Here’s my trick: I set the timer for 15 minutes, clean like crazy, and then decide (when the timer goes off) if I want to continue or take a break. Either way, I repeat the process several times.
I’m going to start in the kitchen and work there until I get bored, then I’ll work in the living room. Maybe I’ll even get out on the porch and clean there for 15 minutes at some point.
Anyone want to clean with me? It’s much more fun if I’m not by myself! I’m have some labels to print out, then I’m going to it.
I’ve actually already got a head start on you. I’ve been logging my progress in my livejournal all week. Hey, it’s my livejournal, I can write what I want.
I usually clean the way you do. My incentive is frequent breaks on the computer.
By the way, is your name really “karol”, spelled like that? My e-mail address is “koral” because my first name is Kora, and my last name starts with an “L”. Just seems odd, that’s all.
Whew! I cleaned/scrubbed the counters, put the dishes in the sink, and sorta cleared the kitchen table. Now I’m resting for a bite of lunch and a chat.
Living room is next. Ugh. It’s actually not too bad, though…just picking up and putting away. Maybe I’ll wait until the big boys get home from school. Heh.
Since I’m too exhausted to re-type this, I’m cutting and pasting my relevant entry from my journal.
I must be insane! Why couldn’t I start with the main floor? Ergh.
Ok. Here’s the sitch.
I want to clean the main floor. I want to put most of my stuff in storage, partially in prep for next year’s move, partially because the clutter is driving me INSANE! I do collect books, but until we have adequate space to put them up, I just want them in the basement. I have zero storage space; however, I happen to know for a fact that 2/3 of the stuff in the basement can either hit the dump or Goodwill. And about 10% of the stuff down there was stuff that got put down there my mistake (like my sisters springform pans) that we really want to get back. So, despite the fact that my main floor looks pretty bad already, I started with the basement/storage area. What it looked like on Sunday? Floor to ceiling boxes, starting with my washer & drier area, and continuing to the back wall. Basically, all I had was a narrow path to the washer/drier. Now, I have almost an “L” shaped path, because I started working on boxes on Monday. I’m almost halfway to the back wall. This is good.
The downside?
I have a pile of garbage so high that I can barely reach the back door, and I know damn well I won’t be able to lift some of the boxes by myself. I don’t feel like re-sorting the garbage into liftable piles. I’m tired. My living room is getting a relatively small pile of stuff I want to keep, but I have nowhere to put until I clear out more room downstairs. I have a huge pile of stuff that needs to go to Goodwill. I want to pack the van, but I can’t until Keith gets home. And this is all AFTER piling the back of the van with stuff for Goodwill yesterday, and taking out about nine boxes of garbage yesterday. I also have a pile of empty boxes that I want to keep to pack my books into, but I’m not packing my books until the end of the week, and I have NO PLACE to keep these empty boxes!
So now I’m tired, and my house is piled with junk.
