I have come to the conclusion that this house will never be '5 minutes ready' (if visitors are coming round it would only take 5 minutes for the whole house to be tidy and clean), for the following reasons.
* DH always leaves his part finished mug of tea or coffee lying around
* a black kitchen floor will never be free from crumbs and/or dirt
* plain carpets will always attract fluff
* the cat will always use the cat tray either just before or during a visit
* the cat will always fuss around visitors who don't like cats
* cat fluff accumulates under furniture and in corners
* clothes are not always put away or hung up
* there's always dirty washing to be done
* the kitchen waste bin is always full because I wait for DH to empty it and he waits for me
* WIPs necessitate an untidy floor, bed, chair, desk or room
* peelings for the compost 'hang around' the kitchen
* flowers in vases are not always at their best
* the fridge houses left-overs
* the bathroom is not always at its best with stuff lying around
Nevertheless I have devised (after much You Tube viewing and research) my own household chore daily, weekly and monthly lists to put in my active Filofax. My second Filofax is for addresses, Christmas lists and long term storage. The theory is that I tackle different areas at different times and then most long term chores are done. As and when chores are done automatically and don't need a list e.g. dishwasher, clothes washing, kitchen tidying.
Forget Fly Lady, this lady has her own organisation now with her working Filofax and in a few months should be at least '2 hours' ready for visitors!
xx
PS We'll never be garden ready.
No, it never will be, and why should it be? Our house is for us, not other people. It's usually pretty clean and tidy but it probably smells of rabbits and there tends to be hay about the place.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone will look in the fridge or in the dirty washing bin so that's 2 places you don't need worry about!
ReplyDeleteReal life is much better, cleaning is for tomorrow
ReplyDeleteIf it's friends then your house is always ready, if they aren't friends, who cares.
ReplyDeleteLuckily for us we don't get unexpected guests very often as most of our family live 200 miles away. Anyone else tends to have to take us as they find us, which sometimes can be a bit messy. Good luck with your new regime. If it works you'll have to let us all into the secret.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who lives in a show house all spick and span has too much time on there hands and should live life more, your home sounds pretty normal to me :-)
ReplyDeleteMy house is for me, it's a home not a show house. I have far more important things to do than polish and put things away. Mind you, if I could stop the cat crapping in the litter box when I am halfway through a meal, or just dropping off to sleep, life would be much sweeter ;o)
ReplyDeleteA house should be lived in and loved and yours sounds like it is :-) Good luck with the new organising plan though, dee xx
ReplyDelete