The House That Cleans Itself

How often do you get confirmation that you have been on the right track all along?

How often do you get the feeling that not only are you one the right track --but that you're probably 80% of the way to your destination?

I had a happy, happy epiphany this weekend reading Mindy Starns Clark's book The House that Cleans Itself.

This is an amazing book.

Clark says, "Rather than change your behaviour o fit your house, change your house to fit your behaviour."

What does that mean? Well, if you put your coat down on a chair by the front door over and over and over again, the solution is not to "train" yourself to hang up your coat. No, the solution is to put a coat rack where the chair is. That's the idea.

Since way back in the days of following Flylady, I have not only been learning how to keep house, but I have been trying to make it as effortless as possible. I am forever grateful to Aby Garvey and the courses I've taken at Simplify 101 that have helped enormously. Garvey's courses, albeit on organizing (and not cleaning per se) are all about how to set up your house and the things in your house to make it easier for you to get things done. Aby and Mindy are definitely kindred spirits.

Last night, I started searching around on the web for people who have followed Clark's approach. There were many, of course, who found the book, got excited about it and blogged about their intentions to follow it. Whether they did or not, they didn't blog about it. But I did find two people who followed through on the majority of the book: Plant City Lady and Proverbs 31. The book has its own blog, here.

I want to join them. But, as I thought about her approach and what I could do, I realised I am about 80 to 90 per cent of the way to a house that cleans itself already. I'm not sure that a series of posts about my using Clark's method in my home wouldn't just turn into a bunch of self-congratulatory nonsense. So, I called my Mom and asked her if we could work on her house using this approach--and if I could blog about it here. She said we could!

I think I'll do both. Mine --because I think it might be interesting to see what I might be able to tweak and improve and because I'd like to share some of the solutions I've discovered. And, I need to "get" that I already know what I need to know. Mom's --obvious. She is de-cluttering with gusto. This project will not only encourage her to keep going, but also give us a comprehensive approach to figuring out what to do and what to do next.

It'll be fun.

ReStart Report: The Bedroom and Living Room

This morning, sliding out from under my clean sheets, I had a pleasant start when I saw all the surfaces cleared in the bedroom.

I always underestimate how long the bedroom will take.

Here's what I needed to do:
Pick up and put away clothes, both clean and dirty!
Bring down laundry hamper of items which don't belong in the bedroom and put them away.
Put away items out on dressers and bedside tables
Put away the stack of books on the floor
Change sheets
Wash couch cover
Dust
Vacuum floor

This includes both daily maintenance and weekly chores. I decided not to do the seasonal flipping and vacuuming of the mattress.

I also tackled the living room.

It's hard to explain how much I hate cleaning this room.

It didn't need much: just a general tidy, dusting and a vacuum. But the carpet is in terrible shape and desperately needs a professional cleaning. (It got that way not only because of the dog but because of the cleaners I used to clean up after the dog.)

The upholstery on the couch is also a mess. I've tried steam cleaning it on my own--and probably did more harm than good. I have thought about--and even started sewing a slip cover--but with the dog keeping it clean is probably a lost cause. So, no matter what I do, the room never feels clean and I am afraid I've lost hope.

I apologise for the whining and whingeing.

A shot of the culprit being all nonchalant.

Re-Start Report: The Wednesday Edition.

My hands smell like bleach.

It took me thirty-six minutes to clean the tile in the tub and shower surround.

I always wonder, when I do this "let's get back into a routine and live in a clean house" endeavour just how far to take it. I mean, should I simply do the daily and weekly type stuff-- wipe down the fixtures, mop the floor, maybe wash the bath mat--or should I go all out and scrub the tile, the ceiling, and that barely reachable area behind the toilet which brings my face much closer to it than a healthy person's ought to be?

And that was just the bathroom downstairs.

Upstairs, in the powder room, I washed the wall underneath the towel rack. Anyone want to tell me why the walls streak? I mean, I get that water from our hands must be running down the walls--but why are the drips brown? I haven't smoked in that room since I quit almost five years ago now and I certainly haven't smoked in there since I painted it. It's weird and it's gross.

On second thought, please don't tell me.

Report for Monday and Tuesday.

Such a happy place when it's clean!

Here's the list of things which needed to be done:
(Everything I got done is in blue).

• Wash dishes. All of them.
• Clean off counters
• Take bottles and cans to the basement
• Wipe down counters and stove
• Clear off kitchen table
• Clean kitchen table
• Wash floor
• Clean fridge

Plan menus for the month. I got two weeks done.

Other than zipping out to buy groceries and vacuum cleaner bags, I didn't get anything done on Tuesday. My husband was home and we spent most of the day watching the TV series Homeland. Compelling--and just like a good book, you have to go onto the next chapter/episode! In a little featurette on the first season's DVDs one of the producers (or the writers or someone) says the series doesn't want fans, it wants addicts. Well, it has two in this house!

Today, the kids are at school, and my husband is back at work. The dog is sleeping. It is so quiet, I just want to sit by an open window, feel the slight breeze and read. But the bathroom breaks remind me that duty must come before pleasure--even though it hasn't so far, today!

Thanks for your comments. They keep me going.

