Who here would have to do a "marathon cleaning session" if someone called and said they would be stopping by

Question

in an hour?

Or are you one of those freaks who keeps a clean house? (And how the HELL do you do it?)

I live with a packrat (whom I love dearly!), so that doesn't help matters any....I find I am always picking up after him, so much so that i don't get a chance to do any "deep cleaning".

And what about Flylady's system? Anyone familiar with it? Does it work?

How do I train a packrat NOT to be a packrat?

Answer 1

LOL! I have a pack rat here with me, too.

What I learned to do was say, "Oh! I'm so glad you called first because I'm on my way out the door this very minute, could you stop by tomorrow instead?".

Then I became a Christian so lying was out of the question. What I did then was to say the exact same thing, and then go drive around the neighborhood. That way I wasn't lying and it gave me time to clean up the wreckage of my home before they showed up the next day.

The Flylady's system does work, but you have to really dedicate yourself to it. It's hard to be the "live in maid" when all your efforts are undermined, but eventually you'll have so few things left laying around, cleaning will be a lot easier and faster to accomplish. I tried her tips, but I could never get to the point where I felt I could accept "purple tears of happiness" as a reward.

Now, I'm completely honest and say to my visitors (thankfully, they're true friends), "Come on in and find yourself a seat".

I feel if someone comes to visit, they came to see me, not my house. If they came to see my house, well, they're visiting for the wrong reason!


A house should be clean enough to be healthy, yet messy enough to be comfortable. Would you want your obituary to read "she kept a clean home" or "she spread happiness everywhere she went"?


Life is meant to be enjoyed even if there's dust on the lamps!

Answer 2

Ignore the sympathetic chuckling from the corner: I have indeed had marathon cleaning sessions- as in all day affairs. It's a good way to channel nervous energy while getting something useful done.

I also am a packrat- though not as bad as I used to be. If the packrat in your life knows there's a problem, you can help him by offering to help sort the clutter into things to keep, things to store, and things to carry to the local charity or second-hand store. As for training- well, that will take some doing. But my mother did make one suggestion: For every thing you bring into the house, take something out. We were helping my sister and her husband- who both are even worse packrats than me.

With cleaning, there are some chores that are simply easier to do if you do them every day without dithering about it (Another problem I used to have!)

Here are a few things I've found help a lot:

Keep 2 pray bottles of diluted lysol or similar product, one in the kitchen and the other in the bathroom. In the morning, take a cleaning cloth with you and after you're done spray down the sink, vanity top, and the outside of the toilet and wipe down. If you do that enough, you'll notice dirt and stains collect a lot less. Do the same to your tub or shower stall when you're finished using that, and scrub with baking powder about once a week for some of the more stubborn stains. Use the lysol in the kitchen to clean the countertops and kitchen table.

I've never heard of Flylady's system- or perhaps I have, but haven't attached a name to it. But cleaning is easier if you don't try to take on the whole project at once. That's probably what scares people away from cleaning most.

Answer 3

I had a friend do the flylady system and it seemed to help her. Try it out. I would take thirty minutes for each room and start that way, pick up and throw stuff out that u have not used within the past month. why keep it around, Get your house cleaned and you will feel so much better, and you are gonna have to kick the pack rat in the a.. good luck

Answer 4

I come from a long line of pack rats. I rarely brought friends home to my parents house because it was so embarrassing. :P And so I've inherited those tendencies a little bit.
I find the best way to get rid of stuff is to move, especially to a smaller house or somewhere far away. I got rid of a lot of things when we moved into our tiny house last year, and when we got the call to move one state away earlier this year I not only cleaned out my house but also the stuff that I still had stored at my parents house. We never did end up moving, but I'm glad that it gave me the kick in the bum to donate/throw away the things I really didn't need.
I've never heard of the "Fly lady" system, but it sounds like a good idea. Just make sure to hold onto important paperwork, like old tax returns, pay stubs, old apartment leases, and so on. If you ever apply for a loan, or get audited, you may need these things. In any big department store or office supply store you can get file boxes to store your important papers in.
Good luck!

Answer 5

I wouldn't have to do a marathon session but I'd definitely have to do a 90mph fluff & stuff! I try to keep everything spotless but with 2 kids & 2 dogs, there's always something left out.

Both my husband and I are packrats, just organized ones. I don't know how we do it but we manage.

You can't change a packrat - I've tried. Just live with it, organize it and don't stress.

Answer 6

I keep things pretty messy. I clean eventually, but not very often--I try to keep things sanitary but clutter...well, it happens. A lot.

My dad is a big ol' packrat and my mom has periodic cleanups where she just drags all his stuff out on the lawn and throws some of it away herself and makes him sort out what he really needs out of the remaining stuff. It's painful and irritating for everyone involved, but sometimes it just has to be done. I think that hoarding instinct is tough to train out--I basically try to contain my hoard until it's entirely too cluttery and then I purge a bunch of stuff. The best time to clean is when you are angry but not super-frustrated. The anger can be channeled into cleaning and it'll make you clearer about what you really need and what you can pitch because you won't be feeling too sentimental. But the rest of the time, big plastic tubs are definitely the way to go.

My parents have two storage buildings and rent a storage space. My mom is not pleased about that. But marriage is about compromise, right?

Answer 7

Packrats require an 'enabler'. You allow him to be the way he is. If the truth be known, there's probably a bit of packrat in you. The only way to break him is to do it 'cold turkey'. Throw away everthing that is not where it should be.

Answer 8

that is EXACTLY like my family- u cant really get rid of a packrat, thats just who they are. we always have to do a "marathon cleaning session" right before we have company. its just impossible to keep the house clean! everything of ours is in neat piles

Answer 9

Don't change a packrat. I own tens of thousands of dollars worth of old baseball cards, because I never threw anything away as a kid, and neither did my mom. :-)

Answer 10

flylady.net

rid chaos *cant have anyone over syndrome* with a simple schedule.

My house is never ever dirty. I even make my bed in the morning. However, I used to live in chaos, and people stopped coming over. I thought I didn't know where to start, and would just let it continue to get messy.

try the site.