HTCI: Creative Solutions

As I work through modeling my home after "The House That Cleans Itself" I'm coming up with solutions to a few problems. Here's what we have so far:

Problem: Losing keys, sunglasses, ID, important mail

Cause: It gets tossed wherever there is room.

Solution: Give it a place! We bought a small decorative plate to house keys and wallet (It's just big enough for these items! Anything larger would accumulate STUFF). We also got a long basket (it's a silverware sorter actually) for mail. Again, it's just the right size.

You can also see where we decided to keep fruit in plain view.

Problem: Shoes all over the floor. And if you've never kicked a pair of Stefan's boots let me tell you: IT HURTS! Franklin also picks up shoes and walks off with them. This makes it very hard to leave the house on time some days.

Cause: Again, tossed wherever.

Solution: Cabinet locks. Under the above space there is a single cabinet space. I put one of the sticky locks and now we can take off our shoes, store them, and grab them quickly to leave.



Problem: Stefan has several things he has to remember to pack when he wears his dress blues on Mondays. (hat, shoes, belt, etc...) These things were getting lost during the week and that caused major frustration on Sunday nights. (We would spend our "together time" searching the apartment/house for these items)

Cause: Hint...there's a theme here...

Solution: I hung a regular grocery bag on a hanger in the downstairs closet. Now, when he gets home he just takes these things off and puts them in the bag and they're ready for the next wear!


Stay tuned as we keep going!


Linking:

Confession Time: I'm a SLOB

 

For those that follow me regularly I know you've seen my before and after cleaning posts so this won't be a huge surprise. I also know that my parents subscribe to this so they won't be surprised either!!

I'm a slob. Really. When I get down and CLEAN I do a great job and it looks awesome. I can also give great cleaning advice. 

However...

I don't live it. I don't do dishes until the sink is screaming for mercy. I put dirty clothes on the floor mere feet from the hamper. I leave the lid off of the peanut butter and a knife sitting beside it. (That last one was for my husband. It's a HUGE pet peeve of his! LOL)

I'm working on The House That Cleans Itself right now. The main premise is that you change the house to fit the behavior. So, if you set your keys on the same spot in the middle of the counter each day DON'T buy a hook because you'll never hang them up! Buy a basket instead. (We got a pretty plate and a basket for mail) 

However...

You can only change a house so much. The groceries won't put themselves away. Dishwashers can't load on their own. So, after you change the house you have to change yourself.

I'm going to keep you posted on my progress and the changes we implement. Keep us in your prayers! It's going to be a bumpy few months.

The House That Cleans Itself

I bought the book The House That Cleans Itself on Amazon (used for super cheap!) and devoured it in a couple of days!

I really think this can work for my home. I'm going to take you on this journey with me!

I'll chronicle my journey through the book on this blog. I'll TRY to get photos in as I go (a lot of it is journal work and I dont' have a scanner at the moment)

If you want to give it a try the book is fairly cheap on Amazon.