Household chores and executive functions

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My problem is I never know where to start, and I get stuck on what to do next after I've completed one thing...Also things can distract me pretty easily and sometimes I don't remember something I got distracted from till much later.

Well I'm ashamed to say that my kindergarten-age kid is the one who goads me to clean the house and makes sure it gets done. And my guy does all of the dishes in exchange for me doing the cooking. So I guess, get a partner and kid who will do it for you...?

A place for every thing and every thing in its place. or my head will explode

I've been a housewife most of my married life and I've had to get this down to a science if I don't want things to go directly to hell. Days when I'm depressed or sick or for some reason can't get things done cause things to get out of hand and I have to work double time to get it back right. It's a lot better now that my kids are older teens, but I can give you some tips if you'd like.

These are the things that need to be done to keep a place clean. (I know you know this, but I'm going over the list because I keep it in my head because I have to, even though it's second nature now)

1. Dishes washed and put away
2. Garbage out
3. Bathrooms picked up and wiped down
4. Rooms picked up and neatened
5. Floors either swept and mopped or vacuumed on a regular basis
6. Beds being made makes the room feel neater
7. Laundry done and put away.

There are other things that need to be done on a less often basis, like scrubbing the bathroom, changing bed linens, vacuuming or mopping all floors, cleaning mirrors and windows, deep dusting.

This is what I do daily.

First I straighten the kitchen by piling my dirty dishes in one area then washing them and draining them. I put them up as soon as they are dry. I wipe off all counters and fronts of appliances and the front of the garbage can. I wipe off the front of cabinets where things may have spilled. This doesn't take but a couple of minutes if you just use a wet soapy sponge. Do it every day and it won't build up. Also, wipe the top of the stove and the range hood because it will get gunky. Then I take out the garbage in the kitchen if it's full. If not, I wait and take it out when it is. I also sweep the kitchen and damp mop it usually around midmorning and also after cooking supper. Damp mopping is just a wet mop run across it. You don't have to use any cleaner. Just wet it, wring it out, and wipe it down. I also open the microwave and wipe it out with the sponge when I do the counters. It takes just a few minutes and usually I can get the entire kitchen done in about ten minutes with practice.

Weekly or so, (however often it looks like it needs it) I clean out the fridge and empty out bowls and containers. Then I wipe down the shelves with the sponge. Just takes a minute. Also, about once a week just open your cabinets up and straighten up the stuff in there. It doesn't have to be perfect, just fairly neat. Wipe up any spills when they occur.

Then I go through the rest of the house and pick up the living areas. This means all dishes, garbage, laundry, stuff from other rooms etc goes in those rooms and the laundry goes in the basket. If you have a garbage can in those rooms, check it to see if you should empty it. Stack all mail in one central place and go through it at least twice a week and throw out the garbage and write the bills and due dates on the calendar. If the floor is wood or tile, sweep it. You don't have to mop every day. If there is a spill, a wet paper towel or rag will get it. If it's carpet and it looks "crumby" or "dirty" then run the vacume over the main areas. No need to do a big vacuuming and moving the furniture etc.

Go in the bathroom and pick up the laundry and take it to the basket. Empty the garbage can. Set the shampoo and stuff up neatly in the tub if it's been turned over. Straighten the stuff up on the counter and wipe any toothpaste, etc out of the sink. Make sure the toilet is flushed and there isn't a ring. Make sure toilet paper is on the roll and that there is a fairly fresh towel hanging up. Close the shower curtain. Straighten the magazines.

Go in the bedrooms and straighten them up like you did the living areas. Just put things away or in the rooms they belong in. Empty trash and grab dishes. Wipe up any spills. Make the beds. You don't have to do anything fancy, just pulling the blankets up neatly works great, especially if you have a comforter instead of a bedspread. Open the curtains. Check the floors/carpets and do what needs to be done, but do sweep any wood, tile, lino etc floors daily. You can do this quickly daily with just a dry Swiffer. You don't have to be overly thorough, just get areas you walk on.

