Lazy person tips for not living in utter disaster?

[thismama]

Okay, I am SUPER SUPER messy. Like, seriously. I just cannot keep my place clean, my car clean, my backpack for school clean. I can't. This is a lifelong issue, I really am at a loss.

Like... I just don't have that much energy, to clean and clean and clean. And I don't think in the moment about tidying up after myself, I will be off thinking about something and I don't notice that I haven't put xyz away, or put my keys down somewhere, or even that I forgot to close the cupboard door behind me.

Any other lazy mamas out there? Anyone manage to combine laziness with an acceptable level of tidyness? Wanna share your secrets?

Like, I'm thinking a dresser is overrated... there's got to be a better way. I never manage to get everything cleaned, folded and put away before I wear it again. How do people do this? Or I wonder if you could get like a bucket system? I tend to keep most of our stuff in a huge bucket and then I dig for it. The idea is to fold it and put it in the dresser but this rarely actually occurs. Success for me is staying on top of the laundry/folding enough so that stuff isn't actually falling out of the bucket onto the floor and qualifying as dirty again, starting the whole cycle over...

My kid is hopelessly messy too. Like, neither of us care, or even notice really. Until someone is coming over, or it deteriorates past a certain point into 'OMG!!! This place is a wreck' land ...

[***Heather***]

:

My only piece of advice is about dishes. I find it's easy(er) to wash them when I'm in the kitchen cooking dinner. I'm already there stirring food, chopping stuff etc.

[andreac]

Originally Posted by ***Heather***

:

My only piece of advice is about dishes. I find it's easy(er) to wash them when I'm in the kitchen cooking dinner. I'm already there stirring food, chopping stuff etc.

:

Also, I find that making it a point of having people over semi-regularly, even just friends for a playdate forces me to clean up on a regular basis.

[moon child]

I really don't have any advice for you....I'm.right.there.with.you. !

[happyhippiemama]

You must be my long-lost soul sister.

I'm just plain ole messy. And lazy. And that's that.

Right now, I'm blaming the mess in our bedroom on the lack of a dresser. But your post helped me realize that honestly, I never used my dresser even when I had one. *sigh*

I'm hoping someone else chimes in with hints.

[Best Feeling]

I don't fold things that go in drawers. Just shove them in there.

I almost never make beds.

I almost never wash windows (they get handprinted so fast anyway).

I don't have a lot of crap to clean/dust around.

If you can't do a thorough clean, accept a quick wipe down. You don't always have to go all out.

Some things are easier to do right away. Scrubbing dishes (if they have to be hand washed) and wiping sticky food off the floor are the only ones I can think of though.

Enlist your partner for help, if applicable. We bartered for who does what (i.e. I'll clean the bathrooms if you mow the lawn). It might not be 50/50 but we both consider it fair. Which is good, because DP does more, I think

Lower your standards. No one is going to die of dust.

Set a timer for 5 minutes to clean. i do this a lot. I'm lazy about cleaning but can usually manage to convince myself to clean for 5 minutes. The 5 minutes usually last a bit longer and I'm always amazed how much 5-20 minutes can improve the state of my household.

Originally Posted by andreac

:

Also, I find that making it a point of having people over semi-regularly, even just friends for a playdate forces me to clean up on a regular basis.

Me too, lol!

[wombatclay]

Dishes and other repetitive ick chores like emptying waste baskets or putting a new roll of tp in the bathroom or tat sort of thing- I do them during tv commercials. I know a lot of mamas here don't have tv but if you do, the commercial break is a great time to get small chores done. I sort of race myself since there's such a short window of time.

Clothing- I'm right there with you on the whole wash/fold/dresser thing. DD1 and DD2 each have a hanging storage thing from IKEA (like this http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90096786 only bigger and with more compartments). Clothing comes out of the dryer and goes into this. Same thing for DH and I, only we also share a dresser. Clothing just gets sorted right out of the laundry basket into the different cubbies. This isn't going to work if you have clothes that need ironing, but it suits us!

bed- just a comforter...pull it up and the bed is made!

Toys and random stuff- dd has a wicker laundry basket...her toys go in that. It makes cleaning up really fast and easy. Papers and whatnot also have baskets/bags (you can get different colored paper "gift bags" in really big sizes from a dollar store type place. We have a big red one for bills, a big green one for "important papers", etc). That way I can clean things up pretty quickly and with little effort. Of course, the bags just fill up but every so often I can purge through one, and if I'm going "ACK ACK ACK I can't find the X" I at least have a pretty good chance of finding it if I look through one of the bags.

Errrr....other than that, no great ideas. And these ideas really wouldn't work for a Martha Stewart type mama. I mean, these are sort of "hold the chaos in check" type mess solutions you know? But my house stays fairly tidy, company doesn't lead to total panic, and most of the time I can find what I need without too much drama.

Good luck!

