I've been considering getting a roomba. If nothing else, it'll be fun watching the cats interact with it.
BUT, we have a LOT of cords and other misc stuff scattered across the house. So it would require more decluttering to be usable. This may be considered both a pro and a con in buying one.
We failed on the small living space roll. We really have way too much house. But we were kind of planning on populating it when we bought it, and now that it is clear that's not going to happen, we love the house and don't want to move.
Hire a maid service. Or find someone in the area who'll do the work; it may be cheaper that way, but the services are more likely to be bonded. Hiring a person you get to know, and who gets to know you, may get you service more specific to your needs, someone who's familiar with where stuff goes and which stuff you don't like having disturbed, etc., compared to a maid service's checklist.
Hire a professional organizer. They may not be able to help with organizing your time, but they may be able to help with better organizing your space.
If, next Friday, you do only the same as you did today, you *will* be making progress on the only-seemingly-infinite piles of clothing that no longer fits. And unless you put more flowers into those vases, that's one chore you won't have to repeat... Small amounts of forward progress, but still progress.
I would call toilets, sinks, and showers "fixtures". Not that that's really related to anything.
We've had some similar problems--I generally have enough time on the weekends to manage basic cleaning (dishes, laundry, clean bathrooms, maybe a little dusting) but not deep cleaning. Our house doesn't quite need deep cleaning yet since it was spotless 6 months ago when we moved in. What's not getting done in our case is the remaining unpacking & decluttering.
I hear ya on the house-gone-wild. I don't know the answers, but I recently read the book "Organizing From The Inside Out," and found it helpful as an inspiration for getting me motivated to take on some of the parts of the house that were particularly gnarly.
We have a Roomba, but I'd hesitate to turn it loose on most of the house. We just use it to pick up the endless supply of food crumbs under the dining room table. Ours seems pretty fragile, and I think attempting carpets with cat hair would pretty much instantly clog it up and/or break things.
I recently found some amount of peace with the mess at my house. I can't think of any way to describe it that doesn't sound trite or stupid, but basically it's something along the lines of, "I only have one life to live, and I can spend my time in that life fretting about undone cleaning or doing things that are more interesting. If I don't do the cleaning, the only person who really has to judge my mess is me. And I wish to be kind to myself."
Did you get one of the models that's intended for pet owners? I'm not sure just how different they are from the basic model; I assume probably different brushes that wouldn't tangle as easily. recordersmith's place would probably need the pet-owner version too...
Interesting -- I didn't know that there were Roombas meant for pet owners. It sounds like a good idea! I know there are Dysons designed for pet owners. We have a non-pet Dyson that we're reasonably happy with, and which does a good enough job that I think it would handle pet-fur just fine, so I'm not sure that it was necessary for them to create a pet-owner version of that. A Roomba, on the other hand, could definitely use some modifications to be able to handle fur.
I'm working on that philosophy too. I'm more at ease with it some days than others.
And I'm certainly not attempting to have the house sterile or museum quality clean by any stretch. But some of the basics are getting missed and that's not good.
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BUT, we have a LOT of cords and other misc stuff scattered across the house. So it would require more decluttering to be usable. This may be considered both a pro and a con in buying one.
We failed on the small living space roll. We really have way too much house. But we were kind of planning on populating it when we bought it, and now that it is clear that's not going to happen, we love the house and don't want to move.
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Hire a professional organizer. They may not be able to help with organizing your time, but they may be able to help with better organizing your space.
If, next Friday, you do only the same as you did today, you *will* be making progress on the only-seemingly-infinite piles of clothing that no longer fits. And unless you put more flowers into those vases, that's one chore you won't have to repeat... Small amounts of forward progress, but still progress.
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We've had some similar problems--I generally have enough time on the weekends to manage basic cleaning (dishes, laundry, clean bathrooms, maybe a little dusting) but not deep cleaning. Our house doesn't quite need deep cleaning yet since it was spotless 6 months ago when we moved in. What's not getting done in our case is the remaining unpacking & decluttering.
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Dusting? What's that?
No wonder Jason has allergies.
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We have a Roomba, but I'd hesitate to turn it loose on most of the house. We just use it to pick up the endless supply of food crumbs under the dining room table. Ours seems pretty fragile, and I think attempting carpets with cat hair would pretty much instantly clog it up and/or break things.
I recently found some amount of peace with the mess at my house. I can't think of any way to describe it that doesn't sound trite or stupid, but basically it's something along the lines of, "I only have one life to live, and I can spend my time in that life fretting about undone cleaning or doing things that are more interesting. If I don't do the cleaning, the only person who really has to judge my mess is me. And I wish to be kind to myself."
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(My family doesn't currently have any pets.)
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And I'm certainly not attempting to have the house sterile or museum quality clean by any stretch. But some of the basics are getting missed and that's not good.
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