How can I clean up my house and get me family to help too?
Question:Recycling, Taking out trash, Getting the house organized!
Answers:
If you're like me, you have a house of people who are bad about helping. Buy a container of those clorox wet wipes for each bathroom and the kitchen. Also, I use those attachment dust clothes like a rag. Give your family members a handful of the cleaning wipes and send them off with a particular area in mind to clean. They can use the wipes on the floors and everywhere else. It helps me tremendously. I don't like buying these products, but they really do make life easier for everybody, and you don't have to explain to anyone how to use them.
You can tell them 'Clean or else!'. But that might not work for grown-ups, and I do know a few who would make pigs look immaculate.
Another thing you could try would be to give them chores and take them out somewhere special to eat afterwards. For instance, when my mother and I were helping my sister, we called in Pizza and had a pizza party.
After the original cleaning, it should be much easier to keep the clean if you just take care of the small things as they pop up instead of waiting for a whole huge mess to show.
If your house is a mess--start in one corner of the room--this helps not to get discouraged--to see the progress--Make a to do list of what is most important to accomplish first and begin to complete then cross off the list--if you have kids--then use a reward system--small kids (get stickers) or older kids get privileges--important the family learns to help out as soon as you can get them to do so! You must stay motivated about your list--as you begin to see things get more organized, you will feel 100% better and so will your family.
Cleaning: Give people measurable tasks. Don't say 'we are going to clean the house'. Make it small enough so people are not discouraged.
Example: I don't clean up a room. Instead I pick ten (10) things and put them in place - proper place, not just out of the way. Then I tell myself that all these loose screws are actually one thing, and this one pen doesn't really count - and before I know, I'm cleaning up. If I complete the 10 things I do it again for 10 things.
Recycling. Talk about it at the dinner table. Where does stuff come from? What is energy? Do we like coal being burnt to make more aluminium when recycled aluminium can be used? Does everybody think it's a good idea to recycle? Yes? Then here's where you put these things...
I use Flylady.com. She is great and reminds us that it didn't get dirty in a day. You can do anything for 15min and routines will save you. I had the same problem with not getting help but found that by not complaining at my spouse and just getting it done he started helping me when he saw me cleaning or when I did ask him to do something he didn't mind because I was doing so much to keep it clean or at least he though so. I also found that most men need a gentle reminder. Don't expect them to know what you want you have to tell them. Check out flylady she helps thousands of people get decluttered and have fun with their families.
Flylady is a godsent!! As the previous answer said. When you check out her website you learn new ways of looking at things. I have a Boyfriend and a 9 year old that never did anything around the house because I didn't. Now everybody pitches in, its great. She also has a VERY good internet radio show on thursday's. Check out worldtalkradio.com and look for the Fly Show.
Don't know how old your kids are, but I have a 5 yr, 3 yr, and 2 mo old. I was getting overwhelmed with the older ones at times when trying to get help. One day last week I grabbed them each a plastic sack and we went on a garbage boogie, a dirty clothes boogie, a shoe boogie and a toy boogie. All in all it took very little time and they thought it was great to run around the house like we were having a race. With having a theme for each time we went they didn't get frustrated just looking at one big pile they had to pick up.
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