[ndigiorgio]

I think you should check out this book http://www.amazon.com/Women-Attentio...B6ZF211JZKKEXA

Everything clicked when I read this book. You CAN be ADD without the hyperactivity. As a result of reading this book I have made an appointment to get evaluated for this. Treatment includes drug therapy and/or cognitive behavorial therapy and/or finding a "life coach" who can spur you on to a more organized life. I'm pretty sick of living like this. It's like--when I see the mess it's some insurmountable alpine peak. I can't even begin to analyse what "tools" I need to hike up the mountain. I just short circuit and walk away. It doesn't help that I am 7 months pregnant and can't physically do some of the things I used to do to maintain order.

I need to pull out my "Flylady" book and implement some of the stuff she recommends. http://www.amazon.com/Sink-Reflectio...8271291&sr=1-1

There's a great website to learn how to "Fly" http://www.flylady.net/ Here's an excerpt from that site:

Are YOU living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) like Franny in the pink sweats? Do you feel overwhelmed, overextended, and overdrawn? Hopeless and you don't know where to start? Don't worry friend, we've been there, too.

Step through the door and follow FlyLady as she weaves her way through housecleaning and organizing tips with homespun humor, daily musings about life and love, the Sidetracked Home Executives (SHE™) system, and anything else that is on her mind.

When you join FlyLady, you will receive daily FLYmail. Your FLYing Lessons will guide you through babysteps to help you set up routines, get rid of your clutter, and put your home and life in order. FlyLady's approach has worked for thousands. Join anytime you want (there is no cost involved)! You are not behind - you are just getting started! Read FlyLady's personal testimony in WhyFly? Don't be overwhelmed by all the material on this site - take it a little piece at time - baby steps. To get started, check out the FLYing Lessons - it will tell you how to begin. You can have this peace too, and it won't cost you a dime!

Good Luck---I'm right there with you and it's a STRUGGLE!

[bwylde]

For clothes I have two totes. I keep tops in one and bottoms and everything else in the other (since I have less of those). I keep a few things I wear a lot hung up. When I bring my laundry up, I just toss it into the appropriate tote. I get the kids to help with theirs (DD loves to do it) but everyone else has a dresser; I'm just not responsible for them.

Dishes I will either do right away or wait until there is nothing left to use, lol! DH and I talk about getting a portable dishwasher but we just can't afford it.

I'm trying to do the flylady thing, taking what works and modifying what doesn't to my laziness. It's not as hard as most people say, like 15 minutes a day on things.

My problem is the kids are always doing stuff involving paper, which is everywhere, as well as bits of other things. I can't keep on top of it and I don't want to, lol!.

[Ammaarah]

Clean the bathroom a couple times a week when you are already naked and just about to jump in the shower. Then you don't feel contaminated after cleaning it. Do the mirror, throw the stuff on the counter into a container and shove it under the sink, then wipe the counters and wipe the sink. Swish the toilet (sorry Flylady, that's a once-a-week task, not a daily one unless someone had bad shrimp) and quick wipe down the floor. Put a new bag in the garbage and voila, it's presentable.

I find a Dustbuster is helpful in keeping my messy house slightly presentable. Picks up the hairs in the bathroom very nicely.

[SleeplessMommy]

Open your mail in front of the recycling bin. Most of it can go right in.

Have a bag near the door for donations to thrift shop. When 1/2 full or full, put it in the back of the car ASAP. When you drop if off, you get a gold star.

If people offer to help clean, let them - assign them an area like the kitchen where it will be very noticeable.

Before and after photos can help motivate.

[MamaJamie]

I'm pretty super messy myself, but I may be able to offer a few tips:

We don't own dressers either. Honestly I use baskets for socks, underwear, and bras and then hang up everything else. Sure, sometimes I have a huge stack on the closet floor waiting to be hung, but I find it much easier to stick a hanger in something than to fold it. My ds is nekked 90% of the time anyway so I just keep a few of his outfits in the laundry room to grab real quick if we have to leave to go somewhere.

I have a dishwasher now so I try to fill it up every morning after I eat my cereal. I tend to have more energy in the morning so I do it then. It doesn't bother me to wake up to a dirty kitchen, to me it's better than having to clean up at the end of the day.

I vacuum everything! Carpets, hardwood, fake wood, furniture, cobwebs, the lint trap in the dryer, the kitchen counters (remember Overboard?) the tv, you name it, I use my vacuum on it. It's way easier than getting out rags and cleaner and what not. I hate to dust, I hate to use a broom and dustpan. My vacuum cleaner handles it all for me. Honestly, I'd never clean anything without it.

I've never made a bed since having a child. I see no point. We all use different blankets anyway--no nice matching sets here so it doesn't all "go" together any special way. Plus, we're all short enough that we sleep sideways on the king size bed to have more room so it would be counter productive to make the bed.

Gotta go play--ds has turned off all the lights. Maybe I can add more later!

[nolansmummy]

I'm right there with ya. I hate cleaning and i never want to do it.
One thing i try and do is clean up the kitchen when i'm making breakfast, at least unload and load the dishwasher, gather the trash up. I do have to

vacume every day because my 9 mo old puts every single speck on the floor into her mouth,

laundry i just do once or twice a week all in one day. I do put it away in the drawers but its my dh's job.

