Finish this sentence...."I feel so much happier when my home is clean, neat and organized...."

[Halcyon]

please finish this sentence!

 

I have been on a mad cleaning and organizingi spree over the last month (yay November Declutterers!) and I feel so much more at peace when I am home. I am able to focus better on the kids, on cooking nice meals, on the smalll things, because I dont have this constant feeling that "there is something I need to do" like wash the windows or wash the carpet or empty the garage. I don't think I have felt this way for a looooong time, and I am realizing what a difference a clean and organized home makes on my mental state.

 

Anyone else?

[Impish]

Other.

 

"...but i realize it's a complete fantasy."

[regentrude]

I love an organized home. I am not a clean freak, my house looks lived in (and my windows really need cleaning), but I have no tolerance for clutter and mess. I need an organized home for my mental health, and also because it saves so much time to know where everything is.

 

I am decluttering on an ongoing basis, removing things I no longer need from the house almost every week. DH just built new shelving in the basement, yeah!

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I've reconciled to living in a somewhat organized home. No where near my fantasy level of organization, but it's the best I can do for now. And I'm okay with that.

[melbotoast]

I voted for option 4. With two small children, there is no way I could keep my house clean and organized all the time unless I followed them around all day and cleaned. Things will get better someday (I hope) ;)

[Happy]

Clutter and stuff are my nemesis...I never seem to get on top of the stacks and stuff--UNLESS I make a concerted effort to reduce them. Frankly, there are many more fun and interesting things I can do with my life.

 

I LOVE a clean, tidy, clutter free house. I think I'll have to pay someone to help me achieve that...sad, isn't it?

[Freckles]

I wish my home stayed cleaner longer. It is fairly organized except for the office which seems to be the dumping ground. My house is always in a state of flux. I just had it really clean for Thanksgiving guests, but as soon as they left it's back to random furniture in the hall. I live in my dh grandparents home. It is about 3500 sqft of 1960 decor. Think colored tile in the bathrooms. We are slowly getting popcorn ceilings scraped, walls painted, bathrooms up and running. If I didn't come to terms with the constant mess of construction, I would be crying every day.

[Audrey]

Other.

 

It will never be clean enough, which makes me an awful person to have to live with sometimes, and for that, I feel terribly guilty.

 

But, I do work very hard to keep my issues to myself. I try.

[FO4UR]

I voted #3, but I'm usually a #4. I'm too preggo to do my usual buzzing about keeping the mess to a dull roar. I'll get back to #4 sometime in 2013, I hope.

[Swimtaxi234]

I like my home to by tidy, but we were too tired to tidy the house before bed last night and we raced out this morning to attend a function. We came home a little while ago and my heart sank when I walked into the living room. There were pillows scattered everywhere, throw blankets everywere, dog toys everywhere, and even a few school books that didn't get picked up from school yesterday afternoon, etc.

 

It was mentally too much for me to process, so I gave everyone a task (as in "do it now" - LOL) and we quickly had the house back in order. Now I can relax and enjoy the day.

[Parrothead]

I love an organized home. I am not a clean freak, my house looks lived in (and my windows really need cleaning), but I have no tolerance for clutter and mess. I need an organized home for my mental health, and also because it saves so much time to know where everything is.

 

I am decluttering on an ongoing basis, removing things I no longer need from the house almost every week. DH just built new shelving in the basement, yeah!

 

What she said.

 

On any given day when we are all home doing little of nothing the unexpected guest might find dishes in the sink, mail on the table or laundry in need of seeing to. But there is no massive clutter, things get cleaned, dusted and mopped on a regular basis.

[Danestress]

Define "clean" and "organized."

 

I choose the "but I have reconciled myself" option. I haven't really reconciled myself though. I have just figured out what things I can reasonably do everyday (make the beds, keep the kitchen tidy, have laundry in progress, know what is for dinner) and what I probably can't get to (the messiness in the garage, the disorganized bookshelves).

 

I find that if I keep up with the daily things like laundry, beds, kitchen cleaning, carpet vacuuming, I can hit the "projects" when I am in the mood.

[regentrude]

Define "clean" and "organized."

 

 

My definition for "organized" is that there are no "projects" like decluttering the garage or basement.

If stuff goes into its designated place, and unused stuff is thrown out regularly, "organizing" is not an activity that takes time, because things simply stay organized.

If we need tools, they are found in, and put back into, the toolbox. If DH needs bike parts, they are found in, and go back into, the box that is labeled "bike parts". And so on. That's the whole secret.

