute with her accent, giving lots of encouragement (she annoyed DD though ).

You can do it! I've been there, and it's such a better feeling knowing that someone can stop by and I won't be totally humiliated!

[Crayfish]

Get rid of stuff!

It's all about how much stuff you have. At least, in my opinion it's about ninety percent about how much stuff you have, and the remaining ten percent is "noise" that can wait until you've gotten rid of stuff.

So I would focus on getting rid of stuff, and getting rid of more stuff, and then going through everything and getting rid of even more stuff. Until every shelf and drawer and cabinet and closet has some empty space. Ideally, until you have shelves and drawers and closets and cabinets that you don't even need, though I haven't come near achieving that.

There are bunches of books on getting rid of stuff, including:
Don Aslett's _Not For Packrats Only_, and several others.
Peter Walsh's _It's All Too Much_

A good source for that last ten percent is:
Julie Morgenstern's _Organizing from the Inside Out_
Marilyn Paul's _It's Hard To Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys_.

Crayfish

[coyotemist]

Good info, thanks for the brain files!

[catscharm74]

Declutter, declutter, declutter...it won't get better until you get out the stuff you are not using. It will look like a tornado hit at first but once the clean up begins, it is amazing how much better things will be.

Laudry- do you have a system in place? My boys know to at least separate whites and darks in the laundry room. This helps alot. I bring all laundry to the laundry room as soon as possible. Keeps the dirty piles from getting to be too big. I do 2 loads on Wednesday nights. This helps a lot. Wash, dry, iron, hang. Done!!!

Clean as you go. My best advice is to keep counters clear. Store what you can away. It makes for a quick clean up and a better visual space. ; )

[clutterwarrior]

I agree with the decluttering, and also try 'Motivated Moms'...it has changed my life.

There is a thread about it HERE.

[bobandjess99]

Originally Posted by Crayfish 

Get rid of stuff!

It's all about how much stuff you have. At least, in my opinion it's about ninety percent about how much stuff you have, and the remaining ten percent is "noise" that can wait until you've gotten rid of stuff.

So I would focus on getting rid of stuff, and getting rid of more stuff, and then going through everything and getting rid of even more stuff. Until every shelf and drawer and cabinet and closet has some empty space. Ideally, until you have shelves and drawers and closets and cabinets that you don't even need, though I haven't come near achieving that.

There are bunches of books on getting rid of stuff, including:
Don Aslett's _Not For Packrats Only_, and several others.
Peter Walsh's _It's All Too Much_

A good source for that last ten percent is:
Julie Morgenstern's _Organizing from the Inside Out_
Marilyn Paul's _It's Hard To Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys_.

Crayfish

 This. 

Really..it's the only thing that works...you must get rid of the stuff...get rid of twice as much as you thuink you need to get rid of..then get rid of of that amount again

[Vaske]

I started with FlyLady, then over time developed my own routines that fit my life better.  Now I have a one-page list on my fridge, with my cleaning schedule for the week.  (It's in a plastic sleeve so I can check tasks off with a dry-erase marker.)  The schedule means that all the essential tasks get done, without me having to think much about what to do next.  Also, I use the schedule to balance my workload so that some days I concentrate more on cleaning or laundry, and other days I have almost totally free for big projects or running errands.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Yeah, getting rid of stuff helps.  A lot.  I'm not messy or dirty, but I tend towards clutter.  DH is even worse, plus he has a high tolerance for general untidyness.  The man won't go out with a speck of dog hair on his shirt, but he can leave dirty dishes laying around and cabinet doors wide open

This ay sound odd, but I find it much easier to find the motivation to clean and declutter when I have people coming over.  So...  I have dinner for the in-laws or entertain at the house at least once every 2 months.  I stress out a bit leading up to it, but I really do work best under a deadline.  So I give myself one! 

[Gray's Mommy]

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade 

my brain files will change your life (or, at least, they'll give you a good idea of how to get your own files going for your specific needs ) Seriously, just break it down into daily maintenance steps and within a few weeks, your house will shine!

ABSOLUTELY lovely to look at Knittin in the Shade:) I have something similar, but not as pretty.

[DangerMom]

Ha ha I started with FlyLady's crisis cleaning and then basically adapted it to be my normal daily cleaning routine. I don't do deep cleaning very often, and I'm fine with that. I've adopted the mantra of  "good enough," and I'm much happier than I was when I used to stress about doing it perfectly. Someone can stop in and I won't be mortified, but no one should be eating off my floors, you know?

[IsaFrench]

from the brain files, I can only access the daily chores, the day of the week focus files open on something that my computer says is empty ...

can someone show me ? TIA

[FrugalGranolaMom]

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade 

my brain files will change your life (or, at least, they'll give you a good idea of how to get your own files going for your specific needs ) Seriously, just break it down into daily maintenance steps and within a few weeks, your house will shine!

These are amazing!!! I totally needed these!