Slow + Steady Cleans the House :: Week 2

I'm now starting week 2 of Slow + Steady Cleans the House and I haven't done a lick of cleaning in the last seven days. Why am I not surprised?

[Cleared off the top of the dresser + reorganized my books.]

Actually, I partially decluttered our bedroom last weekend but what I didn't get cleaned up is still on the floor. That's my problem :: I lose steam part way through an organizing or cleaning project and I'm left with a bigger mess than when I started.

[What was on the dresser is now on the floor.]

So, why did I not finish? Let's analyze this for a moment ... I've read enough organizing books to know the basic guidelines, and I clearly did not follow them ::

1. Make a commitment to organizing + cleaning as a family --> So far I'm the only one on board. I also started cleaning the bedroom by myself to surprise Rupert but I should probably enlist his help next time.
   
2. A place for everything, and everything in its place --> There was a lot of useless junk on my dresser that I got rid of (including some old poetry medals I won in middle school), but I still have too much stuff to store in an orderly way. I have to work on minimizing and finding a proper place for everything instead of just leaving stuff on any available flat surface.
   
3. Touch items as few times as possible --> I need to remember that the extra 10 seconds to a minute it takes to properly put things away is worth not having junk all over the place all the time.
   
4. Changing behavior takes a long time; I will have to repeat an activity for more than three weeks before it becomes a habit --> I should spend some time each week doing the same cleaning/organizing activity so that it becomes a regular part of my routine.
   
5. Cleaning + organizing are more mental exercises than physical acts --> Most importantly, I will have to think about my possessions, the reasons why I keep certain items, and my motivation behind mindless shopping.
   

So, my goals for the following week are to finish picking up the junk on the floor in the bedroom, and to go through guidelines 1 ~ 5 everyday.

All right, down to some business :: Last week's poll results surprised me. I asked what your cleaning methodology is and I thought for sure that most people cleaned a bit everyday or weekly. Most respondents are like me :: they clean before company comes over. Or, as my mother-in-law mentioned, she hides stuff before company comes over. Valid point -- cleaning and hiding are two different things.

Of the 13 respondents, six said they clean before company comes over; four have a housecleaning service; and there was one respondent each for seasonal cleaning, monthly cleaning, and feigning housecleaning ignorance. But, surely, people must do spot-cleaning every once in awhile. Otherwise, everyone's house would look like mine and I know for a fact that they don't! So let's get a bit more specific here ... and be honest!

OK, but this week's official poll is actually about your three most dreaded chores.

I had a hard time just picking three!