How I did it:

• The great leap forward was - professional help. I got some when family was coming to visit for an extended period. This helped raise the baseline of cleanliness and helped me to recognize what I really cared about cleaning around the place.
• Next, having regular guests, at least weekly. Gatherings with different configurations of folks are good for lots of reasons - but regarding a clean house - there's nothing like the pressure of making a good impression, especially when someone's never come over before. This works for me!
• I use Fly Lady style timing 15 min per area, not religiously, but when necessary. It helps the easily distracted side of me and I can always rely on giving any accumulated clutter or disorder a focussed push back.  
• When betwixt and between: sweep, swipe, or dust. 
• Asking the questions, when did I last use or appreciate this? when do I plan to use or appreciate it again? when confronting stray objects. Then having a reliable place for giveaways or tossing things if they're not useful for anyone really.

Resources:

Fly Lady: http://www.flylady.net/

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Jun 14, 2010, 07:05PM PDT | 0 comments | 6 cheers