[Robin M]

Mine is relatively neat and I declutter every couple days because I can't work in clutter. Both hubby and son have a tendency to leave things on the counters and tables (magazines - books - mail) when they are done. I have a place for everything. I may not have the time to do the windows as often as needed or clean the garage which needs it horribly (but out of sight, out of mind, don't worry about it). Usually the house can be guest worthy within a hour's notice. Otherwise, they may find socks on the floor and books strewn about.

[kalanamak]

I voted reconciled, because while I equate neat, clean, etc with happiness, absent-minded hubby equates it with "I can't find a blasted thing". Everything has to be in sight. I work on him keeping that chaos in his mancave, but it can creep into the kitchen.

 

(I do tolerate a pile of books by the bed.)

[Wheres Toto]

I put "but I live with my discomfort.." but I really like Imps fantasy statement.

 

We have 5 people, two of which are young children, in 750 square feet. Decluttering is an ongoing dream. Just keeping it semi-neat is an ongoing nightmare.

 

I am in the midst of a project that won't be done until after the tree comes down that will hopefully at least hide some of the clutter.

[Word Nerd]

The second, third, and fourth options would all be accurate for me. Sometimes I'm resigned to the constant clutter, and other times it really bothers me and I beat myself up. I also beat myself up for doing such a poor job of teaching my kids how to keep things picked up and organized, as it's abundantly clear I have failed in that area.

[Susann]

and my dh is wearing a kilt :drool:

[Dana]

"...but unless a cleaning fairy shows up, it's never going to happen."

[elegantlion]

I voted other. Clean, neat, and organized are three separate things to me. Clean, I strive for and have help in that area (my ds and dh), neat is a given because of who we are, Organized is a constant thing and that is the one that makes me twitchy. Clean and neat are not a constant. Organized is harder sometimes.

[Guest inoubliable]

I voted for the first option. I can't stand for things to be out of place in my house. I'm very much a minimalist, too. I just can't have extra "stuff" hanging out. I honestly think I'm wired this way in response to how every other woman in my family is. It's almost borderline hoarders with some of them. Skeeves me out.

[Impish]

W/4 kids, a dh, large dog, and 1 armed woman, it's a fantasy.

 

I'd have far better luck in getting Wolf to pose on the lawn in a kilt...then wander downtown, attend a job interview, and pick up coffee in the kilt while swinging a claymore.

[freeindeed]

My house is reasonably clean & organized, but far from perfect. I'm content...most of the time.

[Joshin]

My organized-ness is a running joke with my in-laws, family and friends. While I keep things reasonably clean (we only clean, as in vacuum, mop etc, once weekly) everything has a place and is always returned to it or I get twitchy and grumpy. I try to keep our belongings at a minimum so things tend to stay organized and I don't spend a lot of time on it. Winter is my time for deep cleaning and organizing areas that get a little skewed in summer since we are basically stuck in the house until the gardening season starts up again. I'm also quite organized with our time, but that's a necessity. We homeschool, run a business, and I volunteer with two youth organizations as a leader. I even make up an annual list each summer of all the meetings, activities and necessary supplies for each of those organizations so I can just refer to it a week before each meeting and have everything assembled and ready to go.

 

The drawback is I don't know how to relax. I feel like I must fill every waking moment with something productive or I'm wasting time. I keep an ongoing list of things I want to do so I can always find something to fill empty blocks of time. DH is much more laid back and he just rolls his eyes at me.

 

My mother is similar but opposite to me. She is immaculately clean. I have never found a speck of dust in her house, even when we were kids. I remember her following us around with brooms. Yet, she is not really organized and puts things away anywhere, then has trouble finding them. It drives me batty. But my dusty baseboards and pet fur on the couch drive her batty, so it's all fair!

[KungFuPanda]

I'd prefer for things to stay neat and organized, and I'm willing to do a moderate amount of work to keep it that way, BUT my focus isn't so fragile that the state of my housekeeping distracts me from the dozens of other jobs I need to do.

[Cassy]

I live with the discomfort, I just can't do everything all the time. I console myself with the thought that a super neat, clean home is so much more satisfying when it only happens for one day, once every few weeks or so; if it were always immaculate I just wouldn't appreciate it as much :001_smile: .

[momtoamiracle]

I live with the discomfort.

 

I prefer everything to be spotless, but that has happened few times since my son has been born. I don't have the energy to keep it all up, and if I did, I would have time for nothing else. My house is pretty clean, big things are done regularly, but those small things weigh on my mind. I really need some child free days to really deeply declutter. It will be happening soon as we are planning on downsizing our home and simplifying our life. I can't wait for that, but it's getting motivated to start...

