From Glitches
Baby steps is one of her mantras. Take a lick at a snake is anoehtr.. . She knows that a house can get into such terrible shape that the task of dealing with the whole mess can seem insurmountable. So it's okay to set yourself limited goals you can accomplish in fifteen minutes. You're getting something done, and it's productive.. . She suggests shining up your kitchen sink, if you're starting from Square One.. . Even the most meticulous housekeeper always has some little project pending. It's an ongoing process, not a job you can just do and forget about.. . In my experience, getting family members to pick up after themselves can be hard. Some wives and mothers let natural consequences take over ? . ? If it doesn't get into the laundry, it won't be ready the next time you want to wear it. . ? If you don't hang it up, you'll have to wear it wrinkled. . ? We're all out of clean dishes? Hurry up and wash some out by hand right now ? supper's almost ready, and it'll burn if you get in my way in the kitchen. . ? Where's your corduroy coat? I don't know. . . Then too, if you enlist them even once to help with some chore, they'll begin to respect the time and effort you usually spend to get it done. Sweep and swab the kitchen floor, please, so it'll dry before I start supper. ? Better pick up the hair from the bathtub drain just as soon as you finish your shampoo, or we'll have to take apart the trap when it gets clogged up. . . My point of view is, it's not nagging if you make your request in a normal tone of voice, and are prepared to let the chips fall where they may if there's any foot-dragging. The consequences should be designed to directly affect the people involved, however, or they'll happily live in a pig pen.
