I would like to know if anyone else has trouble keeping the house clean. I do, and its frustrating. I live with a cat and a dog, so it should be easy to keep my house clean. For me it's not. I get some of the house clean, do good at keeping it that way for a while, then something happens and it's a disaster again. Even the small chores like washing dishes seem huge. Does anyone have some advice on how I can overcome this. I know I will feel better about myself and less depressed once I can get this dealt with. I'm tired of having a messy house.
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Cleaning the house
11/10/09 2:33pm
Oh my gosh did you hit the nail on the head Stewie. I never used to be this way but over the past couple of years I have become a terrible housekeeper. My husband cooks and helps with the dishes so that is not a problem. But the kitchen table and the spare bedroom are usually a mess. The whole house needs a good dusting. My problem is that I don't like staying in the house because it depresses me just to sit and watch tv, unlike my husband who doesn't like to go out. After I have been out running around I feel better for a while and then the depression hits again. I know I am going through a host of problems right now but hopefully some of this will iron out.
Why don't you take you dog out for a walk or take him to the park??? I found sometimes if you just do a little work each day it doesn't get so overwhelming. But whom am I to say, signed the dirty housekeeper.
Take care stewie,
11/10/09 5:43pm
Hey there
Yes it is hard to keep a clean house when you are feeling depressed. You let some things go and...before you know it...it seems you can't get out from under the big mess.
One thing which helps me is to prioritize. Which things will quickly become magnified if you don't do them now? Dishes and laundry are two chores like this. Other chores like vacuuming or dusting can wait. Try to conserve your energy by doing double duty...if you are going downstairs anyways...take something with you which needs to go down. Throw out junk mail as soon as it arrives. Keep empty baskets around the house to pick up things quickly.
The biggest way to have less to clean up is to have less stuff in your house. Get rid of things you don't need or use. keep things simple.
These are just some ideas off the top of my head. I know it is hard and then when the house gets messy...it feels like a downer. But don't beat yourself up over it. The housework will always be waiting for us whether we feel good or bad.
11/10/09 8:31pm
Those are all excellent suggestions, and when I have time, I will read thoses posts that Paul refered to. I always get hit with the, "what's so hard about cleaning the house?" I find that very difficult to explain so people can understand. I have been called lazy, and disorganized. I can't say it's totally false because I'm not the best orgaized person. Getting the house clean seems overwhelming and it causes anxiety for me. It seems like one huge chore that I have trouble breaking down into small parts. I will use some of the suggestions that have been posted, and welcome more. Thanks for your input.
11/13/09 5:34pm
Hi Stewie, I can SO relate to your comments on keeping the house clean, I absolutely hate housework, and having depression just makes it worse. Luckily my husband is pretty helpful in that department, but he works all day so I can't expect him to do it all. Sometimes I just look at the dust and think "why bother?" in 2 days it'll be the same way again. I LIKE having a tidy house, and I always feel better when it's clean, but I just dread getting started. I guess I'll look up Merely Me's posts on housekeeping tips as well. well hang in there, it'll always be there waiting for us. Sioux.
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Stewie, I don't if these would help you or not, but Merely Me did a two part series on decluttering your home in October, 2008.
The first part, How to decrease stress decluttering your home environment.
The second part, How to decrease stress, part two: Beat Stress by carving out a space of your own.
I think some of the comments were interesting too.