Can you teach yourself how to be a 'neat freak'?

[Stevie]

Or is there no hope for me haha.
I m seriously so lazy, DD isnt crawling yet but i know she will be soon, we have wooden floors and a dog which = a slight snow effect on my floors haha.
i sweep/vac..not as often as i should i k now that once she is moving around im goign to have do this every single day,
with working part time, DH being away alot and trying to be a good mummy i have a feeling im going to be utterly exhausted..
i want a clean house, i dont want to be lazy lol, i guess im just gonna have to pul my finger out hehe

anyone else care to share some words of wisdom? lol

[Tinks]

I'm subscribing to this because I am a terrible housekeeper and also need neat freak tips.

[Lulu]

No good news here - all I can offer is to be living with one

I shared a house with a neat-freak and she trained me really well. It helped that her eye would twitch if I left any mess around. She was constantly moving and it's hard to sit on your bum with someone like that in the house.

Same with exH, he was amazing so lots of it rubbed off (not THAT much though). Now I'm on my own I've gone straight back to my crap ways.

HOWEVER, I will say if you can go MENTAL and do everything one day - it is so much easier to maintain it.

I also have little competitions with myself ie - if I boil the kettle I do as much in the kitchen as I can till it boils and the tea steeps.
When kids in the bath, I tidy the bathroom.

I fold the washing in front of the telly , and race to put it away in the ads.

ETA - and Angel Punks does 'the waitress' thing, which I highly advise. She doesn't walk anywhere in the house without picking something up along the way.

And if all else fails invite someone over for lunch so you a FORCED to tidy.

[Rainbow_Mumma]

i need to know too ive become so lazy latetly!

[Cupcake]

*subscribing* Lol.

My mum is a neat freak so im waiting for that gene to kick in!

[Stevie]

Lulu, thats some really great advice, ive never thought of doing things like that lol.

The only thing i do really is say 'whenn DD is sleeping THEN ill do the HW.." she goes to sleep and then im like "nahh.. should be RESTING while she's sleeping" lol
im shocking


wish my DH was a neat freak...well he kinda is but expects ME to do it LOL

[Tinks]

*subscribing* Lol.

My mum is a neat freak so im waiting for that gene to kick in!

That's why I think I'm not a neat freak! My mum was/is one. Housework day was Saturdays when I was growing up and it ALWAYS resulted in hours of tears for my siblings and myself. As soon as the vacuum came out she transformed into a 'cleaning monster' red eyes and all!! We all had particular jobs to do (rostered) and she'd watch over us yelling and screaming that we weren't doing it properly. She'd deliberately mess things up, tip out our toy boxes etc if we hadn't cleaned to her satisfaction and make us start again. She scarred me for life

Now her housework day is Sunday and we ALL stay away! Even my kids won't go there on Sundays. She hasn't changed

Sorry to take over your thread Stevie

[sneakysparkle]

I saw in another thread some ladies talking about Flylady - so I checked out her website and am trying her methods - sounds awesome, and I'm going ok now!
Check it out - might help you

[STARRYSKY]

Im not a neat freak, BUT, I joined up to flylady when I was pregnant hoping to be transformed into a clean, tidy loving person. didnt work the way I thought it would but it has changed me immensely, I now have a morning and night routine, my sink isnt full of dishes and I can easily do a quick clean if people rock up suddenly.
Flylady isnt for everyone, it wasnt really for me, but the routine thing really works.
theres nothing I like better then waking up to a clean kitchen (at the very least!)

[turtleschell]

omg TINKS pmsl!!!

I am not a neat freak, but I often invite people over and my house suddenly gleams before they arrive.

[Lisa]

That's why I think I'm not a neat freak! My mum was/is one. Housework day was Saturdays when I was growing up and it ALWAYS resulted in hours of tears for my siblings and myself. As soon as the vacuum came out she transformed into a 'cleaning monster' red eyes and all!! We all had particular jobs to do (rostered) and she'd watch over us yelling and screaming that we weren't doing it properly. She'd deliberately mess things up, tip out our toy boxes etc if we hadn't cleaned to her satisfaction and make us start again. She scarred me for life

Now her housework day is Sunday and we ALL stay away! Even my kids won't go there on Sundays. She hasn't changed

Sorry to take over your thread Stevie

OMG Tinks, I think we share a mother!

My mum was IDENTICAL to your's when I was growing up. My sister became a neat freak... me, not so much.

I set myself goals throughout the day. Eg - I will go to the shops after I have vaccumed the house & put on a load of washing. I also have a to do list written up over breakfast every day which I love to cross off as I do things. I find having it in writing, sitting there staring me in the face is incentive for me. I also try to do lots of small things each day and the bigger things on weekends when DH & the older kids are here to help out.

[AndiE]

I reckon neat freakiness is either in your DNA or it isn't. Unfortunately my DNA contains large doses of it and so does DH's (thankfully not to the point of obsessiveness!). It may be in DS1's DNA too cos he lurves the vacuum cleaner, broom and mop - he has to have a go if they're out and throws a pink fit if you put them away without letting him have them too. One can only hope he continues this fascination into his teens!

But, even though I like to have a clean, tidy house ... I have days where I couldn't be bothered too and I find some great diversions (whaddya think I'm doing on BB). So while it's a bit anal retentive (and I promise I'm not always anal!) I will write a list of what needs to be done and cross it off as I go. Sorry, that's my only tip!

Oh, the other thing that gets me motivated is seeing an icky bathroom handbasin and/or a grotty stove ... rare that they get this way, but if I have managed to put off the housework for up to a week then these two things generally tip me over the edge!

Hmmm, guess I'd better go throw that load of washing in the machine and tackle the ironing. Sigh ....

[danniellabella]

I've transformed over the past 2.5 months from a lazy hoarder to a neat freak. I've tried for years to be a neat freak but for me it was an emotional thing and it wasn't enough to just say "I want to be neat" I finally got to the point where I was truely miserable at my disordered life and home and the decision was made from the heart rather than in my head like so many times before.

It's a constant decision, like deciding that rather than just sitting down to watch TV or go on the computer, deciding that you wont do those things until you've cleaned the kitchen, or just deciding that before you go to bed each day that you'll put away the things that are in the living room that don't belong there. Never ever leave a room empty handed, take a hand full of things with you and put them where they belong.

Pick one room each day and tidy it up, just spend 10-20 minutes on it and then stop. Even if you focus only on the public areas to start with so that if someone drops by unannounced you're ready.

[ElleJay]

Sadly enough, I've honestly tried everything I can think of to become a better housewife (the cleaning and all the rubbish) and I just can't do it.. I think I did it for a week, then felt 'taken advantage of' and then said stuff it and have gone back to how I used to be