1) Make bed – Still not ready to decide its a necessity
2) Did two loads of laundry – check
3) Cleaned toilets and sinks in two bathrooms – Check
4) Cleaned off dinning room table – check (big job)
5) Exercised – Uh, still no
Wow! Just stumbled onto your site. Read a few things and then decided to start at the beginning of your journey. I think the first aha! moment for me is realizing that I always make lists of things I SHOULD do and not lists of the things I actually do. I never get the things on the list done so it starts to feel like I can never do it. Now, I’m running around doing things and creating my list of accomplished things and this is so much more motivating. Thanks for these lists of things you did. I really needed that. I struggle with things seeming so overwhelming and huge and never actually get started. This helps me see my baby steps and not overlook the things I actually did. Thanks! Can’t wait to keep reading.
This, I think, is a revelation; looking at the things you actually do, instead of making a list of the things you “should” do, to get the house under control and keep it that way. I also read Flylady, and have sporadically adopted some of her ideas (my favorite is the 27-fling, but I also like the “clean the middle 80% of the floor” type of non-perfectionist practical advice). But it’s always that list of specifics — sink, bed, shoes, clothes laid out, etc. — that instead of being a list of things that get done and make the place look good, end up being a list of things that once again didn’t get done — yet another thing to feel ashamed about. Where the program has helped is in the area of just taking small steps, spending 15 minutes cleanin’ s*** up, and doing something constructive. The approach this blog is taking might work better for me — giving me a sense of “what DID I get done today?” instead of “what did I once again fail to do today?,” which just gets the shame spiral going again.
Made the bed
Put away the clean dishes
Filled the dishwasher again. Done
Put away most of the laundry 🙂
Cleared space in the closet for more clean clothes. (The rest of the closet is a future thing)
Gathered up 3 old electronics for the next recycle run.
Crawled back into bed.
Started over and wiped down the kitchen counter.
Took time for artwork.
Put some art supplies in order.
Got hopeful again 🙂
i was wondering around looking for websites to give me advice for giving my young daughters chores. and somehow i stumbled on here. i’ve never read blogs. but i saw you label yourself as a slob. and i thought, she’s so brave. i’m a slob, too. i’m trying to get a grip on being a working mom and having to cook and clean and take care of my new baby and young children. when you’re a slob, it can be intimidating and overwhelming. i have ALOT of anxiety over my disaster of a home. i make lists with lists attached to other lists of the easiest way for me to get the tasks done. i usually lose the list. it’s probably buried in the catch-all called the dining room table. anyway, i’m just glad i found you. i love your style and honesty. makes me feel like i’m not so crazy after all or at least i’m not being crazy all alone. 🙂
I work from home. Which has its own unique challenges. I’ll say that I’ve had people email me to say they relate to me because they work full time outside the home, and I’ve also had people email to say they relate to me because they homeschool fulltime. I don’t do either of those, so I find that interesting. I believe it’s because I have had to get down to the absolute basics of a functioning house and those basics are the same for any lifestyle.
Just started reading your blog from the beginning. Praying it will be an encouragement and motivator for me. I’m a big messy and a fairly big slob. I know how to clean but don’t know how to keep a tidy house consistently. It’s so overwhelming. Thanks for your honesty and your blog.
I’m absolutely in love… I found your page on Facebook and liked it right away… Which led me to your blog! A lot of people like to blab so much about this stuff but you’re basic and to point. I love it!
I am a 19 year old soon to be mommy and wife! I am moving into a new home soon (hopefully), and I want the cleanest, most organized environment for my child. This is all coming so, so fast it is RELIEVING in every way possible to know that someone who is already a mother and wife is in the same cluttered position as me. I feel like an absolute failure when I look at my bedroom. I rent a room out if a three bedroom house. My landlord stays in the room across from me, another roommate is next to me, and another roommate stays in the livingroom… I also have a dog. I cannot even begin to explain the NASTY condition of this house… It makes me depressed. I try SO hard to keep my room free from clutter.. But the laundry… The laundry piles up on me EVERY TIME and then it’s thrown all over my bedroom & my fiance comes home like “Do laundry it’s everywhere..”… Then I feel like CRAP. I feel like a bad momma because the bedroom is supposed to be the sanctuary, the place you go for love and relaxation… But our room is far from it. It’s more like the war zone ya know?
I need to have some motivation of some sort… I feel sad because my room is always trashed & then I am no longer motivated and then my room stays a mess until I can’t freaking take it anymore. I don’t want to get to the ‘can’t take it anymore point’. My home (no matter where it may be or what living situation I am stuck in) is my castle! It is my beautiful fortress that I should take care of… I should be happy to come home to my HOME. I may be young but my mother and my grandmother certainly taught me better… I say it is time for a change!!! Starting with JUST DOING IT, right? Just get the hell up and get it done.
