House cleaning is rarely anyone’s favorite subject, but we’ve all got to do it or else hire someone to do it for us. Me, I usually do my own, but about once a year I’ll hire someone to come in and give it the good, deep cleaning that I don’t do so well.

I am fabulous at keeping things straight and keeping everything put away and in its place. I am definitely a “place for everything and everything in its place” kind of girl. My friends think I go a little overboard when I clean the cooking dishes before I’ll sit down to a meal. But if they’re done, then I can relax and enjoy my meal more. After we’re finished eating, I immediately clean the few dinner dishes, put away the leftovers and wipe off the counter tops. Then I’m done!

Once a week, usually on Thursday, I will wash clothes, water the plants, vacuum the house and straighten anything that has gotten out of place during the week. Why Thursday? Because then I’m free for the weekend. If I want to invite company over on Friday, I don’t have to fret over how the house looks or worry about when I’ll water the plants. It’s already done.

You can imagine how good I feel when everything is neat most of the time. I even enjoy this straightening so much that I’ve done it for friends. Once I spent 8 hours cleaning a boyfriend’s kitchen, which was full of 4 roommates worth of stuff and the belongings of a prior owner that had been left when they rented the place. Another time I went through almost 2 years of mail for a friend. Recently, I’m helping another friend excavate clutter from a home she’s been living in for about 12 years.

“Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui” by Karen Kingston is a very valuable book on how these cluttered areas can cause difficulties in other areas of your life and what to do about it. You can find it on Amazon.com.

About the author

Peg Mettarod is her neighbor’s best resource for household tips. She started her own home organizing business in 1995 helping others clear out clutter and get organized. You can read more house cleaning articles at House Cleaning

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