Then I start my laundry. I have a lot so I have to do it every day. You should do it when you have a full load of colors, white, towels. Check each day to see if you have a full load of anything and then wash, dry and put it away then.

I do my other chores on a rotating basis.

Monday I sweep and mop all the floors (we don't have carpet, but when we did I would vacume as well, the whole house)

Tuesday I dust - dust every day during straightening up with a feather duster, just the flat surfaces and just run it over it to get the obvious dust off but on Tuesday I have the pledge and a rag and I wipe down all the furniture

Wednesday I do my windows on the inside, (dog's noses and paws makes this necessary) I use windex and paper towels and I also get computer screens, tv screens, bathroom mirrors, glass top tables.

Thursday I clean the bathrooms. I use an SOS soap pad on the counters and tub. On the counter I just wipe it with the wet SOS pad then wipe it off again with a damp rag. I use it inside the tub to scrub out the inside of it and just on the edges. I don't do the shower walls that often, only when I notice them getting grimy. I use the shower head or a big cup of water to rinse it off with. Then I use the same SOS pad and wipe off the ouside of the toilet, the seat of it, the underside of it and around the base of it. Wipe off with the same damp rag from the counter then throw in the dirty clothes. Sprinkle comet in the toilet and swish with the brush, flush, and put the brush away. Hang clean towels and hand towels in there if you don't change them daily.

Friday I change the bed linens. I wash the blankets and comforters once a month but weekly I change the sheets, mattress pad and pillow cases.

That's really all there is to it. Just stay on top of things by rotating them on a schedule like that and you'll be on top of yours too. You also might want to get containers for things if you feel it's cluttered. Something for mail, for other papers, for magazines, for pens and remotes on the end table. Being able to just stick them in something really fast makes cleaning easy.

Hope that helps. When you first start it you may think it takes a long time, but keep at the same chores daily and the weekly ones and you will get faster with it. Don't try to be perfect. Just get the obvious stuff and get it up.

I have to be in the mood to clean. how do I put meself into the mood?

I'm sometimes like that too and just can't make myself get up and do it, until I realize that if I don't do it then it won't get done and I'll be miserable sitting here in the mess. I make myself get up and do it in little tasks.

Like one thing you can do is break up those chores I listed for daily into small parts. Go in the kitchen and just put all the garbage in the bag and take it out, put in a new bag and sit back down. Give yourself a certain amount of time before you get up and go do the next thing like stack the dishes and run the dish water and then when you get that done, sit back down. It really does build momentum when you are so unmotivated that you would rather torch the place than clean it. Once you start seeing the results, the cleaning is easier.

If you have a room that seems pretty messy and you have to clean it, divide it into five sections - along each wall and then in the center. Do one wall, sit down, then get back up and do the next one. The more you see results, the easier it will be because it doesn't seem so futile. It also seems like it's getting done and will be finished soon so it's easier to make yourself do it.

Also, as an alternative to the one chore, sit down and time yourself and then back up to do another chore, set a time for 15 minutes and start on a chore. Finish it and move on to the next one if you can, but when that timer goes off, set it for 15 more minutes and sit down. When it goes off, get back up.

I always have a plan of attack for my cleaning, and you can see results quicker that way. 1. garbage, 2. dishes, 3. items for other rooms out, 4. laundry out, 5. straighten up remaining items that stay in the room, 6. wipe up messes, run vacume or sweep, etc.

Another thing is, if you have a lot of clutter and disorganization it's harder to clean. Do your basic cleaning, then pick one thing a day to organize. One drawer of your desk, then the next day make yourself do the next drawer and so on. Or if you feel like you can, do the whole desk, but don't move to the dresser or cabinets till the next day. Once you have things organized, just a quick straighten up weekly of closets and drawers and cabinets etc will keep them fairly neat.