Your blogs tell such a good story, but at the sane time they show and teach a lesson to people like me who just need to get off their butts and and stay in routine so we never have to come home and be sad about how we live ever again! I love your blogs! Keep them coming!!!
I came across your site quite by accident but as I cotinued to read I realized IT HAD TO BE FATE! I have struggled with “slobitis” as long as I can remember & so much of what I have read so far sounds like I could have wrote it myself!! You are so right that this “condition” of ours is shameful & embarrassing! I constantly find myself resolving to get my home organized & under control. I actually make progress every now and then but mostly I get OVERWHELMED & make excuses & fall back into the same old state of disarray! You have certainly inspired me to try once again! This time however, I feel there is hope & I may finally succeed! I love the method of making (what I will call) a TAH-DAH list instead of the dreaded TO-DO list! This way, seeing what I have accomplished will be rewarding instead of looking at a half finished list and feeling failure. Thank you so much for your bravery in inviting me along on your journey to of deslobification! I can see that you have been very successful & since I feel you are another me I have great hope that I will as well! After all, if I can do it, anyone can……..Right?
I just found your blog and I’m in love. It feels so nice to find someone who understands that after dinner I don’t actually look around at my messy kitchen and decide NOT to clean it all up….it just never even occurs to me to clean it up right then. I am not looking for my home to be perfect but I am looking for it be in a state where cleaning up for company wasn’t a two day process!
I am starting to read your blog. I have two older daughters and to be honest I know what a big slob I am. Not to blame it on my ADD but that certainly does not help. I tend to start one project and somehow I end up with 15 different things started with nothing complete. I cannot begin to tell you how frustrating it is for me and my entire family. If I start to clean the bathroom I end up cleaning the grout with a toothbrush! (that is of course if I even stay on the bathroom project) I really do feel bad about the fact that none of my family ever feels comfortable having anyone over because of the state of house. We have a lovely home that is so perfect for entertaining during the summer months because of our pool. But the thoughts of someone having to go into the house to go to the restroom – I just avoid company all together. I am not one of those people that leaves their house because it looks terrible. Instead I sit here in the mess because I feel guilty doing anything fun. I have always told people I do not keep a clean house but the fact of the matter if my house is awful!!! I have tried the Flylady and the such but never followed thru. I do work with our school system so now that I am out for summer would probably be a good time to start. As crazy as this sounds I am a perfectionist and if I cannot get the entire house clean and spotless in a set amount of time I just say to myself I’ll do nothing. I really do like the attitude you seem to have. It comes across as something is better than nothing. I have had a friend tell me that it is much better to half way clean the house than to wait and do one deep cleaning every once in a blue moon. I am going to try to hold myself accountable to at least get a few things done. Not kick myself for not getting everything done. Thanks for sharing your progress and letting me know I am not the only one.
someone posted something from your page on Facebook the other day and i liked it liked your page .. today your post came across so i pulled up your blog and i have found my hope and i just started reading and reading from the beginning, i did so to flylady and looked around and watched her shiny sink video and realized i seldom do my dishes till in the morning (no dishwasher) so i went in and stacked and will go do them in a min (son just got out of shower and i have no hot water lol) i will make it a priority to do the dishes befor i go to bed every night perhaps it will give me the motivation to get other things done.. I am a slob and am ashamed of being a slob but i am more ashamed of not doing anything about it for so long .. so starting with the dishes tonight will begine my unslobieness.. thank you
I am very late to the party here, but I am starting from day one and moving forward. My issue is that my husband and my two children and I live in a small house, I try to keep up with things – but struggle with getting much help. BUT it is not laziness it is overwhelm-ness, I know. I have gotten to the point where I have given up and have resented them, my house, my lack of results – but reading your blog, and listening to you on Chris Fabry Live (that is how I learned about you) is giving me hope. I will most likely be purchasing one or two of your books as well. Thank you!
Marie says
Do you ever go back and read how far you’ve come?
Nony says
I probably should. That’s a great question.
LauraR says
Daily Check:
1) Make bed – Still not ready to decide its a necessity
2) Did two loads of laundry – check
3) Cleaned toilets and sinks in two bathrooms – Check
4) Cleaned off dinning room table – check (big job)
5) Exercised – Uh, still no
Feeling good.