[momtoamiracle]

I would like it to be cleaner and neater, but we are always here living in it. I can't be the perfect teacher, chef, housekeeper, parent, and wife all at once so I opt to be more perfect at some things than other things.

 

 

 

 

I want this in my siggy!

[Desert Rat]

I make sure it is neat, clean and organized most of the time. And other people hire to me make sure their house is, too!

 

I clean other people's houses 3 days a week. I still make sure mine is cleaned every single week. I can't handle seeing dust on things, which is why I avoid very dark furniture and dark wood floors. I'm so glad my dh talked me out of the dark floors!

 

When I didn't have to work, each afternoon I picked a drawer, cupboard, closet or toy bin and went through it, straightening and throwing out junk. Now I don't have as much time for that.

 

Recently, my kitchen sink started leaking. Dh went underneath to fix it and got frustrated with how messy it was. He started chucking stuff behind him. He looked up at me and asked what happened down here? What is all the stuff? I said, that stuff is what happens when I don't have time to clean stuff out! He just stopped for a second and said that he never appreciated how much I did until I wasn't able to do it anymore. He is as sad that I have to work as I am. We just never discuss it much.

 

My windows need a good cleaning and maybe behind the fridge. But, I like my smallish house because I can clean it all in under 3 hours.

[sassenach]

Other: Organization only makes me feel very slightly better, but not enough to be a motivator. I really don't have that internal thing that feels happier when everything is clean and ordered. However, I'm married to a man who is a capital TYPE A NEAT FREAK, so I try to keep things reasonable for him. We've had to meet in the middle over the years, and I have to say that he has had to learn to cope much more than I have. Homeschooling in our kitchen definitely doesn't help things, lol.

[Jayne J]

I am reconciled. I could live in a home that looked like it belonged in a simple living/zen magazine, if it weren't for all the other people in our home. But I love them and so have learned to live with it. And frankly I refuse to kill myself cleaning up other people's messes. My own messes fine, but not theirs anymore. I have found that far more freeing than living in a perfectly clean home.

[Remudamom]

My house stays pretty organized except for two spots. Dh's desk and his bedside table. Both of these are upstairs and not in the general flow so I live with it.

 

My happiest place is my "carriage house" (tack room) Everything is clean, in it's place and wondrously anal.

[MissKNG]

I make sure "excuse the mess" never has to come out of my mouth. (yes, it's an OCD thing!)

[Alte Veste Academy]

I'd prefer for things to stay neat and organized, and I'm willing to do a moderate amount of work to keep it that way, BUT my focus isn't so fragile that the state of my housekeeping distracts me from the dozens of other jobs I need to do.

 

:iagree:

 

I did set up a system and schedule to maintain the house but that same s&s is as protective of time for fun projects and activities as it is helpful for keeping our household in order. I can relax. I refuse to be a slave to cleanliness and order.

[justLisa]

My house is always clean. By that I mean clean floors, laundry mostly done, always have a clean kitchen (I mean after cooking of course), and clean bathrooms. It could be tidier. I'm a bagger. I shove clutter in to something so I don't see it. Then when I have time I sort it out and try to put it away.

 

I have a huge house. It is difficult to keep up with. I just can't do it all, and the school day comes first. When I try to do too much in between breaks and such I get disorderly.

[justamouse]

There is no need to finish it, it's a complete thought on its own. :laugh:

 

 

I am a creative person in all things. Yet, I MUST have order around me so that I feel free enough to create. Order produces wonder.

[justamouse]

My house is always clean. By that I mean clean floors, laundry mostly done, always have a clean kitchen (I mean after cooking of course), and clean bathrooms. It could be tidier. I'm a bagger. I shove clutter in to something so I don't see it. Then when I have time I sort it out and try to put it away.

 

I have a huge house. It is difficult to keep up with. I just can't do it all, and the school day comes first. When I try to do too much in between breaks and such I get disorderly.

 

 

 

That is what I call reasonably clean. My house is reasonably clean. I don't feel bad about having people over at all, feel free to drop in, but if you asked me, I'm sure I could tell yo a list of 10 things that should be done at that moment.

[justamouse]

 

That's me.

 

 

 

That's the time of life you are in. When I had 5 under 5, a dog, and a Cockatoo who loved throwing food, crunchy floors were a daily thing.

 

they will get older. There are times I still wish for the crunchy floors.