My bathrooms are clean!!!
Yes, I totally feel like someone should throw a parade.
But the real congratulations should come because I’ve cleaned them three times in the past four weeks.
My main struggle? Consistency.
The thing that makes the most impact on my home? Consistency.
The first time I cleaned them after a rather long break over the summer, it was a really big deal.
The second time wasn’t as big of a deal.
Today, I experienced another benefit of consistency.
Details.
Details I feel justified ignoring when it’s hard to see the counter under the abundance of toothpaste splatters.
Details I don’t even notice when I have to spend ten minutes decluttering before I can even think about cleaning.
Details like the chair rail that was amazingly dusty when I woke up this morning, but now looks great.
Details like the door that no longer has splatter marks on it.
Details like Hubby’s razor-holder-thingy. I’d wiped around it in past weeks. I had picked it up and wiped underneath it.
But today, since the bathroom was not-that-bad and much less overwhelming . . . I suddenly saw noticed how nasty it was.
And I washed it.
I grabbed the dishsoap out of the nearby shower and squirted on a hefty glob. A few minutes later . . . it looked ever-so-much better.
Consistency.
It means that I have time and presence of mind to notice things.
--Nony
Amen, sister. Yesterday I actually saw the dust on my sconce globes in the bathroom. I said to myself, I cleaned in here last week, why didn’t I see this then? I KID YOU NOT, exact words, lol.
Globes are easy…pop them in the dishwasher and they come out sparkling! I just did mine last weekend. 🙂
I am learning this lesson for the first time. I just finished my second weekly cleaning routine and I noticed how much faster and easier everything was since I just cleaned it all last week. I am not to the point where I am paying extra attention to detail yet but hopefully I will be there soon.
THIS is why I time the first good scrub of a room when it’s dirty, and let that be the standard time for cleaning it in the future. Sure, as you get more efficient at it and it stays cleaner you will get faster–but you will also start to find more things to do. AND THAT’S OK!
Great idea, Heather!
I wish I had that problem. I DO notice the details, it’s just there’s usually too much else to be done first, and by the time I take care of the major things, I don’t feel like taking care of the rest. Someday I’ll get on a better schedule…like you and everyone else is doing, but so far it’s pretty hit and miss. Too much stuff and not enough energy to declutter as much as I’d like to.
I so wish you could visit me! ?
It’s long due, but I am now bunge-reading and listening your posts from start date.
Consistency. It has been my mantra with discipling our children. A rule is a rule. Don’t say no if you are not willing to see it through, etc.
But … I am a rebel (Gretchen’s four tendency types) and it is quite difficult to get myself motivated.
How am I ever going to establish a routine?
Background: farmer’s wife for 33 years. Been a farmgirl my whole life. Living in South Africa. Four children all over 20 now, but two still in the house (farms with dad). For 30 years I had a help in my house. She cleaned, she washed, she ironed the clothes. In 2024 we lost a son, the two ladies (one used to help my mother-in-law) retired and suddenly I must do it all.
Added to this: I am the company’s admin/financial clerk,accountant and shunt-around-to-do-what-no-one-else-will. And ( for my sanity) I give maths extra classes in the afternoon.
Oh, and I can easily declutter, my husband, however, is a squirrel. Everything must be kept for just in case. I cannot. My clutter threshold is waaaaay too low. I knew it before, but never felt it like now.
How do I get to consistency…? How do I navigate the stuff he apparently wants, but I need to shuffle around to try and clean the house?
It is really weighing me down. And the grief which is still a hard one to deal with, is paralyzing too.
Ag ja… (oh well in my mother tongue), maybe someday. I just which I had the energy…