Trying to keep my place clean is like shoveling in a snow storm. I shovel and shovel and shovel, but when I turn around, it’s all covered again. .LOL
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First, identify the difference between "tidying up" (putting things away in their places, etc.) and "cleaning" (sweeping, dusting, wiping down, vacuuming, etc.). This is important. We can feel like our houses are filthy, therefore needing cleaning, when in actuality we just have lots of clutter lying around. And make a kind of schedule for doing certain tasks. Here, one bathroom gets done on Wednesday, the other on Thursday, mopping on Monday, and so on. It’s no so rigid, or me so Type-A, that I can’t be flexible. I honestly doubt I’ll mop tomorrow; I’ve been sick. So what if waits until Tuesday. But at least kind of aim to do certain regular tasks on a predictable schedule. Get the kids involved as much as possible. They should be responsible for picking up their own things, tidying up their own rooms (but you’ll have to teach them), and helping out as directed. Give them a chore list for each day and things will go more smoothly. "This is what you are helping with today…..and when it’s done, homework’s done, you can break out the Wii or play ball at so-and-so’s."

Second, get organized. Have a place for everything. Keep a notebook for a few weeks (or forever) in which you work on strategies for getting closets and cabinets re-organized, weeding out stuff you don’t need, aren’t going to ever use, and that has no meaning or value to you. If you write it down as you go, it’s easier. Let your family in on the organization. Even if they all pretty much say, "Hey, whatever you want to do is fine", they need to be informed about your new system for storing stuff, where things are to go, and how they’re to be "processed" (folded, hung, stacked, etc.). A good example: I re-organized the cabinet with all our little plastic Tupperware-type storage containers and then gave each person a "tour" of the new system. They, especially the teens, moaned and whined about being dragged away from their current activity, but the result is that when dishes are put away, there’s no more just tossing these pieces into a huge pile in the cabinet. We can now actually find what we’re looking for–lo! and behold! a matching lid!–and can put things away easily. Just don’t be anal rententive about it; this will just drive everyone insane.

Give some of the organizational responsibility to any older kids or teenagers if you have them. My two older kids share a bathroom and the space under the sink would scare you silly. I’m scared to have to look for stuff under there. Until recently, it was considered a possible hiding place for Jimmy Hoffa’s body and Cortez’ gold. I "let" them do the re-organizing under there, cleaned it all out, put it back in a way that is going to work with them and their habits, what they need access to and how, etc. The result is that it stays much tidier for longer than it did when I picked how their stuff was to be stored.

This is just plain practical: First, always get into the habit of putting things away where they go when you’re done with them and impress upon family members to do the same. Yes, that includes your husband, though he might think it’s okay to leave his empty chip bag and beer can beside the Lazy-Boy until tomorrow, it sets a bad example for the kids. That also includes the kids, and even very little kids can be taught early on to put stuff away where it goes. It takes alot of repitition and praise, but they can do it. It’s no big deal to have your 2 year old plunk her sippy cup into the kitchen sink, rather than leave it under the sofa cushion where it usually ends up (well, at my house, anyway).

Finish one project before you start another. Even if you’re not usually a linear thinker, at least do it when it comes to housework. I often have the very ADD habit of doing But-First Cleaning. It goes something like this: I have to start a load of laundry, but first I have to gather all the laundry from the kids’ rooms, but first I have to tidy up the kitchen so I can get the dirty kitchen linens into the laundry, but first I have to sweep the floor, since someone spilled Kool-Aid on it, but first I have to find the mop, but first the broom closet is a total disaster and I can’t find the mop…..You get the picture. At the end of the day I’ve managed to move non-stop yet actually finish nothing. Pick a task, gather what you need for it, and just get it done before moving on.

Lastly, tidy as you go. If I have to take dirty kitchen linens to the garage where the washer is, I also take my 2 year old’s shoes to her room, since it’s on the way. On the way back to the kitchen,
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My house is still pretty messy, but this helps me keep it under control a little bit.

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