# What is your strategy for keeping your dwelling clean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926 "2011-07-31T14:41:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/62 "2011-08-02T15:12:08Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Now if only I could find one for the radio so I don’t keep missing “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell me!” [Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell me! Podcast](http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35) ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/63 "2011-08-02T15:18:04Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > [Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell me! Podcast](http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35) Yeah, but then I either have to sit next to the computer or buy one of those new fangled IPOD thingies. I just want to be able to hit rewind when I need to. . . Now get off my lawn. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/64 "2011-08-02T15:21:54Z")
Good tips, **TruCelt!** Let me add the two that do the most for me: 1. Every time you walk out of a room, glance around to see if there’s something in it that doesn’t belong there. And then take the whatever with you, and at least put it into the right room, if not completely where it lives. Yeah, it would be better to put that WHATEVER onto the right shelf/drawer right away, but at least it’s now CLOSE to where it belongs and it is more likely you will put it the rest of the way away the next time you spend time in that room. 2. Related tip, if you have a multilevel house. Since you’re unlikely to want to run up/down the stairs every time, have a container near the landing on each floor for items that need to go to a different floor. (I use woven baskets, but even an old cardboard box is neater than just a pile of random stuff.) Then every time you use the stairs, take the things from the container along and, again, at least hurl them through the doorway of the proper room at the other level. Don’t just stick them in the container at the other end of the staircase, because if you have anyone else in the house you’ll just end up ferrying the same junk up and down stairs repeatedly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/65 "2011-08-02T16:50:30Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > - **Never** leave the house without a bag of garbage to take out. Mostly these are small bags from the grocery store, but I always take a quick look around to see if there’s anything else I can toss while I’m walking out to the car. Not taking out the trash is the single biggest trigger I identified. This gets back to a garbage can in every room. When it gets full pull the bag out and put it by the entry door. Any time we leave the house we grab any trash waiting to be taken out and put it in the dumpster. This keeps waste moving out of the house. > [@](#): > > Always empty the dishwasher first thing in the morning. Kitchen horrors happen when I can’t put the pan or dinner plates directly into the dishwasher. Then things pile up in the sink, get crusty so it’s a huge overwhelming job to clean them, and that takes over all the cleaning time I have today so nothing else gets done. I’m always amused at those who assume _everyone_ has a dishwasher. 🙂 For those that don’t you need to work something else out. For me, dirty dishes go in one side of the double sink. Every morning after breakfast I force myself to do those dishes. This prevents “crusty”. Yes, once in awhile I miss a day due to crazy life stuff, but if you make it a habit you’ll find it doesn’t get overwhelming and you’l develop a habit. > [@](#): > > Put in a load of laundry every night. Empty the dryer and put the washed load into it every morning. Again, the assumption being everyone has a washer and dryer in the home. I have no choice but to let Mt. Washmore happen because I do not have laundry in the home. However, dirty clothes are contained in one area, not all over the house, which the best I can do. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/66 "2011-08-02T17:25:23Z")
We have a dishwasher but I stopped using it about a month ago. It’s not working right and I can’t afford to repair or replace it. It’s been a blessing! I used to wait to do a load until the dishwasher was full. That means there are more dishes to put away, not to mention not having something because it’s in the washer. So washing by hand, the dishes are done every day. No running out of forks or washing a pan at the last minute. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/67 "2011-08-02T17:25:26Z")
Doing a little at a time is a good habit, too - take the papers from the front door and move them to the filing area, or run the Magic Eraser around the sink after you wash your hands. I have cleaning supplies throughout the house, too - a set of bathroom cleaning supplies in each bathroom, supplies in the kitchen, some in the hall closet, some downstairs in the laundry room, etc. It really does help to have places for things, too; not everything has to be completely tidy - it can be dumped in a bin and not allowed to take over your apartment, and that’s better than stuff everywhere. I have a bin for practically everything - one for batteries and chargers, one for stationery supplies, one for dishtowels, one for dishrags, bins under my kitchen sink, bins under my bathroom sink. I doubt I’ll ever be a perfect housekeeper, but I can put things in bins. