Making Your Home a Haven Monday

Now I've updated I can write the post I came here to write :) I enjoy the Biblical Womanhood blog and today's entry struck a chord. I'm a little out of the loop but it seems the ladies are looking at ways of making one's home a haven. Now who wouldn't want a big slice of that?

I struggle - oh, how I struggle - with the housework. Or even just general tidyness. I get FlyLady's copious emails (and don't read them often, I must admit). I'm meant to be using the SHE card-index system just now (and have blogged about it here until I got bored and distracted by my mother's illness. Living with four cats doesn't help (I'm typing this with Sammy draped across my arms). They're lovely but they shed and spill food and cat litter on the floors. They're also incredibly cute and distracting!

Anyway. Enough with the whingeing. The point of this post is that I really like the Biblical Womanhood suggestions:

1. Morning Routine
2. Refresh spirit
3. Plan (no more than 10 items)
4. Do one item at a time

This is kind of what I've been aiming at. Only I've tended to avoid refreshing my spirit and plan way more than 10 items. I have been managing to work on just one item at a time though 'cause I'm a single-minded kind of girl. I have a feeling that, if I only put 10 items on my list, there's a greater chance of the majority getting done. As it is, I've been getting overwhelmed and retreating into my books. So my goal for tomorrow (it's gone 6pm on Monday here in the UK) just to follow this simple little four-point plan. D'you think I can do it? Check in again tomorrow and find out ...

Homekeeper Challenge #2

It's Week Two of the Homekeeper Challenge 2008. It's really good to hear from Chic Mama again - I'm sorry to hear why you've not been blogging. I enjoyed this week's post although, as I'm not married, it's not really something I can put into practice. Instead I shall continue trying to get my house under some sort of control. I really am at the point of just giving up and getting a cleaner. The trouble is, I think it's in too much of a cluttered mess for a cleaner to be able to do much cleaning. The situation is not helped by the dishwasher still not working so I'm spending time washing dishes when I could be doing something else. I feel totally overwhelmed and just don't know where to begin. Sorry, this isn't a very inspiring post, is it? Here's hoping I'll have something better to report next week.

Dishes

I am proud to report that, despite having no working dishwasher, all the dishes are done. I don't think my hands will ever be the same again. Washing up liquid is horrible stuff. And I don't like wearing rubber gloves.

Cleaning with Music?

I was very interested to read this post on Unclutterer today. I do better at most things when I've some background noise. It's as though having to concentrate away from the noise makes my focus on what I'm doing stronger. If you see what I mean? But I always thought I was just a strange child. Apparently I'm not as unique as I thought!