LauraR
Shelli says
Wow! Just stumbled onto your site. Read a few things and then decided to start at the beginning of your journey. I think the first aha! moment for me is realizing that I always make lists of things I SHOULD do and not lists of the things I actually do. I never get the things on the list done so it starts to feel like I can never do it. Now, I’m running around doing things and creating my list of accomplished things and this is so much more motivating. Thanks for these lists of things you did. I really needed that. I struggle with things seeming so overwhelming and huge and never actually get started. This helps me see my baby steps and not overlook the things I actually did. Thanks! Can’t wait to keep reading.
Nony says
Yes. To do lists are such a great idea . . . I just seem to always misplace the list!
Urbie4 says
This, I think, is a revelation; looking at the things you actually do, instead of making a list of the things you “should” do, to get the house under control and keep it that way. I also read Flylady, and have sporadically adopted some of her ideas (my favorite is the 27-fling, but I also like the “clean the middle 80% of the floor” type of non-perfectionist practical advice). But it’s always that list of specifics — sink, bed, shoes, clothes laid out, etc. — that instead of being a list of things that get done and make the place look good, end up being a list of things that once again didn’t get done — yet another thing to feel ashamed about. Where the program has helped is in the area of just taking small steps, spending 15 minutes cleanin’ s*** up, and doing something constructive. The approach this blog is taking might work better for me — giving me a sense of “what DID I get done today?” instead of “what did I once again fail to do today?,” which just gets the shame spiral going again.
Pam S says
Made the bed
Put away the clean dishes
Filled the dishwasher again. Done
Put away most of the laundry 🙂
Cleared space in the closet for more clean clothes. (The rest of the closet is a future thing)
Gathered up 3 old electronics for the next recycle run.
Crawled back into bed.
Started over and wiped down the kitchen counter.
Took time for artwork.
Put some art supplies in order.
Got hopeful again 🙂
Nony says
Yay! Go you!
anna says
i was wondering around looking for websites to give me advice for giving my young daughters chores. and somehow i stumbled on here. i’ve never read blogs. but i saw you label yourself as a slob. and i thought, she’s so brave. i’m a slob, too. i’m trying to get a grip on being a working mom and having to cook and clean and take care of my new baby and young children. when you’re a slob, it can be intimidating and overwhelming. i have ALOT of anxiety over my disaster of a home. i make lists with lists attached to other lists of the easiest way for me to get the tasks done. i usually lose the list. it’s probably buried in the catch-all called the dining room table. anyway, i’m just glad i found you. i love your style and honesty. makes me feel like i’m not so crazy after all or at least i’m not being crazy all alone. 🙂
Dana White says
Welcome! I’m glad you found me!
Courtney says
I am glad I found your blog. I have one question, do you work or stay at home? This is important because the dynamics of both are quite different.
Dana White says
I work from home. Which has its own unique challenges. I’ll say that I’ve had people email me to say they relate to me because they work full time outside the home, and I’ve also had people email to say they relate to me because they homeschool fulltime. I don’t do either of those, so I find that interesting. I believe it’s because I have had to get down to the absolute basics of a functioning house and those basics are the same for any lifestyle.
Welcome, Courtney!
Sarah C says
Just started reading your blog from the beginning. Praying it will be an encouragement and motivator for me. I’m a big messy and a fairly big slob. I know how to clean but don’t know how to keep a tidy house consistently. It’s so overwhelming. Thanks for your honesty and your blog.
Dana White says
Welcome, Sarah!
Kayla says
I’m absolutely in love… I found your page on Facebook and liked it right away… Which led me to your blog! A lot of people like to blab so much about this stuff but you’re basic and to point. I love it!
I am a 19 year old soon to be mommy and wife! I am moving into a new home soon (hopefully), and I want the cleanest, most organized environment for my child. This is all coming so, so fast it is RELIEVING in every way possible to know that someone who is already a mother and wife is in the same cluttered position as me. I feel like an absolute failure when I look at my bedroom. I rent a room out if a three bedroom house. My landlord stays in the room across from me, another roommate is next to me, and another roommate stays in the livingroom… I also have a dog. I cannot even begin to explain the NASTY condition of this house… It makes me depressed. I try SO hard to keep my room free from clutter.. But the laundry… The laundry piles up on me EVERY TIME and then it’s thrown all over my bedroom & my fiance comes home like “Do laundry it’s everywhere..”… Then I feel like CRAP. I feel like a bad momma because the bedroom is supposed to be the sanctuary, the place you go for love and relaxation… But our room is far from it. It’s more like the war zone ya know?