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/68 "2011-08-02T17:35:00Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > This gets back to a garbage can in every room. Yes, except that my rule requires an active search for something to take to the garbage can. it’s not just take what’s there, it’s “Never leave the house without removing some trash.” > [@](#): > > I’m always amused at those who assume _everyone_ has a dishwasher. > [@](#): > > Again, the assumption being everyone has a washer and dryer in the home. I’m sharing what works for me, not trying to recommend universal laws. I have no assumptions at all about what will work for you, or what your living conditions might be. I ahve ahd many apartments where one or all of these were unavailable. I even spent a Sumemr without airconditioning. In Northern Virginia! So I know what Monstro is going through. P.S. Monstro, get a few of those freeze pak things and put them in yrou freezer. Anytime you get overheated just sit down and hug one for a while. I also used to cuddle up to them in bed at night. Can you put in a window unit? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/69 "2011-08-02T19:39:19Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > How much does it cost to have a weekly cleaning lady? It varies pretty widely based on your location, the size of your place, what-all you want her to do, and whether you or she provides the cleaning supplies. When we lived in central NC, we paid $65 every other week to have the kitchen and two bathrooms gone over thoroughly, dusting, and the floors done in a 1200 sf house with her providing all the equipment and supplies. Currently we’re in rural eastern Kentucky and pay $50/week for general tidying, a load or two of laundry, the kitchen and the two bathrooms we actually use gone over thoroughly, dusting and floors in roughly 2000sf. Whatever the local going rate is, I’m guessing you’ll have to pay extra to get someone to work in Atlanta in August without any AC. > [@](#): > > I need to buy a broom and a dustpan and a garbage can for each room, and buy an egg timer that I train myself to use every single day. I can put the egg timer in a different room every day so that over the course of a week, each room gets managed. If you have a cell phone or oven or microwave, you probably already have a perfectly functional timer/alarm and don’t need to spend money or bring more stuff into your place to get the same functionality. The oven/microwave timer isn’t portable, but your can usually hear them a couple rooms away and you damn sure can’t misplace it. The cell phone is portable, but easier to misplace if you’re like me and don’t keep it glued to you all the time. Another system you might consider is the Flylady’s zone system. I hate hate _hate_ the Flylady herself, I think she’s a sanctimonious, patronizing twit who should DIAF. But her zone system does work well if you’re willing to work the system. Basically, you break the house up into 5 areas, break the month up into the 5 weeks on a calendar page, and focus on one area each week for your deeper cleaning and de-cluttering. ---
**Author:** ![Kalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/df705f/32.png) [@Kalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalypso)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/70 "2011-08-02T20:02:35Z")
I’m like you **monstro** , I simply don’t notice things until they get out of hand, I’m too distracted by the things I _want_ to do. I have bedtime rituals though, feed the cats, take out my contacts, brush my teeth, etc, and I’ve incorporated “walk through the house and tidy anything that is out of place.” Because it’s only one day’s worth of untidiness, it only takes a few minutes, even if I have dishes to do or have to take out the trash. It sounds like you would rather do it as part of your morning routine, and that’s cool too. Don’t skip a day though, or it will get daunting. Then you can take an hour on the weekend and do the cleaning part. The cleaning part is easy of the tidying is done already. I also have a rule that I do laundry every weekend, doesn’t matter if it’s Fri, Sat, or Sun, it has to get done on one of those days. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/71 "2011-08-02T20:07:20Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > How much does it cost to have a weekly cleaning lady? I’m in an 1800 square foot house in the DC exurbs, and I’m paying $100/visit; she comes once every 2 weeks. If you’re in a smaller house or an area with a lower cost of living (your location field says Richmond, which is definitely cheaper than even the outlying areas of the DC burbs), you probably won’t have to pay as much as I do. And how often you’d like a cleaning lady to visit is up to you; it doesn’t have to be weekly, or even every other week. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/72 "2011-08-02T20:11:46Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Get three storage bins and put them somewhere accessible. Name them “Put Away” “Give Away” and “Throw Away.” The first is for things you can’t deal with right now, but are in your way, or starting to breed a pile around themselves. The second is for your now bi-weekly trip to the consignment shop. And the third is for things you know you “should” give up but aren’t ready to yet. Toss them in there and eventually they’ll either make it out the door to the garbage, or migrate to one of the other two boxes. This avoids the entropy of putting things back and back and back but never using them. Good tips. Want to know a weird metaphor which made sense to me? My body has places to store and gather stuff before getting rid of it. The bladder for pee, the bowel for waste, the gall bladder for gall. Millions of years of evolution came up with that solution. So of course my home should have similar places to store different kinds of waste before unloading it. Those medically and biologically inclined can take this methaphor further as they see fit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/73 "2011-08-02T20:16:43Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Good tips. Want to know a weird metaphor which made sense to me? My body has places to store and gather stuff before getting rid of it. The bladder for pee, the bowel for waste, the gall bladder for gall. Millions of years of evolution came up with that solution. So of course my home should have similar places to store different kinds of waste before unloading it. Those medically and biologically inclined can take this methaphor further as they see fit. 