Edition 52 › Hope for Messies › Matt Meuller

You Don't have to be Overwhelmed

Sat, 07/31/2010 - 09:22 — GentleVic

If you're overwhelmed with your house, embarrassed to have anyone over, and exhausted by all of the organizing information out there, My Messy House is the right place for you. I am a Messie. Not a reformed Messie or a recovered Messie, but an honest-to-goodness packrat Messie.


I won't promise you instant results, but I can promise that if you stick with it and do a little bit every day, you can reach an acceptable point. You might never be a full-fledged cleanie, but there is hope for you, just like there has been for me.


My Messy House began in 1998 as a way for me to motivate myself to clean and declutter my home and to help other people. In 2000, I moved the information to my first domain name, then I bought the MyMessyHouse.com domain name and moved the Messie information there.


My real house always looks better when I'm keeping up with My Messy House. Here are some helpful hints:


Windows

Window cleaner (store bought or homemade from water, vinegar, and isopropyl alcohol) in a spray bottle

bucket, Murphy's oil soap or other wood cleaner, sponge, cleaning cloths (I use diapers), old toothbrush, squeegee, (optional) These are the instructions for cleaning the insides of windows. If you have the kind of windows that let you clean the outside from inside the house, these will help:


Kitchen

The kitchen sink is truly magical. It seems to have a certain power over the rest of the kitchen. When the sink is clean and shiny, it's harder to let the rest of the room get messy. It's easier to hand-wash a glass or two. It makes you want to put [.

Pantry

If you're lucky enough to have a pantry, but unlucky enough to be a messie, you know it can be a pain. We had a pantry in our house in Germany… it was actually a closet off of our kitchen. So many times, I was tempted to just close the door and ignore

Laundry

 Laundry is a necessary evil. It seems like it can be a problem for so many people for so many different reasons. But there are reasons to love doing laundry. You can't beat the smell of freshly washed clothes, or the feeling of fluffy towels hot out of the dryer.

Dishes

 Tools: dirty dishes, liquid dish soap, dish cloth (I like these better than sponges because they can be thrown into the laundry every day. Sponges collect bacteria.), sponge on a stick (for glasses. You can buy these in the cleaning supplies aisle.) plastic scrubbie (get one that is safe for Teflon) dishpan and dishrack, or dishwasher and dishwasher soap spray bottle

jenne@mymessyhouse.com

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