Fixing My Habitat

I’ve never been one to keep things neat and tidy, preferring to procrastinate cleaning anything until it gets out of hand. But this tendency to let things go resulted in a lot of stress for J. Felbs and I when we moved out of our previous place, and I’m determined to never have to go through that again. 

I’ve been making an extra effort to keep things clean and organized in our current apartment. It’s hard to distinguish where my mental process comes from that says that throwing stuff away is too difficult when the trash can is just a few feet away from me, or that makes the task of simply putting away something I just used almost impossible.

Because I don’t have a problem with just the big tasks (I hate laundry and dishes and am lucky to have a husband who helps me do both)…I also seem to invite clutter in bits and pieces.

Then I found the magic Tumblr Unf*** Your Habitat. It has become a key motivator for me to keep things in order around my house.  It’s also helped me curb many of my procrastinating tendencies. It hasn’t healed them completely, but if I can stick to a nightly routine, wash my dishes, and pick up after myself 5 nights out of 7, I think I’m doing well.

A friend and fellow blogger has mentioned the site a few times in her blog which is what led me to the site. I’ll be honest, my first thought was “No way is a blog about cleaning going to motivate me to clean.” I’d read other cleaning blogs and none of them seem relevant to me, nor could I relate to them easily.

UfyH works for me, and I think it’s because it comes from a different mindset. The idea is to break up overwhelming tasks into smaller ones using 20/10s or 45/15s, where the first number is the time you spend “working” and the second number is the break between work sessions. It highlights the fact that you can accomplish something in 20 minutes, and that even if you only work for 5 minutes, something is now done that wasn’t done before.

The blog offers challenges of things to do and acknowledges those who have mobility limitations as well as depression. There are also tips on how to clean specific things. Largely, it’s a great support for motivating and helping people know they’re not alone in their messy tendencies. This support comes not only from the blog but from the readers as well in the form of encouraging posts and before and after pics.

To date, I haven’t submitted any of my own pics or done a Tumblr post or a question, but I follow the blog regularly and use the challenges to get things done that I might not have thought to get done previously. Because of the UfyH motivation factor, the following has happened:

– Laundry has been put away the same day it comes home from the laundromat 98% of the time (compared to about 62% previously).

– Dishes are done, counter is wiped down, and stovetop is given a wipe down before I go to bed 99% of the time (compared to 3% previously).

– My purse and keys go in their home space right after I get home 100% of the time (74% previously)

– I’ve considered my apartment to be “neat” and/or “clean” 97% of the time (0-10% in the previous place).

Also, old food doesn’t stick around in the fridge long, trash goes out regularly from the kitchen and bathroom, the bed gets made semi-regularly, and I can usually find where things are when I need them. The sinks and toilet get wiped down every few days, and I’ve even dusted the furniture more to keep the dust from getting out of hand.

There’s still some room for improvement. I need to vaccuum, sweep, and mop more, and I need to get J. Felbs to work on his desk area. But overall, my sanity over cleaning and my environment is stable and I feel like I’ve accomplished something as well as added another mark to my “how to be an adult” to-do list.

If you need some motivation or just like to read blogs about cleaning and can handle some swearing, check the blog out. It’s magic!

Lazy Days

I haven’t really felt like doing much lately. Even though I have things I want to have finished by the end of the month, I’ve been really lazy about picking up any projects. It’s definitely procrastination, but sometimes I think you just have to go with it.

Take my two knitting projects, for example. One’s a wool hat and one’s a sweater, neither of which are going to get any wear for the next few months, even if I do happen to finish them by the end of April. When I knit them, I want to be in the right frame of mind for knitting. I don’t want to force it and feel crabby, because I don’t want that crabbiness going into a gift. Therefore, I’ve taken some time off from that past time.

Over the weekend, I got past the rage inducing monster on my video game. I made some more progress and ended up on a level that just doesn’t excite me. It’s not that it makes me angry, it’s just not as fun. So I haven’t revisited that in a few days.

I’ve started three books, but reading hasn’t really held my attention.

On the plus side, I’ve been getting into the gym more often. I kick started my routine on Friday and have been getting back into the groove. Tonight I’m going to try Zumba again, this time with a Zumba tone class, to see if I’ve improved at all.

I’ve been trying to get back into blogging and social networking and catching up on webcomics.

I’ve been watching horror movies, not all of them horrible.

Last night I hung out with my friend’s kids, and considering that kids terrify me, I feel this may be a huge step in my development as a real person.

I’m not entirely sure if any of my goals are going to be met this April, but I may be okay with that. With the move coming up and several other things weighing on the stress buttons (summer trips, car maintenance, etc.), maybe the best course of action is to just go with the flow and keep moving forward.