ReStart: Priorities and Plans

It's the start to a new year!

Really. The school calendar defined my life from pre-K to Highschool, four years of Undergrad and then a further six years of graduate work.

Now that my kids are back in the Public school system, they return to school tomorrow along with everyone else in the country! I'm excited. I am looking forward to cleaning my house--and having it stay that way, more or less, all day!

I took the summer off--from everything. I didn't plan it, it just happened. I did spend a few weeks decorating my nephew's bedroom--but I did nothing, absolutely nothing in my own house for two whole months. I'm not sure why I lost complete and utter interest, but I did. I'm not going to try and figure it out, but I'm not going to stop any thoughts which may occur to me, either.

It is difficult to know where to start when every single room needs attention NOW!

The living room needs a vacuum, the dishes picked up and the dvds gathered and put away. Blankets need to be folded and TV trays taken down. (Yeah, guess where I ate all summer?)

My home office/scrap room/dining room is an absolute disaster of papers and clothes needing ironing, books and binders.

The kitchen is outrageous. We even have an infestation of fruit flies at the moment because someone forgot (ahem) to take out the kitchen scraps stored under the sink. The counter hasn't been cleaned in a while, neither has the stove top, or the floor. Ugh. It's all very, very bad. (I'll spare us all a picture!)

I can't clean the whole house in one day. I figure it will likely take at least a week to make the house functional, clean and pleasant again. I need to start with determining my priorities and a plan.

It seems obvious to me that I need to start in the kitchen. As well, I need to plan my suppers for the month.

Tuesday:
Start the daily checklist
Go grocery shopping
Clean bathrooms

Wednesday
Continue the daily checklist
Clean living room
Clean bedroom

Thursday:
Checklist
Clean dining room

Friday:
Continue with the checklist
Whatever needs to be done
maybe, go to my Mom's and help her with her home office or her bedroom, whatever she wants to work on next.

 

This week I'm dedicating it to a re-start and a renewal!

Applying the Lesson

Back when I cleaned the bedroom and tidied the nightstands, I decided that I needed something to bridge the surface of the nightstand to the height of the lamps.

At first, I thought I would find a piece of artwork to put on the wall. Obviously, I haven't enough room to put anything on the nightstands proper. I'd forgotten all about these images with the mirrors:

source: Cote de Texas

 

source: our suburban cottage



I'm glad.

As a result of the tchotchke challenge, I realised I didn't want a meaningless mirror or a mass produced piece of art. Instead, I wanted something personal. Fortunately, Ikea had a sale on frames last week, so I picked up a few. Then, I set about looking for photos of landscapes I've taken and had them printed up as 8 x 10s.

 Moose Lake, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Looking south towards Montana at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

I took these on two separate vacations.

Some people would prefer pictures of their kids, and that's fine, for them. My bedroom, though, is my sanctuary and at the moment, my kids are not what I think of when I think "escape" and "calm."

Last night I fell asleep with a huge smile on my face.

Lessons Learned from the Tchotchke Challenge.

 

Following a nudge from the Nester, I cleared all my surfaces of all the stuff that was on them for the month of June. Here's the post showing what I did, with befores and afters.

I decided to participate in a Home Tour without the tchotchkes. (Side note: Has there ever been a word whose spelling has never been more matched to its meaning? I mean, really, look at all those letters!)

Cleaning up for the Home Tour led to some significant insights for me.

The most consequential of all? My clutter threshold is even lower than I thought it was. It has been getting steadily lower as the years have gone by, but my tolerance for clutter is at zero. Really. Absolute zero. Without the tchotchkes, the only things out were the things we left out --both intentional things, like projects I'm in the midst of doing) and unintentional things, like dishes, socks and shoes, and you know. Both were unacceptable.

I found myself getting antsy, uncomfortable and, unfortunately, cranky. I wish it were not that way, but there it is.

A few other take-aways:

1) More real things, please. As I mentioned in my mid-month musing, I want more plants in my life. Tricky, as I have North facing windows and a black thumb. But, I'll try.

Look at that vast expanse of uncluttered surface space. I like it. It's a great example of how negative space certainly helps define the focal point!

2) I want more flowers more regularly. I had some lovely white and yellow mums this month--I carried them from the kitchen to the living room and back again. Without tchotchkes they were indisputably the focus of the room. I liked that.

3) Something about store-bought tchotchkes seems highly artificial to me. I really only want things which are meaningful or hand-made. I am resisting putting things back because I do not want to re-introduce all that artificiality back into my house--but we'll see how dedicated a purist I really am. I loved the punch of red my artificial tulips gave the entry way.

trying out some picture frames in the tall "holes" of my dining room/home office/craft room shelving

4) I love landscape paintings made by amateur artists that I find in thrift stores. I purchased a new one just last night. I have decided to hang my modest collection en masse, bad frames and all.

5) I want to paint my own landscapes.

6) Even without tchotchkes, I have too much clutter.

7) I am beginning to seriously examine my attachment to my books.

This was a great challenge. In fact, I think we should go further. It brought home just how much I enjoy clutter-free surfaces and it helped me define and refine what I want around me in my home.

I will be taking my time putting things back.

Linking to the Nester's Thoughts Post, of course.