Mrs Darling's Instruction for Homekeeping

I fear really good housekeeping-which exhibits itself not in occasional entertainment or a handsome parlor but in good housekeeping which extends from the attic to the cellar, and through every hour of the year-is far from common.

-Mrs Dunwooodys Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping


So you are wondering how to get motivated and how to clean when you do get motivated. This subject may be a little bit hard for me because motivation isn't too much of an issue here. Oh yeah, I have my days when I feel more like a slug than a gazelle but for the most part I stay motivated.

Now if you are expecting me to say you need to use a home binder and write this all down then you are wrong. I hate homebinders. Let me tell you what happens.

You wake up feeling motivated. This is the day you're going to get organized, so you pull out your home binder or whatever else you call it and you labor over the days of the week, dividing all the jobs evenly, making up your shopping list and your menu plans, dividing everything into lovely slots; seasonal, daily, weekly, yearly, etc. Then you pull out your homeschool planner and plan out the weeks lessons and the months unit study and where you will be a year from now.

Suddenly you are brought back to reality by your child crying and fussing for their lunch. You glance at the clock. Oh dearie me. It's naptime and you haven't even fed the kids lunch! Well this bag of chips and this microwave heated corn dog will have to do. Tomorrow your planner says that lunch time will be vegetable soup and cheese sticks, with apple slices for desert. You've got the veggies, the protein and the fruit all balanced out for...tomorrow.

You see where this is going, don't you? This is why I hate those complicated home binders. You spend time pouring over them and organizing things on paper and you never get to the actual work. It's more fun to write it down. It's energizing to see such a well run household on paper. It's motivating to buy rubber maid tubs and baskets with muslin lining for all the stuff you will organize. It also makes great things to tell your friends next time you're together over tea. You even decorate your home binder in case someone should happen to see it. You've decoupaged the front of it and written the title in your best calligraphy.

Now if you need a skeleton schedule write it down if you must. You could use the old one that has withstood the years if you cant come up with your own:
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Sew on Wednesday
Market on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday

There's nothing wrong with a schedule like that. But don't write every detail down on paper, instead get up and do!

Every night before I go to bed I mentally go over tomorrows schedule in my head. I know exactly what time I will have to get up and exactly what I want to accomplish. You will never get organized if you wake in the morning without a plan for your day. Make your plan simple. "Tomorrow I will clean the children's bedrooms". Then you do that. But don't decide on the morrow that you will go through all the children's clothes and toys in their bedrooms while you clean. What will happen is that come evening the room is in a worst state of disarray then when you began your day! You said you would clean the room not go through the quarterly checkup of clothes.

Instead of pulling everything out go into that bedroom; make sure your child has made the bed; have him pick up any toys. Then you sweep the floor and dust the shelves. Move the furniture but don't rearrange the furniture! This is the disorganized persons downfall. When you finally decide to clean your house you start with rearranging furniture or hanging new pics on the wall. Whats that all about? Ive seen it over and over from people who are not diligent housecleaners. I know of one lady that buys a new carpet everytime she decides to get organized and clean things up!

I cant tell you how many people I know who are disorganized and live in messy houses who tell me it's because they are perfectionists! Sorry, I don't buy it. So because you are a perfectionist you live in clutter, but me, I obviously dont care how a job is done so I just clean my house. Thats really what you are implying. When you say to someones face that your life isnt organized because you are too much of a perfectionist because you just cant do it until you can find the time to do it right you are telling that person that she is less perfect than you, EVEN THOUGH you are standing in her immaculate kitchen while yours at home is a pigsty. That my friends is hogwash!

Quit making excuses and clean your house for heavens sake! Quit buying organizers and pouring over your planners and CLEAN YOUR HOUSE! Are you beginning to see why I am against all this extra curricular busy work? Oh I know there are bloggers advertising their home binders for you to buy but how is that home binder working for you? Is your house clean? Are your children dressed in clean clothes and fed hot nutritious meals? Are they put to bed on time and do you all get up on time. Remember that the way you schedule your home is what you are teaching your sons and daughters.

Okay, the above has been to get you motivated. Now that you are motivated pick a room that you want to clean. Remember there's another day to clean the drawers. I periodically go through my entire house with paper towels and Windex. If that's all I get done in the housecleaning arena for that day, its okay. I take Windex to every glass surface and every mirror. On my Windex day I don't wash windows. I do wash my sliding doors but not the outside windows. Theres another day for that. This is just shining up the inside.

I think the biggest mistake you can make is forgetting what you really want to accomplish. I have a day when I take the power head off the sweeper and just spend an hour running the thin floor attachment along all the floor trim upstairs and down, into every room and every crevice. That power head doesn't get into the corners. Its just too big. I don't bother with vacuuming every room at that time. I am doing the floor trim and the floor trim I am cleaning! That's it! There's no time to pull other stuff in on this. Tomorrows another day. And let me add on the side here that cleaning out the middle of the room is not cleaning. Oh there are days that you can do that but you must have a day for getting into the corners or it's not going to look clean no matter how much midroom work you do. I'm speaking of good house keeping that "extends from the attic to the cellar and through every hour of the year", as Mrs. Dunwoody would say.

Okay, to help me get to the points that you want help with leave me some direct comments. Ask the direct questions. I will answer.

I also have a treat for you all. On Thursday in honor of Home Education Week Tink is going to do the blogging. You are going to hear things from her side for once. I have no idea what she will say but she is excited to talk with you all. Goodness, many of you have followed her for six years now and you've never heard directly from her. Im looking forward to this!

I also need to make a note to my readers that today is Weigh In! So click on the diet blog widget on the sidebar and come on over and tell us how you did this week.

The rest of you, fire away, and hey, if at any time you think I am way off the mark tell me that too. Ive really bashed the home binder idea I know, but if you have found it helpful I'd like to hear about it. My way is not the only way, however....my way does work! *wink*