Housecleaning

Of all the domestic arts I have to say that I am the worst at cleaning. I don't like it, I'm not good at it and I generally injure myself in some minor way every time I attempt it. I tend to get depressed and overwhelmed easily and then nothing gets done for weeks at a time. The big problem with this is that being in a messy environment just makes me even more depressed and I have an even harder time working up the energy to tackle the huge mountain of chores. I also find it very stressful and guilt-inducing to be surrounded by stuff that needs to be done.

Lately I've decided that enough is enough. I have been slacking along on the cleaning front for years, barely doing the minimum to make the house presentable. Oddly enough I used to keep the home spotless before I had kids but I guess life and post-partum depression have taken their toll on my psyche. "Fit for any unexpected company" slowly turned into "meh, its good enough" and then slid right down into "don't look too closely at anything!".

Over the last couple of days I have been forming a new strategy to regain my former tidy ways. I made a chart of all the chores that I need to do weekly and monthly, with a place to check each off as I go. I didn't worry about daily because I generally have no problem with a quick sweep and tidy each morning. I also figured out when my most productive time of the day is (10am to 2pm) and I am trying to push myself to get things done during that time period rather than put it off until the "later" which never comes. I figure even if I just make a token effort at accomplishing some of the tasks it will be better than doing nothing.

I'm really hoping that, by the end of the month, I will have a page full of check marks and a reasonably clean house. So far I'm doing well and I find that having it all clearly outlined on a list makes it easier to break things down into doable sections instead of looking at the whole messy house and feeling overwhelmed.