I feel that it wasn't really until last year that I really learned how to clean my home. What I mean is, cleaning it to make an IMPACT on the home as a whole. And I'm not talking about "cleaning" with cleaning supplies necessarily - I'm talking about the "illiusion of clean" as my sister likes to say. Because, really, you can't really clean-clean until you can create that "illusion of clean" by picking up everything so you really CAN clean. Here's how I had to learn to clean:
1) THINK BIG. Ask yourself, "What big items can I do in about 10-30 minutes that will make the most impact, or 'WOW'"?
2) Put some upbeat, loud and rockin' music on to get you going and get your clean on. I like to use the same CD to get myself in the cleaning mode. This helps my children too to get focused. If they stop and start playing, I stop the music to get their attention and tell them that we can't play our music if they aren't cleaning. (They love the music, so they get busy again cleaning when I make that warning).
3) Move fast. Try to get it done.
4) Clean before an activity that everyone wants to do so they will go faster. For example, we will always clean before a) going somewhere fun b) eating c) watching t.v. or a movie d) going outside to play or e) reading a favorite book.
5) Sometimes you just need to throw things in a box to get a kick-start on your cleaning. I know this drives some detail-oriented people (like ME) CRAZY - but, I've decided that it helps me not to feel so overwhelmed, and it gets FAST results. For example, all those papers and tiny toys, barettes, earrings, CPR cards you need to file, papers your kids did for school you'd like to keep, progress reports, whatEVER - just throw it in a nice little wicker bin to go through LATER. Remember, BIG IMPACT FIRST, DETAILS LATER!!!
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