Conquer the Krudzu

I’m not a very good housekeeper.

That’s pretty scary to admit in this group of ladies! It’s not that my home is trashed out all the time—but it is every now and then, especially when things are hectic. It’s also not that I have a wide slobbish streak. I don’t. There’s no food stuck to my table and counters, and your feet won’t stick to my floors, but I do caution visitors to keep their shoes on because the chances of dirt on the floor is fairly high. Even with sweeping daily there’s often dirt on my floors because we live in the country and how many people go in and out the doors. But it’s not the ground-in, always-there dirt.

Sometimes when people come to my house I cringe. Suddenly I see the little spider web laced along the legs of a cabinet, and the dust clinging to the air vents in the living room. Of course, that’s also when the dust bunnies come out of hiding and scurry around. But to be honest, what makes me cringe the most is the clutter that’s camped in every corner.

KAR KONSUMING KUDZU By NC Cigany

Let me tell you something I’ve noticed about clutter. Once it starts in one little corner, it quickly spreads like Kudzu until it overtakes everything. It becomes krudzu.

This happened to me and I don’t recommend it to anyone. Since I’m not a stellar, methodical housekeeper, the clutter kept creeping.

So what’s a challenged housekeeper to do?

If you’re like me and you aren’t a housekeeper who consistently cleans according to a routine, try to ride the cleaning spree wave. Every now and then I get in the mood to clean and when I do, I try to milk it for all it’s worth. There’s a few things I do to help me make the most of my cleaning spree.

**Assign jobs to the children. This does two things: gets them involved in the cleaning and also keeps them productively busy as you power-clean. The jobs you assign do not have to be right there with you. Depending on their ages, they can wash windows, bleach shower curtains, clean their rooms, pick up the yard, hunt dust bunnies, whatever, but you do not want them lying around watching you work. That isn’t good for anyone! I might have one helping me as an assistant, but usually it’s just one child helping me while the others check back with me as they finish an assigned chore.

**Work fast. Have the mindset that you’re going to conquer the clutter in that corner, and do it. Don’t hem-haw around deciding whether you should keep something or not. You know those tests that tell you to go with your initial response? This is a good time for that policy. (This is one reason why I often do this declutter step by myself—there’s no children to see what I’ve thrown out.)

**Start in one corner. Go for the worse offender. Don’t settle for a lick-and-a-promise when you’re in a cleaning mood! Sort into piles. Stuff to throw out, stuff the kids need to take care of and stuff to haul off to the Salvation Army. Don’t consider that corner done until it’s polished and the dust bunnies are eliminated.

Kudzu By foto.man25

**Once that corner is done move to another area, preferably close to where you started so you’re increasing your decluttered and clean zone.

**Munch on snacks if need be to keep your energy level up. For me this is important. Without snacks I’d run out of steam and my cleaning spree would be over before I was ready to quit. I don’t stop for big snacks, but rather grab something that I can pop in my mouth and keep working.

**Change your menu plans to an easy-fix meal. Even if it’s just pancakes or peanut-butter and jelly, it’s worth it if it helps getting some in-depth cleaning done!

There are ways to accomplish housework, even if you’re not a stellar, methodical housekeeper. Remember, what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another. Find what works for you and do it. My cleaning sprees come several times a year and when they come, I work fast and milk it for all it’s worth. When I’m done, the krudzu is gone and it’s the equivalent of a spring cleaning—even if it’s in October.

So tell me, do you have some unusual ways you accomplish your housework?

About The Author

Patty Wysong has written 34 articles on this blog.

Since Patty quit running from God's call on her life, she's been happy. Life is never dull for her as she juggles being a wife, a homeschooling mom of five, bookkeeper of their family business, teaching online blogging classes, and her writing. In addition to drinking black cherry kool-aid from china tea cups, she loves weaving lessons that she's learned into short stories and devotionals, most of which can be found on her blog Patterings. You can also find Patty at The Barn Door, the Internet Cafe and Adding Zest, a site for Christian women who want to add some zest to their love nest.

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