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copyright ©1999-2003 |
In
my previous life as a roommate, the housecleaning tactic was simple: put
it off for as long as possible. It was a method we could all agree to
live by. My roommates and I would deal with the whole chores thing by
dutifully making a list of stuff to be done and then blissfully
ignoring the pigpen we were living in until the chaos invaded our
consciousness, or houseguests threatened to show up. Then wed spend
all weekend cleaning up the house sometimes, itd take a week to
get the grunge down to a minimum a mammoth endeavor that never failed
to leave everyone cranky and angry afterwards. It was an eternal cycle:
enjoy a perfectly clean house for maybe an hour, let the house
degenerate over the course of weeks into a complete dump, waste another
few days in a housecleaning marathon, repeat process. So when I finally got a Real
Job and moved into an apartment by myself, I made a solemn oath to keep
the house clean by doing a little bit every day.
I soon discovered that the practice of heavy cleaning during the
weekend didnt cut it, as I spent most weekends either out of town or
entertaining guests. So
Id frequently find myself on hands and knees in my solitary bathroom
on Thursday night, trying to make up for the neglect of the past two
weeks. I realized after about three months that I was back in the
panic-clean routine. I went online to search for
some helpful hints, and stumbled across the FlyLady.
Full of great tips and with a wonderful attitude about baby
steps, there was just one problem with the FlyLady approach: so much of
her advice seemed geared towards women and men who have eight hours to
devote to cleaning house every day.
I dont have that kind of time, so I used her model and adapted
it to my own schedule. I sat down in the middle of my
apartment and I made a list of the things that absolutely needed to be
taken care of weekly, breaking it down by room. In the kitchen: In the living room, dining
room, office/spare room, and bedroom: In the bathroom: ---------------------------> lounge . nourish . host . laze . home. |