I hate to dust.  I do it very infrequently.

I hit the areas that are most visible when it becomes really obvious I haven't done it for a while.  And when we are getting company, which thankfully isn't very often.

I have 3 dogs and a cat in the house.

All but one shed, alot.

The great dane is just the WORSE.

Whenever he shakes his hair flies all over.  And being so tall it lands on the higher surfaces.

 

dishes! hands down! i have been known to wait til there's no more glasses left in the cabinet before starting the dishes.

 

on second thought, maybe i should have said "papers". these seem to appear out of nowhere! piles and bags of papers except the 1 i want! this is my biggest downfall! i cant seem to throw any away! i lost all of my wedding pictures (except the 1 i put on my computer) and my good winter coat becuz i went away for 4 days (scout outing) and when i got back garbage had been picked up w/ 5 boxes of my "papers". hubby thought he was helping but he threw out 2 boxes of photos and 1 box of winter clothes! he didn't bother to waste his time looking in the boxes 1st; he just assumed!

paper is my biggest problem, also. Once I have a system in place, I don't mind filing, but when I moved twice, I didn't have a new system. So, I have papers in tote bags, clippings in a box, and some piled on top of the desk - the important financial ones. I write for a living, so I generate a lot of paper and bring paper home. I just cancelled my subscription to the local newspaper, however. I can read it online for a small fee. If  I see a story I would like to keep for reference, I can copy and paste it into a document and save it on the computer. If I really need a "hard" copy, I can print it out, but my goal is to generate less paper.

 

The other thing that has helped is that I sort my mail as soon as I come through the door with it. I have a spot next to my rocking chair in the living room where I put catalogs. Once a week, I throw them out. I rarely actually order anything. I also take out a pair of scissors and cut up anything of concern before throwing it away - i.e. a credit card offer. Other "junk" mail either goes directly into the trash, or into the recycle bag. And bills go on my desk. On any given day, it takes me no more than 15 min. to sort my mail, sometimes it's only 5 min. I used to have enormous piles of catalogs and junk mail. Sorting mail turns out to be one of those little things you can do that ends up making a huge difference.

 

Ah, the other thing I really dislike is cleaning the litter box. I am ashamed to say, with two cats, that I let it go for as much as 5 days at a time, which is really not healthy for the kitties. I have a sticky note posted next to the bathroom mirror that just says "litter box" so that I will (eventually) clean the box everyday, therefore making it less of a chore.

 

I also don't let my dishes go for more than two days anymore, usually I do them at least once a day. Again, it's one of those things that used to plague me -- piles and piles of dishes, no counter space, getting embarassed if anyone dropped in. I time myself one and found that I could do a whole day's worth of dishes in 15 minutes. I take everything out of the sink, stack dishes with dishes, bowls with bowls, etc. and then tackle each pile. I leave the pots and pans for last -- and I just dry them and put them away as soon as they are washed.

 

I think what's been happening is that I am chipping away at habits that used to create enormous messes and overwhelm me. I find that the more things I can just spend a few minutes on -- putting the laundry immediately after I get back from the laundromat, for example -- reduces the amount of anxiety I feel about my clutter.  I think that's the best way to change bad habits -- one at a time, in baby steps.

 

--Brenda