Is there a ritual to make me like cleaning?

[Garnet]

*sigh* I know this will seem silly & trivial....
but can anyone recommend a ritual, spell, amulet...that will make me like cleaning my house? I hate cleaning & am far too easily distracted when I try. I will stop for any reason: unfinished books, Solomon whispering that he's full of e-mail, the cats need petting, Jerry Springer looks almost reasonable today...you get the idea.
I like having a clean house & am tired of pretending not to be home when people drop by unannounced. I just HATE cleaning. I have every cleaning product ever made, a full kit (mop, pail, etc.) on every floor & every organizational tool available, & nothing helps. Until I win the lottery & can afford to pay someone else to clean, I'll have to do it myself, which means that it rarely gets done (& the guest room is already full of 'hide-it-quick' clutter).
Any ideas? (Besides praying for a tornado) Thanks.

[Lavender]

:lol: Haven't found it yet myself. If you do, don't forget to share it with the rest of us! :D

I seem to remember someone posting a cleaning ritual that sounded like fun too. Something about to do with a cartoon character or something? This was waaay long time ago so it might be quite a ways down this forum.

[Danustouch]

Well...i was always taught, that when your life is chaotic, your house will also be chaotic. Perhaps if you become more relaxed and at peace in your environment, and more calm with your inner self, you will be able to enjoy your environment more, and learn to appreciate the beauty of it. When we find things beautiful, typically, we want to keep them that way, or show them off :)

So..in other words, i'd try to get in touch with the inner you, and find out why you are so chaotic. Do you feel "Pressured" with the cleaning? Pressed for time? Perhaps you feel you haven't been taking very good care of yourself, physically, or emotionally, and the lack of love for housekeeping is merely a reflection of that? Not saying that everyone who doesn't like cleaning has any of these problems..but it could be part of it.

When I was living in my first apartment..i was soooooooo short on time, and energy. It was a depressing apartment anyway, really small...i was renting it with a boyfriend who i was having major problems with, and he was a major pig. Etc. So..my cleaning abilities when i lived there were minimal, at best. I didn't really even BOTHER most of the time, except to pick up, and do dishes and laundry. I was just so depressed there. But..when I moved out of that apartment, i found a lovely little house to rent with a friend, that I just loved so much, walking into it was like starting off on a whole new life. And I wanted to cherish it. My mood improved 100 fold while there. I loved coming home and cleaning the house. I think my surroundings GREATLY influenced my desire to clean.

So..i'd just do some meditation, and find out what it is that distracts you from doing the housework. Or..what prevents you from liking it.

Perhaps it's simply a matter of priorities. Maybe right now, at this point in your life, playing suzy homemaker isn't as important to you as finding out who you are as an intellectual, or in a career setting. Maybe the time for that will be later on.

No magick charms for it sweetie. Though..there may be some Gods and Goddesses of the Hearth that may be able to help you out, here or there :)

You could also try visualizing your place as you WISH it would be, and start working toward that a little bit at a time, every day. You'd be working toward a desire, so it might not seem like such a task to you :)

[Faery-Wings]

This is not magical, but this helped me- a friend told me about this website/email list and it has helped me a lot. it is http://www.flylady.net/ The premise is to break daunting tasks into 5 to 15 minutes jobs. I started this last summer and while I don't do everything she says, I have been able to incorporate a lot of the routines. My house stays much neater than before and it never seems to have to have a huge "overhaul" like it did before. I really noticed a difference when last week, my whole family got sick but my house still looked neat!

Let me know if you check out the site and what you think. I know she seems a bit kooky at first but it it works. :)

Chris~ still wishes she could wave her "magic wand" and clean the house!:p

[Rubi Waters]

Well...i was always taught, that when your life is chaotic, your house will also be chaotic
Oh no I'm in big trouble then!!:eek:

[Haedis]

Well I had the same problems. I couldnt start anything or stick to it for very long at all. I have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and I take medication for it which helps me to be more organized, allows me to concentrate, and helps me to not procrastinate so much. If you use the advice that the other posters suggested and it still doesnt work, you may want to consider getting tested for ADD. I could never find a magickal solution for that sort of thing. Eh, modern medicine has its perks. Good luck! :)

[faeriedust]

hmmm house cleaning spell........... sounds wonderful to me...... seeing there are five of us squeezed into a two bedroom trailer right now!!!!!!;)

[Garnet]

Thanks for the help!
The 'FlyLady' site looks great-I've already signed up.
I've decided to try 'one room a day' but I have to do a thorough job. Yesterday, I tackled the kitchen & weeded out lots of stuff to put aside for my oldest neice, who's starting a 'my first place' collection.
ADD...Hmmm. Actually, I've suspected for a long time that I might have it. Sometimes I find myself mentally clubbing myself on the head & insisting 'pay attention! this is important!' I'm not big on taking drugs, though. I have trouble remembering to take vitamins.
Danustouch...you are so right you're spooky! I sat & really gave it some thought & I've decided that I live in an ugly house, so why bother? When I bought this place, I was SO stupid...I just followed the agent around saying "Looks like an attic to me, too."
The house turned out to need a lot more work than I ever imagined, & I've put off 'making it pretty' until I fix the big stuff- replace the wiring, plumbing, roof, etc. The only room that I've decorated is the downstairs loo, & that only because fixing a minor problem ended up requiring tearing down walls, & rebuilding the floor. And I have this mental block about borrowing money, so I save up to fix stuff.
I still have a couple of big projects to do, but the house is in good enough shape so that I can let them slide a bit & just make something pretty enough to live in. I have a pile of catalogs, a notebook, & the beginnings of a plan & I'm planning a shopping trip-at least for ideas. THANK YOU! The spooky thing is that I've been losing my eyeglasses around here. As soon as I made an announcement (aloud, because only the cats hear) that I was going to start making things attractive, my glasses started showing up!
Thanks , folks. I appreciate the help. Say- does anyone have a spell to make the city empty the recyclig bins twice a month instead of only once?:lol:

[lucidfire]

Magic tends to be a lot less 'hocus pocus' than most people think. Try looking at the source of the problem, cause and effect, and it'll usually make sense (even if it's not easy).