I hate to clean. I literally LOATHE it. If it didn't bother me to live in a mess, I'd never clean, especially if I didn't have kids here, but messes bother me really bad, so I have to clean it. The only way I can make myself do it sometimes is to remember how much nicer it will feel once it's done. If you can, just do one room first, the room you are going to sit and chill in, then get up and go do things in other rooms and come back to the clean room. Make sure you dust with a feather duster at least, and either vacume or sweep when you do the room though, because those things seem to give the room that "clean feel" even if you don't notice them. It's that clean feeling that helps me a lot.

Open your curtains during the day too, because a dark room during the day feels messy. Even turn on a light at night if need be, to motivate you to pick up so you'll see it and feel better about it.

I strongly suggest making a quick run through and pick up a part of your morning and evening routine, even if you don't do all the other things. If nothing else, do this;

Stack all dishes or put them in the dishwasher - you don't have to wash them. Clean off and wipe off counters. Take out the garbage. Wipe up any obvious mess on the floor or any obvious messes on cabinets, etc. In the living area, walk through and put things in rooms they go in, straighten up the other items (I suggest using containers if you have clutter as well - that keeps it "neat clutter"). Put all laundry from all over the house including wet towels and night clothes into the dirty clothes. Wipe off the bathroom counter if it looks dirty. Wipe out the toilet with a brush if it looks dirty. Put a fresh towel and toilet paper out and empty that garbage as well. Close the shower curtain to hide a messy tub. Put clean laundry away if you have any in the bedroom, or at least stack it neatly in a basket and sit it inside your closet or out of the way. Pick up that room too, especially cleaning off the bedside table. Make the bed.

That quick pickup can really do a whole lot to give your house the "clean look" without being "clean". It won't seem so overwhelming if you are just going over things that seem neat. Don't leave it at just that quick run through every day though, or it will get messier than you thought, faster than you thought. But do that first and then spend time later in the day doing things in workable parts.

thank you OOM, that was very well thought out and complete. if you saw my place you'd think I was one of those unfortunates in "hoarders." it took me all day just to slightly clear off my kitchen table. the hard part is deciding what goes where. organization is not my strong suit. it took me two hours [dragging a vacuum cleaner behind me] just to chase and corner a nasty horsefly that slipped in yesterday, and suck it up and be done with the sob. anyways, i'm workin' on it. or at least workin' on workin' on it.

It can get that way quickly, and there are times when I've been depressed that I haven't done anything for weeks and it looks just like that around here. I can tell you how to get it done. The hardest part is knowing where to start, finding what order to do it in, how to do it, etc. I've dug out from depression enough times to have a battle plan now.

What all is on your table if you don't mind my asking? Is it things you have to keep or stuff you can throw out? If you have a big disorganized mess right now I'd really suggest getting some boxes from the grocery store and putting like items in them. When you have the room somewhat cleaned up, then set them against a wall and go through one a day and put the items away.

Like you could have one box for clothes you don't know what to do with, books, general junk like nail clippers and parts to things you have to decide where to put, books and magazines, papers, bills and mail that needs dealing with or other things that need dealing with right away. Then go through a box a day. meanwhile you can get at least one room cleaned up and dusted, wiped down and vacuumed/swept mopped. That will give you a clean place to sit.

For flies, if you have a big fly problem right now, you can buy those little nasty looking hanging fly paper things and hang that up in the area they get in. Once you get things cleaner and neater, you may not have the problem. If it's the area you live in and it got in the door or window, here is a wonderful homemade and cheap fly deterrant that works like a charm. Get a gallon zip lock baggie and a penny and some string. Fill the bag about 3/4 up with water, drop the penny in it and seal it. Tie the string at the top and hang it in front of whatever windows open frequently or at the top of a door that they come in at. Hang it about a foot down, and you may have to duck, but it keeps them out. They use that at Dairy Queen where the windows are opened a lot and so are the doors and they have to keep the flies out because of the food. There is never a fly in DQ. If you only get one occasionally, get a fly swatter or just put out a paper towel with a little Karyo syrup on it. Put it on a paper plate. The fly will eventually land and stick on that. Then throw it away.

