The only tips my wife gets is when she does the laundry and takes the loose change out of my pockets.
[sup]Stop throwing things, I was just joking.[/sup]
Okay, 'fess up (to yourself, not to us necessarily): what’s in that “Rotating Pile of Stuff”? Chances are very good that it all fits into one of two categories: Papers I Really Don’t Need To Keep, and Papers I Should Put Away But I Don’t Know Where They Go.
For the first category, grab a large trash can and… you know what to do.
The second category is harder, but much more rewarding. You need to make a place for them to go. If you’ve got the time and money, the best thing to do is to get a cheap file box and some hanging file folders. Mark one Bills - To Pay and a second Bills - Paid and stick those papers in their new homes. If you’re keeping a paper to remind you of some upcoming event, mark the date and other important information on the calendar and throw the paper away (unless it’s, maybe, your brother’s wedding invitation or something else highly sentimental). If you need to respond to something, do it now and get the paper out of your house.
Now look at what’s left and start thinking about a filing system. Keep it as simple as you can so you’ll actually file things! If you need a place to store photos before putting them in photo albums, for instance, mark a folder Photos and put them all in there. Don’t try to separate Family Photos, Vacation Photos, Christmas Cards Photos Of Old Friends And Their Kids In Matching Tacky Sweatshirts, etc. We file owner’s manuals and receipts according to the room the object is in; you may find it easier to put them all in one big file, or separate them by function (say, Computers, Entertainment, and Appliances).
The reward is twofold. First, next time you see that pile start to build up, you’ll be equipped to deal with it while it’s small and manageable. Second, when you need those papers, you will be able to find them without a three hour search-and-rescue mission.
For right now, though, you might just want to put them all in a box. Leave it somewhere where it will nag you to come back and finish the job, once you have the house back to where you want it. You don’t have to do this all at once - chip away at it during the commercial breaks when your favorite TV show is on, for instance.
General cleaning tips I’ve learned: Clean top-to-bottom. (Gunk falls down, not up.) Start in one corner of a room and move around from there, dusting as you go. Have a laundry basket or something similar handy to put things that belong in another room, so you won’t be trekking all around the house while you’re just trying to clean the freaking bathroom. For the same reason, have a trash can in the room and make sure it isn’t full already when you start, and if you’re going to be using any cleaners or other chemicals, bring them with you. And if you’re going to wash the windows, do that first (unless it’s the middle of a stinkin’ hot day when you start). The sparkling clean windows are a real inspiration!
Okay, so far:
Bathroom - not sparkly yet, but vanity is organized (top and inside). Towels folded. Floor swept. Toilet scrubbed.
Hallway/Laundry area - CD shelves dusted. CDs organized by genre (okay, they were before, but I put a few more back). Tops of washer and dryer cleared off and washed (got all the little gritty stuff out from under the washer lid - nasty crap buildup there!
Bedroom - in addition to the previous list, the bookcases are dusted, and all the pictures on the wall have been wiped down.
Kitchen - is passable for the moment. Needs a good mopdown, and a couple of the pantry shelves need organizing.
Living room/Dining Room - is the biggie. That I will be tackling little by little throughout the week. I’m seriously thinking buying a card table to set up outside so I have some extra room to separate all the papers without setting everything up on the dining room, starting the R.P.S. again. BEsides, when I’m done, I’ll have an card table for when I go camping.
Thanks to all of you. The motivation is there, but the knee is weak. Still plowing ahead, but taking it a bit easy now. Thanks again, folks.