Toys- we have a bucket in the living room, i just throw them all in after the kids go to bed.

The kids rooms are always a mess, i try and pick up once a week but it lasts for an hour so why bother right, same with the beds, i don't make them i don't see the point.

This stuff only happens on a good day though. Most the time its chaos and messy here. I've tried flylady and keep it up for a month and then life gets hectic and i'm back to square one

The first thing i'm doing after i have enough money is hiring a cleaning lady, to come every other day. I'm so willing to pay for that.

[AnalogWife]

Dressers make no sense to me, either, except for socks and undies. Clothes hangers are THE way to go!

[EviesMom]

I've done 2 different things with clothes. One is to have much much more than you need. Do laundry very infrequently (I did it maybe monthly/every 6 weeks in college) and spend one full day washing and putting it away. You have to have a place to store heaps of dirty clothes though, and watch out for wet ones so things don't mildew. (Yes, I really did this; I had 2 giant closets. One of clean, one of dirty.) At the time, I had to then fill my trunk with laundry and go to the laundromat for a day.

On the opposite extreme, I have very few clothes now (and very little storage space). Laundry takes very little time now, but even if I was only doing my own laundry, I'd have to wash-dry-put away at least 1/week. I keep only a few outfits (currently I don't even have 7 seasonally appropriate ones, haven't figured out what size I need since it keeps changing post partum, but I aim for 8 or so each season), one fancy dress, and a few "around the house/pj" things. Now I have a washer dryer combo, so I could probably fit all my clothes in one load, set it to wash and dry overnight, and put it all away in 15 min.

If you want to simplify dressing, maybe you can arrange drawers by 1-2 outfits per drawer rather than by all like items together/"sweaters in one drawer" system.

So one tactic works for not thinking about laundry often, the other for making it a short task.

[phathui5]

I'm with all the people who said to set a timer and clean for 10-15 minutes. You'd be amazed how much you can get done in that time.

Having a short to-clean list every day helps me to clean things that I wouldn't think of otherwise.

[Glover_Girls]

I'm with "ndigiorgio" who suggested the ADD connection. It was the first thing that came to mind. Not laziness on your part. We're all lazy and just don't want to deal with cleaning and tidying with all the other stuff we have going on in life!

My sister and her dd are exactly like you. My dd is even worse than my sister because she hasn't been taught how to clean up after herself or to even care about disorganization and messes. Plus she is ADD and very scattered. Doesn't see the mess all around her, even when it's disgusting! I'm no clean queen, but if my cat barfs, I would clean it up, not leave it on the floor for weeks. I do believe learning to clean up and organize is a life skill that everyone should have (IMO). I would expect your dc to be like you because he/she would be learning behaviour seen at home. If you're disorganized and untidy, that gets passed onto your child.

I think it is a good idea to try and get a handle on it at a level that works for you. If you are struggling to keep your home from being a wreck (and since you're posting here I think you are looking for help) then you certainly want to be able to pass along these skills to your child so he/she doesn't struggle as an adult.

Good luck. Just do what works for you. Don't bite off more than you can chew and start where the biggest problems for you are.

[GinaRae]

I hang almost everything and if you can, fold it AS you pull it from the dryer.

Also, the single best thing I did was get rid of everything we didn't need so there's less to be cluttered and dusted AND seriously have only a week's worth of clothes! Then they must be washed often but don't take up a lot of space.

[Satori]

Hire a professional organizer, seriously. Its not as expensive as people think, its less then $200 to have one come in for the day and they are amazing people. I'm seriously low income and I find a way to swing it once a year and it really does help me to keep it from looking like a total disaster. We just moved and I've been so exhausted and today I spent the day trying not to cry because it looks bad in here and I don't have the energy to even take out the trash and I'm terrified someone is going to knock on the door. I did use to pay a friend to help me clean, I think I paid her $40 and in a couple hours she'd have the place cleaned up and dinner going and the kids happy. I don't know how she did it but dam I miss that woman! lol Point is, do you have some one that you can pay or barter with to come in 2-3 hours a week and keep things from becoming a total disaster?

[koofie]

Try to give everything a place. I find it is easier to put stuff away if I know where it goes! Example: KEYS - I have a key rack near the door. I only lose my keys occasionally now because as I enter I have trained myself to put them on the rack (admittedly I have recently found them in the fridge twice and in the trash once). I actually thought it was just DH that liked our house clean, but recently we have been remodeling our kitchen which have wrecked my "routines" such as coming in from work and putting my pumped milk in the freezer and the used bottles in the dishwasher. Now everything just gets thrown to the floor and it drives me nuts! After a few years with DH he has "trained" me to have a place for everything and it works! It doesn't seem like such a chore to put things in their place. The only thing I don't have a place for is my personal papers and that is the messiest part of our house - I always have a "pile" of crap I need to do. We hope to move soon and having a "place" for that is priority for me!

Believe me, I used to be the messiest person on earth. I am not great now, but a vast improvement has been made!

GL!