ETA; Unless you have a lot of experience in cleaning big messes like that, you are going to start and work and do and it's not going to look like you are accomplishing anything for a while and it's going to make you want to give up. The hard part for me was figuring out how to clean it. What to do first then second, then third, etc. That's why I have that specific plan, so I can actually see that it is working and I am doing it right. So, don't feel bad if you don't know how to get it done in a day or so. It took me a long time to figure that out and it's always very overwhelming to me when my place is like that. It's VERY hard for me to start even though I know exactly what to do and how to do it and what order to do it in. It always looks "different" that time.

One other thing that helps me, make sure you put clean sheets on your bed the night before you start. That way if you have just been laying there depressed over it and its starting to smell like you (mine does that - also DH sweats a lot) then you go to sleep in a clean smelling bed and wake up in one so it's not as soul killing to lay there the first morning and think about everything you have to do. Cause it can be soul killing.

I'm glad to give you whatever advice I can here, or if you want to PM me about it, feel free. I'd like to at lest be able to share some kind of knowledge that I'm good at.

I have a printer that has yet to be hooked up to my laptop. one of these days... one of those extend grab it thingies, a set of reference headphones I use in my audio work. mouse. modem. mousepad. various spoons and forks [my tin can lacks cabinets or drawers]. 3 bags with various reference papers in them that I need to consult now and then [old bills and bits of info]. napkins. pair of polarized eyeglasses I wear to take the edge off the paperwhite lcd display on my puter. I wish Microsoft would allow coloring the display with something other than paperwhite. too damned bright.


I have one room that it would take a month to go through, it is full from floor to ceiling with stuff I moved from my late parents' house a while back. lots of books/magazines/old records [those flat black thingies] that I treasure, thousands of CDs, hundreds of cassettes. stacks of old audio equipment. chest of drawers full of doodads of various stripes. I have been working on that since I moved here in 2008, with little success, for I can't figure out what I can get away with getting rid of, and also it is hard to find places to take this stuff and i'm reluctant to just chuck this perfectly good stuff into the garbage pit.


that is a damned good idea about the papertowel/paperplate with syrup!

yes, cleanliness is next to godliness I feel better in clean surroundings, I have to remind myself of that more often. but if it is clean, there is the stress of worrying about it getting dirty again so soon unless i'm constantly cleaning and wiping etc. I worry about it until something lights a fire under my tuckas and then when i'm good and angry and busy I get into some kind of zone and before I know it, it has gone dark outside.

I hope you can come up with a workable schedule or routine for it. It's so much easier to do it when you have one. It's going to get dirty again though. It will, there is no question about it. No matter what you do, it will. But if you pick a few things as priorities and keep them as neat as you can, at least so you have somewhere comfortable to sit that feels better, you can really decide to just work on the rest when you can.

Maybe if you picked one or two rooms and just worked on them and got them how you wanted and then decided in advance to just let the others wait, and keep those clean for a while so you get used to the routine? That's the difficult part of it, getting used to the routine so you will do it.

Let me know if theres anything I can do to help. Like I said, I'm good at this stuff and don't mind sharing the info at all.

All good tips......for me now my schedule is highly directed so my lifestyle is relatively simple. I don't mind housecleaning. I guess important is to make it routine and also fun. Turn on the radio! If this helps, laboratories too must be kept tidy. Just for fun, I'll post an excerpt here from another lab within my university. There rules always make me smile inside .....just remember to always tidy your cadaver, or else!


Cadavers must be maintained in a respectful state. Cadavers do not usually need to be completely uncovered. Please keep areas not in use covered. At the end of each practical session TIDY YOUR CADAVER, table and surrounding area. NEVER moisten the cadaver with water; please contact staff if you feel your specimen is drying out. Please ensure your cadaver is completely covered before leaving.

