HELP! I'm NOT Domestic!!!

EDSROSA · July 21, 2009

My mom taught us how to clean from a young age so thats pretty much all I have known my whole life. I always start with the living room > dining room > bathroom > 2nd bedroom > 1st bedroom > kitchen. (I find that the majority of things left around my apartment belongs in the kitchen or my bedroom). I start with wiping everything down from top to bottom(most of my furniture is wood and I love the way the orange Pledge leaves the room smelling). In the kitchen and bathroom I use Mr Clean. Then after everything is wiped down I vacuum my whole apartment and then I mop the floors. I use Bona hardwood floor cleaner for my floors. You can find that at Gracious home stores.

As far as cooking goes. Yeah I messed up LOTS of dinners when I first moved in with my FI. God bless him for eating some of that stuff!!!! My mom is a good cook so I would go to her house and watch her cook and my friend is an awesome cook and I would go to her house too and learn. It took a while but I think I am an OK cook now. At first I hated cooking and now I love it.

EDRBride2009 · July 21, 2009

Cleaning - I hate cleaning!! So many other things I could be doing. However, the cleaning fairy never shows up, so I'm forced to do it

Try making a schedule to do a little each day. Then it doesn't seem too overwhelming. And don't forget about Google - you can google anything!!!

As for food, get a good cookbook and go! At our house, we usually have an "experimental food night" once a week. Don't try anything too complicated to start. Better Homes and Garden has a cookbook full of simple recipes. The Best of Bridge cookbooks are the best! They are Canadian cookbooks full of great recipes.

Good luck!

big3n09 · July 21, 2009

I am a little bit of a neat freak I have to have things organized or it messes with my head so cleaning is no problem. I would suggest like the other ladies said start one room at a time and if you put things back and wipe up right away it makes it easier and less often you have to clean the whole place. Set a schedule and play music while your cleaning and you will eventually get the hang of it. As for cooking I do OK. My problem is the mess that's made from cooking fustrates me and I end up cleaning as I'm cooking. Cookbooks are a big help and start small there also. I have thrown away plenty when it didn't turn out right and strated over. My mother said she did the same when she first started. I call her and others for ideas and directions and write what they said and what you did for the next time you fix the same thing. Another idea is to put the books you want and cooking items on your gift registry to receive as gifts. Good luck it will get better with time before you know it you will bring out the Martha in you.

azulskies · July 21, 2009

My mom was a single mom and so I grew up learning how to clean/do laundry/etc. and it wasn't until I got college roommates that I even realized how much I took that for granted b/c they just didn't know what to do. So I definitely understand it can be frustrating for you!

I think you should just start small. When I clean, I pick a room and I guess I kind of do it in sections. I think when you try to clean everything at the same time, it becomes overwhelming! I like to put on music b/c it makes it feel just a little less like a chore.

As for cooking, my family was definitely a let's-go-out-to-eat family. So at first it was kind of hard for me to try and cook as opposed to going out and have someone do it for me! What I did was basically start off with small recipes of foods I really like. I find it helps to cook with the FI and also I usually get the dishes done while the food is cooking so that I don't really have to worry about them after we're done eating.

Good luck! It'll come to you with time.