Homekeeping Tips

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As ADD Moms, sometimes the art of keeping a clean and well run home escapes us. I don’t know about you, but I had an ADD Mom, and she struggled as much as I sometimes do.

It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve finally found some things that work. Here they are:

Time it. We’ve all got chores we hate to do – mine are floors – and yet they have to be done. One day when my kitchen looked like a disaster area, I decided to time myself to see how long it would take to clean it up. I didn’t rush, I just cleaned normally. What I found was that I could get my kitchen from disaster to clean in about 15 minutes. Once I knew that, I didn’t feel so overwhelmed and discouraged when it got messy.

Let the cleaners do the work for you. I think that most ADDers are like me – very little patience. One day when I was stripping wallpaper I got interrupted just after I sprayed the wall with water. When I came back, the paper was super easy to peel off because the water had had time to sink in and do it’s job. The same is true of cleaners. If you spray and then give them a few minutes to work, you’ll scrub way less.

Clean more often. I know this tip doesn’t sound like much fun at all, but it works, and it’s really not as bad as it sounds. What I mean is that if you take a few seconds every day to wipe kitchen and bath surfaces down, swish the toilet and maybe do a load or two of laundry, the work will never pile up to the extent that it takes a whole weekend just to clean up.

Cover the basics. There are certain things that every household needs in order to function: clean clothes and towels, food in the house, and bills paid on time so you still have electricity. That’s a very bare minimum. I would add to that clean beds to sleep in and a clean bathroom and kitchen. Start by making sure these basic needs are covered and then move on from there.

Have the right tools. I mentioned microfiber cloths yesterday, but I haven’t used them. What I do use a lot are pre-moistened wipes, like the ones Clorox makes. That makes wiping down the bathroom and kitchen easier. I also use a dustmop or Swiffer on my kitchen’s wood floors in between mopping and sometimes I get those wipes for dusting, too. If it motivates you to clean more often, I say it’s worth it.

Those are my tips for the day. Tomorrow I will share the system that made me an organized mom.

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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