I’ll start! I invested in a cordless vacuum, primarily because it came with a pet hair accessory but turns out, I love to use it for a quick dopamine hit! Getting a room or two to look clean-ish without the commitment of finding an outlet and dragging a chunky vaccum across the room is a massive help!
I bought a cordless Shark vacuum this guy and it sucks up so much dirt in just one go that it’s disgusting. I love it so much. There are no vacuum bags to replace. Parts of it can be taken apart easily and reassembled to make different types of vacuums (see videos in link). It’s fun to vacuum. Who knew?
Swiffer duster all the way.
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I bought four bottles of windex and labeled them: master bath, hall bath, kitchen, garage. Having the bottle right where I need it makes it quick and easy to use. Labeled because I sometimes leave the room without remembering to put it back. When I see the bottle on a counter or cabinet, I know where it goes. I buy a refill jug and refill all at the same time and stick that jug back in the garage.
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I don’t use paper towels, but rather white washcloths that I get from Costco. I buy a bunch at once every year or two years and put the older ones in the garage for garage rags and put the old garage rags in the trash, because they’re usually beat to hell by then. I buy white because I can bleach them when they start looking too messy. I have folded washcloths in all the bathrooms and kitchen and toss them in the laundry after each use. I toss them in with a regular laundry load that I’d do anyway so no additional soap or water is getting wasted.
My point is, get more than enough supplies and put them where they’re handy. It’ll feel like slightly less work.
I have a master rule and that is trash, laundry, dishes EVERY DAY unless I’m sick. Caps because I hate it. Every goddamned day if I do nothing else, these three things will keep the house from collapsing in on itself.
Good luck.
Oh, and you can check out flylady.net. Marla Cilley, the person running the site, used to be a fly fisherwoman and that was her nickname so she used it when she started the housekeeping website. She can be a bit much for me at times (“purple puddles” when she’s talking about sad stuff), but she really has a great routine system and motivational talks. There’s an app too (of course). I mention the app because the website’s been glitchy lately. There are also youtube videos.
Yeeessss, my vaccum has a translucent plastic compartment so I can see all the dirt and it’s so satisfying! I love that I never have to buy bags to replace! BTW vaccuuming the bed matresses is gross AND fascinating.
Love all your tips, thank you! And I’ll check out flylady.net today, if nothing else, the novelty factor will probably give me some motivation to clean :)
I enjoy washing dishes, but only once I’ve started or when I don’t have to do it… So I try and trick myself into thinking I’ll just wash a few things, half-assing something is better than not doing it at all, right? I end up usually washing most or all of it anyway. I can do it scatterbrained, like wash some, dry some, put some away, wash a few more. I don’t have to focus on just washing. And I’ll sing along to the radio and look through the kitchen window and see what the dog is doing.
I also put the dish washing liquid into a pump dispenser and inside the handle of the dish sponge to make the process easier.
I also have a dish washing liquid dispenser, so much easier! I’m glad we have a dishwasher though, with all the cooking our family does it would be a daily nightmare for me to deal with all the dishes. Recently started listening to that Loop Daddy guy while doing chores, and it’s a lot more fun to get things done.
yes, the “half-assing” approche works for me aswell. Just wash this one pot, than you are finish. But now the water is already in the sink so why not one more item and so on. But i never dry it, I leave it on the draining board. It is also a great strategy for other activities like clean up/tidying/sport etc.
I was so reluctant to get a swiffer for so long bc I hate the idea of single use things (I still do) but it’s just so stupid practical and really catches a ton of dust. Dusting for me was a lot of work with a wet rag, rinse and wring out, dust some more + dry rag to avoid streaks.
Edit: just realized it’s called swiffer not swifter lmfao.
Vacuuming…i have rugs and carpets. I like the lines it makes.