🙂 This is really cool (sez the anatomy nerd), because they’re all different reservoirs for different kinds of stuff! The bile stored in the gall bladder is useful stuff you’re going to use elsewhere in the body, while the bowel gets all the useful stuff out of the “waste” before you eliminate it and the bladder stores honest to gosh junk that needs to be excreted! Put Away = gallbladder Give Away = bowel Throw Away = bladder 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/74 "2011-08-02T20:45:41Z")
I practice what I call “Guerilla Cleaning.” Walk in the door, set a timer for whatever amount of time you feel like dedicating: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever. Nothing more than an hour. Then just do whatever you can get done in that amount of time. Every day, spend 15-20 minutes, the minute you walk in the door, chipping away at whatever. You could do this room by room (start with kitchen and bathrooms first, IMO), or by task (sweep as many floors as you can, or wash as many dishes as you can get done in 15 minutes). I find, by doing a very small amount every single day, I never really have to waste a whole weekend, or even a whole day, cleaning the house. It takes five minutes to toss in a load of laundry. Maybe another five to load the dishwasher. Another five to take the trash out. There: Three chores done in fifteen minutes! The next day, you put away the clean laundry, and the clean dishes, and tackle some other chore. It takes a bit of discipline, but to me, it’s way less overwhelming than waiting until I have a full day to dedicate to tackling a huge mountain of cleaning chores that I’ve let build up. I had a roommate once and he and I basically dedicated every Saturday morning to housekeeping chores, splitting up the tasks so we got a lot accomplished. I hate that system. Sometimes, I wanna play on Saturday, not clean the damn house! True, we didn’t do anything besides basically pick up after ourselves through the week, but I’d rather sacrifice a few minutes every day to onerous chores than sacrifice my weekend morning every single stinkin’ weekend. (Then when you travel, your cleaning schedule gets all wonky.) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/75 "2011-08-02T20:47:07Z")
If I ever develop one, I’ll let you know… ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/76 "2011-08-02T23:07:58Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > How much does it cost to have a weekly cleaning lady? My service charges me $75/clean if I do it every other week, $90 if once a month, and something like $55 for once a week. Every other week works for me; when things are tight I go to once a month. It’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/77 "2011-08-03T00:46:13Z")
I deal with this, too. It’s compounded by the fact that in this area, almost every single municipality insists that you tag every bag of garbage with a prepaid sticker. This strongly disincentivizes me to take my garbage out. When I live in places with unlimited trash pickup (or dumpsters), it’s a lot easier to get rid of my shit. When I have to pay for every little parcel, I will be a lot more tempted to hang onto it and save the money. And the people I have rented from, to a fault, have insisted that my rent covers every single utility, but then they get pissy about paying for “my garbage.” Is trash not a goddamn utility? Christfuck. Those stickers are fucking expensive, too. Why don’t they just include trash pickup in property taxes like any normal town? My old standby of using the dumpster at a complex I used to live in is probably not going to work forever. It also makes me wonder if I could cram a few huge bags of trash into one of those truly enormous industrial-sized bags and still have it count as one sticker. heheh. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/78 "2011-08-03T00:52:01Z")
Low standards. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/79 "2011-08-03T03:10:46Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I deal with this, too. It’s compounded by the fact that in this area, almost every single municipality insists that you tag every bag of garbage with a prepaid sticker. Where the heck do you LIVE?!? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/80 "2011-08-03T03:58:52Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Where the heck do you LIVE?!? :eek: West Chicago suburbs. Aurora and Woodridge specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926/81 "2011-08-03T05:22:34Z")
Paying directly to get rid of garbage is not that unusual. For instance, in my city in the south of the Netherlands you can only put city-issued trash bags at the curb. And they cost 1,50 each. Recycling is free, though, and the city utility taxes were lowered when this rule was effected. It is a way to stimulate recycling. But I agree that is an extra hindrance for recovering hoarders. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-strategy-for-keeping-your-dwelling-clean/590926.md?page=5)