06.12.07
WFMW – Keeping the House Clean
My husband and I are both messy people. We don’t mind clutter; we often dump things down and rarely pick them up again. The mail is somewhat opened, then left on a section of the table that we don’t need. Shoes that we take off when we walk in the door sit in the hallway until their next day of use. Typically these things don’t bother us, but they’re embarrassing when we have company over.
Which brings me to my WFMW tip: in order to keep the house clean on a regular basis, invite people over! When we lived in CA no one ever came to our house, so the clutter built and built and we never had to pick it up. Up here, however, we’ve made it a point to invite my uncle and cousins over every few weeks for dinner, and what a difference it’s made in our house! We know they’re coming, so we keep most of the major mess cleaned up to avoid embarrassment.
The best part is that it works both ways - we clean the house because we know people will come over, but because the house is usually clean we’re more likely to invite people over, as well. Before our mostly-clean house, we never invited anyone over because we knew it would take days to clean up our mess. Now we know only minor pickup is necessary so we don’t have to hesitate before making plans.
As a teacher, I typically avoid using embarrassment as a motivator, but it is really powerful. If it keeps my house cleaner, it works for me! For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, check out Rocks in My Dryer.
Leslie said,
June 12, 2007 at 9:11 pm
I totally agree! We only clean when people are coming over. But I babysit several days a week, so that keeps the visible rooms clean most days LOL!
Nikki said,
June 13, 2007 at 4:03 am
How true! My house does stay neater when I have company or Pampered Chef parties or something coming up. I think I’ll schedule something in the near future!
Cammie said,
June 13, 2007 at 6:05 am
Yep! This works for us too.
Mommy, the Human Napkin said,
June 13, 2007 at 9:30 am
Works for me, too! I’m always telling our friends that I love having them over because it gives me a good excuse to clean the house.
Andie said,
June 13, 2007 at 10:02 am
Great idea…I’m so glad I’m not the only one! Now, who can I invite over???
BLessings-
Andie
Lori - Queen of Dirty Laundry said,
June 13, 2007 at 11:32 am
This works for me too! We have a church group meeting at our house twice a month, and it really helps me stay on top of (most) things.
Cherie said,
June 13, 2007 at 11:54 am
This is a fantastic idea and one that is needed around here since I’m a bit of a slob!
Theresa said,
June 13, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Erik has noticed the same trend in my housekeeping. I’m glad to know it’s not just me.
Amy @ Experience Imagination said,
June 16, 2007 at 5:28 am
I’ve found this to be a great motivation to clean as well. We’re in the middle of a major cleaning effort here (including unpacking the last of those boxes from when we moved in last year!) and I’m looking forward to having people over again.