*My name is Erin. And I have a pile problem.*
Let’s get one thing out of the way before I get into this post – I am not a neat freak. I am not, by any stretch, a DIRTY person, but I am not an obsessive, clean neatnik. In face, I envy those people to the Nth degree. Those people – my mother, my best friend. Oh how I wish I could be you. (In fact – Mom, are you sure you are my mother? I didn’t inherit your spick and span nature nor your green thumb. Boo.)
Now that we’ve gotten that out there – I want to know what the hell has happened to my house. It is OUT OF CONTROL. Before the bug was born, the hubby and I would go on bi-weekly…maybe monthly cleaning sprees where we could tackle the whole house in one day, wait another month or until we were having company over and do it again. Since the bug, it’s gotten worse. We did hire a cleaning lady, who, god bless her, comes once a month. However, I still have to pick up before she comes. Why? BECAUSE I HAVE A MAJOR “PILE” problem.
Seriously, it’s really bad. I just take all the crap that is all over my house and create random piles of stuff. Hey, it looks nicer…well nicer than crap strewn about all over.
I need an intervention. I know I need an intervention because the other morning when my darling husband pointed to one of three piles on our kitchen table and barely opened his mouth – I became a heinous, defensive witch. Oh dear.
I don’t know where to start. I don’t know how to change! Somebody? ANYBODY? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s so much worse post-baby. I don’t have the energy or the bandwith to deal with my house. And I know there is no way I can be the only person who feels this way.
Hubby and I both work all day 40-50 hours a week. Sometimes we travel. We come home, we make dinner, we play with the bug, we put the bug to bed and then we crash on the couch to chat, bond and watch TV. On weekends, I no more want to vacuum and clean my toilets than I want to drink straight from the toilet bowl and eat cat poo. It cannot continue this way. I need some sort of neatness vibe injected into this sad, pathetic, somewhat lazy brain of mine.
Wow. I admitted it. In writing. It’s out there. I can’t take it back. Sometimes…I AM LAZY!!!!!!!!!! Whew…I feel so much better.
But in all seriousness, does anyone have any advice? I can’t continue this way and in this economy, our treasured monthly clean sweep might have to go the way of the dinosaur.
If you get any advice, let me know. I am sure I will be in the same boat when I come back to work! 🙂
If you find a magical cure to the pile problem, let me know and I will inflict the cure upon my husband–King of Piles.
Oh I hear ya girl– my paper piles are the worst– catalogs I don't buy from, bills, credit card offers– they are all over the house! And I'm good if clean laundry actually ever makes it out of the basket!
I've got two pieces of advice- a do-it-yourself option and an "outsourced" option. 🙂 For the former, I hear wonderful things about Flylady.com– it's about having a system down and getting things accomplished in 10-15 minutes a day. For the latter, just hire someone to clean your place every other week. That's what I do. With working full-time, it's the only thing that keeps me sane!
I have a friend who turns on her radio/CD player/iPod for three songs and just puts stuff away during that time and she is done. It's about 10 minutes and you would be surprised what you can get put away in that amount of time.
I second the opinion about the Fly Lady. I was using her system religiously when Hannah was a baby and we were trying to sell our house. But I have fallen back into my cluttered ways.
Just wait until the toys start to reproduce….
I feel honored to have gotten a shout out here, but believe me, I have my piles too. I just hide them (much to my husband's dismay) in closets, drawers and cabinets. Kinda like Monica on Friends :o)I love Erin's idea of three songs…try that and let me know how it works :o)
Great answer to my PILE problem from the fabulous Molly Gold, of GOMOMINC!
Well you know me too well and answering this will prompt an article on my site next month to the same so thank you for inspiring me back! A plethora of piles and paper does not do a body good…or a mind or anything else for that matter. Take it from me, if its sitting, its holding you back in more ways than we can count.
So the best way I know how to tackle piling goes like this:
1. Block a Saturday from 9-5, coffee included, bug and hubs not so much. I say this because I assume the paperwork management hat is worn by you at home, thus the need to post your problem.
2. Make a list of all the rooms that have piles to pulverize and rank them in order from must do now, ie office and bills, to those that can wait, like guest room but only until your MIL comes to visit.
3. Be prepared to handle each room the way you would any paper which is act, store, or discard.
A few sidenotes worth mentioning. First, tackle the most difficult pile first because it will lift your burden quickly once you face your demon and dismantle the stress it represents. Second, recognize that after you process a room, you will likely need to revisit it to put systems into place that will enable you to stay on track and not return to your old ways.
And third, many hands make light work and one of the best ways to motivate yourself can come by hiring a professional organizer, or you mom, to come help you sift through the clutter in half the time. You'll be amazed at the relief your speedy pace and companionship will offer, even if you are paying for time. Hope this helps and I can't wait to hear how it goes. November is a great time to get organized, just visit my site and you'll see why…no time like the present!!! Enjoy!
So glad to know that I am not the only "piler" out there…I have just spent the last 2 weeks cleaning in our house (see my lastest post at http://babyjernigan.blogspot.com) & I still have piles. I have no excuse – I stay home with my child everyday & tell myself that I will tackle my piles during naptime…or maybe I'll just watch a little TV, no wait, I'll check my email – and so there the times goes. I also have a problem with getting sidetracked once I start going through a pile ("Oh, here's a photo of Susie & I – wonder how she is – I'll send her a quick email")
The best advice is to try to block out a chunk of time without hubby or baby, which stinks, but you'll feel great when you are done. Until then, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone!!
Girl please. Don't you know you're famous on the internet? Therefore you should not have to worry about the piles..and besides piles? Yeah, they show personality and that you're a creative thinker…right? Right!!?? PS: I'm a piler too. <3