Cleaning according to personality style
There are many methods of quick cleaning such as the 27-fling-boogie,
the 15-minute pick-up, or the 19-piece-pick-up, etc. However, for
those of us with ADD, or who just can't focus long enough on one
room or task, I'm giving you permission to “clean as you go” and
do what works for you. Let me give you an example of what is considered "not
good or proper," but I will carry it out to the end to show you results
that the other articles don't.
On my way to the rest room this morning I noticed that the washer
had stopped. So I stopped to put the wash to the dryer and the dried
laundry to the couch. (I had promised myself that I'd get all of
the laundry washed, dried and onto the couch for movie night. I know
that sounds funny, but the kids can't handle standing and folding
unless they are listening to music or watching TV. Their attention
span can't handle it. So we fold laundry while we're watching movies.)
After the rest room I went back to the laundry room to put up some
more clothing. Right then it occurred to me that, "hey, I like who
I am and the way I clean, stopping here and there to complete a small
task or piggyback another task. I really get things done this way
and don't get bored!"
I finished the few things I was doing and headed out into the kitchen.
On my way I noticed that no one had put away the TV trays tables
in the family room. (We don't have a coffee table or end tables in
our family room, so we use TV trays for drinks and such.) I put those
away and then I noticed that the room needed dusting. But that's
such a huge job, and one that I wasn't willing to tackle on the spot.
I forced myself to leave it for one of the kids on the weekend, then
proceeded into the kitchen and noticed the pile of dirty towels that
were STILL on the floor and heck, since I'm on a laundry kick today
anyway, bent down, picked up the towels and carried them back to
the laundry room. What's weird is that something as small as bending
down, picking up dirty towels and taking them to the laundry room
doesn't get done right away.
After the towels, I went back to the kitchen, to do the dishes,
wipe down the counters and clean the floors. However what I actually
ended up doing was bagging up all of the recyclables the kids left
here, there and everywhere (because apparently they don't seem to
care about it until it blocks their path), and took them out to the
bin. (If their friends are coming over, they might feel somewhat
compelled to clean up.) While I was outside, I noticed that some
tools were left out in the rain (We didn't expect rain.). So I put
the tools away. But then I noticed that the trashcans were never
brought in from out front, so I proceeded to unlock the gate and
do that. While out in the front I noticed that the pile of dirt the
kids never leveled off was growing grass. One thing led to another,
and then things got weird...
I had the insatiable urge to level off the dirt in the 3' by 12'
section of the front yard, near the curb of the house. My reasoning;
Grass was starting to grow and if I could just level out the pile
of dirt and twigs I wouldn't have to do any planting or worrying
about that section. This was another one of those times where the
kids were supposed to have done the chore, but were either too tired,
had too much homework, or just didn't want to do it. HAD they leveled
off that section and put the dirt in the yard waste bin when I asked
them to, the rain would be preparing that area for grass right now,
the refuse company would have picked up the bin of yard waste, and
in a week that area of dirt would start looking very nice. But later
never came so there were uneven large mounds of dirt and twigs that
were turning into mud with a few places sprouting grass.
I decided that I just had to go out there and TRY to level it off
while there were still a couple of days of rain expected. Tried as
I might, I just couldn't do it. I got maybe 1/3 leveled off and the
rest turned to squishy, mushy mud with one HUGE mound off to one
side. Soaked through one layer of clothing, I decided this would
be another lesson I would have to teach the children. The whole day
seems to be turning into lessons of learning for the kids.
Coming back inside to dry off, I noticed that it was only 11:42am.
I also noticed how much I managed to accomplish, going from one thing
to another: much of the laundry is washed, dried and on the couch,
all of the recyclables are out, the trash cans are in, the yard is
cleared, the car is empty, and everything is generally neat and tidy!
I will take a few minutes before the kids come home to vacuum, then
spend some time packing orders before I leave to pick them up from
school, then head over to the middle school to help the children
develop their school web site.
It is difficult for me to focus on ONE room or ONE project at a
time because the accomplishment of a tiny task is apparently not
enough for me. I prefer to move from one area to another, piggybacking
one task onto another, satisfying both my desire to move around and
my inability to focus on one task for an extended period of time.
Piggybacking tasks is in a seminar The Busy Woman's Daily Planner
has on tape. However, until owning this business, I never realized
how many women have personalities that NEED to piggyback tasks according
to *their* way, not necessarily one of the ways you read in one of
many different books on organizing. Of course we can all use some
help and learn something new now and again that proves helpful. But
as the old adage goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If you
need a pick me up or refresher or what we call, "Back to the Basics," then
great, The Busy Woman's Daily Planner can help you with that!
Given MY personality I was able to accomplish SO much within a few
short hours. I may not have started with a plan detailing the tasks
I needed to accomplish, but I got a great deal of work done, just
the same. The writers of organizing books who say that the way many
of us do tasks and bounce from one thing to another is wrong or could
be done better or SHOULD be done differently don't understand how "we" are.
We have to do things according to our personalities and not change
our whole way of being because a book was written that says we're
doing it incorrectly. And again, that doesn't mean there isn't room
for improvement, but as moms, wives, businesswomen, EVERY woman,
we have more on our plates than we should. We'll go for help when
we need it. And we'll do what works, to get the job done.
©2002 Susie Glennan
Susie Glennan has been happily married since 1982, is mom to 3 teenagers,
and is a Home Maker, Nurturer, Teacher, Author, Professional Speaker,
Toastmaster, President of The Busy Woman, Inc., DBA - The Busy Woman's Daily
Planner®. She teaches time management seminars, offers FREE consultations
with your order, and will help you set up a schedule that's right for you.
800-848-7715 www.thebusywoman.com
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