Dissection tables should never be moved unless directed by staff. Please ensure that the wheel brakes are on at all times.

Instruments should also be placed FLAT on the table when not in use. Do NOT place them on the cadaver or cadaver cover. Likewise, books and other items should never be placed on a cadaver, or on the cadaver cover.

Gloves and other general lab waste must be placed in the General bins provided. NEVER place scalpel blades in these bins.

Used scalpel blades or other used ‘sharps’ (e.g. pins) MUST ONLY be put in the yellow sharps containers. General waste (gloves, paper towel, etc.) MUST NOT be placed in the sharps containers or the specially designated cadaveric waste bins.

Tissues, organs or parts from one cadaver must always remain with that person. Never take dissected tissue from one table to another. Only dispose of cadaveric tissue in the specially designated cadaveric waste bins under supervision by a staff member.

A long-sleeved lab coat MUST be worn at all times (including examinations). Coats MUST be buttoned up.
Examination gloves are to be worn in the Dissecting Rooms at all times (except for examinations).

Failure to comply with this rule is a SERIOUS breach of regulations and will be reported to Senior University Staff and the office of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Anatomy (Scotland); further disciplinary action may be taken.

I have similar issues to the OP. I have a hard time keeping up with the endless cycle of tidying the apt. The thing is living in an untidy place really places me in a state of constant unease at the same time. I have trouble thinking clearly and being comfortable if my place is a mess.

At one point it got pretty bad a few years ago, prompting me to throw out and donate everything that I found that wasn't useful and necessary. It was a lot of work, but one of the best things I ever did. I pretty much got spurned on from watching that Hoarding show. That show is great for cleaning motivation. It wasn't nearly as extreme a situation as anything I saw on that show, but it was still bad nonetheless. I may have to do something similar soon but on a much smaller scale, because I haven't accumulated that much stuff since the 1st time I did the big overhaul.

I also got rid of a lot of stuff before and after I recently moved too.

Probably the funniest housekeeping motivation and how to site I've seen. It's a take off on Flylady, but it's billed as having "Terrifying Motivation". It's called "unf**k Your Habitat" and people comment and send pictures and the blogger gives the weeks challenge and sets out tasks to be done. Sometimes people post and ask for motivation and she cusses at them and tells them to "Get up and unf**k something, right f*****g now!" (unf**k is cleaning) It's pretty great.

Here is the link to it, and also check out on the menu under frequently used tags, the "terrifying motivation" tag which has a whole bunch of people writing to her about how they haven't cleaned and asking for a kick in the pants and she yells at them. It's lighthearted but good. It can make you laugh while you clean.

UnfuckYourHabitat

I like that link But some of those places looked like rat's nests - geez! I'm quite rigid in that my flat needs to be super-clean (or else I'd fall apart and be directionless). I really think those on the spectrum fall into either extreme in terms of tidiness. Like anything, having a sense of humour can be the best motivator. Or else Her Majesty will spank your tail!! ! Just remember to tidy your cadaver.

Labpet, I'm going to printout your Cadaver rules and put them on the fridge in the kitchen where I leave notes for the family. I've left things there about cleaning their rooms, putting laundry away, giving me their lists for school, doctors appointments, etc. I'm going to put a note at the top like "If you all continue to ignore these rules we will have no more cadavers around here, and I MEAN IT!"

I'm going to leave it up there with the other stuff, just casual. It's going to be great when one of their friends sees it.

Heh heh, that'll put the fear into them

Last week I popped into lab (I'm mostly at my flat now, writing-up) and gave my favourite lab techs a gfit: a tiny cactus for the lab. There's a big joke around our lab regarding plants........Years ago (before my time), our lab tech accidentally 'watered' the Canadian Shamrock with chloroform!! ! I guess someone had left an unlabelled beaker of chloroform on the bench, and, well, the Shamrock actually shrivelled and died within minutes! Hope the cactus is lab worthy. We all keep the lab tidy.