I need to have some motivation of some sort… I feel sad because my room is always trashed & then I am no longer motivated and then my room stays a mess until I can’t freaking take it anymore. I don’t want to get to the ‘can’t take it anymore point’. My home (no matter where it may be or what living situation I am stuck in) is my castle! It is my beautiful fortress that I should take care of… I should be happy to come home to my HOME. I may be young but my mother and my grandmother certainly taught me better… I say it is time for a change!!! Starting with JUST DOING IT, right? Just get the hell up and get it done.
Your blogs tell such a good story, but at the sane time they show and teach a lesson to people like me who just need to get off their butts and and stay in routine so we never have to come home and be sad about how we live ever again! I love your blogs! Keep them coming!!!
Dana White says
Thanks Kayla! And welcome!!
Mandi says
I came across your site quite by accident but as I cotinued to read I realized IT HAD TO BE FATE! I have struggled with “slobitis” as long as I can remember & so much of what I have read so far sounds like I could have wrote it myself!! You are so right that this “condition” of ours is shameful & embarrassing! I constantly find myself resolving to get my home organized & under control. I actually make progress every now and then but mostly I get OVERWHELMED & make excuses & fall back into the same old state of disarray! You have certainly inspired me to try once again! This time however, I feel there is hope & I may finally succeed! I love the method of making (what I will call) a TAH-DAH list instead of the dreaded TO-DO list! This way, seeing what I have accomplished will be rewarding instead of looking at a half finished list and feeling failure. Thank you so much for your bravery in inviting me along on your journey to of deslobification! I can see that you have been very successful & since I feel you are another me I have great hope that I will as well! After all, if I can do it, anyone can……..Right?
Rebeccah Walker says
I love thinking of a “TA-DAHHHH” list rather than a “To Do” list (that just weighs me down). Thank you for that great idea!
Kimberly says
I just found your blog and I’m in love. It feels so nice to find someone who understands that after dinner I don’t actually look around at my messy kitchen and decide NOT to clean it all up….it just never even occurs to me to clean it up right then. I am not looking for my home to be perfect but I am looking for it be in a state where cleaning up for company wasn’t a two day process!
Kaye says
I am starting to read your blog. I have two older daughters and to be honest I know what a big slob I am. Not to blame it on my ADD but that certainly does not help. I tend to start one project and somehow I end up with 15 different things started with nothing complete. I cannot begin to tell you how frustrating it is for me and my entire family. If I start to clean the bathroom I end up cleaning the grout with a toothbrush! (that is of course if I even stay on the bathroom project) I really do feel bad about the fact that none of my family ever feels comfortable having anyone over because of the state of house. We have a lovely home that is so perfect for entertaining during the summer months because of our pool. But the thoughts of someone having to go into the house to go to the restroom – I just avoid company all together. I am not one of those people that leaves their house because it looks terrible. Instead I sit here in the mess because I feel guilty doing anything fun. I have always told people I do not keep a clean house but the fact of the matter if my house is awful!!! I have tried the Flylady and the such but never followed thru. I do work with our school system so now that I am out for summer would probably be a good time to start. As crazy as this sounds I am a perfectionist and if I cannot get the entire house clean and spotless in a set amount of time I just say to myself I’ll do nothing. I really do like the attitude you seem to have. It comes across as something is better than nothing. I have had a friend tell me that it is much better to half way clean the house than to wait and do one deep cleaning every once in a blue moon. I am going to try to hold myself accountable to at least get a few things done. Not kick myself for not getting everything done. Thanks for sharing your progress and letting me know I am not the only one.
Rhonda says
someone posted something from your page on Facebook the other day and i liked it liked your page .. today your post came across so i pulled up your blog and i have found my hope and i just started reading and reading from the beginning, i did so to flylady and looked around and watched her shiny sink video and realized i seldom do my dishes till in the morning (no dishwasher) so i went in and stacked and will go do them in a min (son just got out of shower and i have no hot water lol) i will make it a priority to do the dishes befor i go to bed every night perhaps it will give me the motivation to get other things done.. I am a slob and am ashamed of being a slob but i am more ashamed of not doing anything about it for so long .. so starting with the dishes tonight will begine my unslobieness.. thank you
Bonnie June Willey says
I am very late to the party here, but I am starting from day one and moving forward. My issue is that my husband and my two children and I live in a small house, I try to keep up with things – but struggle with getting much help. BUT it is not laziness it is overwhelm-ness, I know. I have gotten to the point where I have given up and have resented them, my house, my lack of results – but reading your blog, and listening to you on Chris Fabry Live (that is how I learned about you) is giving me hope. I will most likely be purchasing one or two of your books as well. Thank you!