Greetings everyone. A little bit of a backstory to my inquiry...

My mother was not a good housekeeper. For as long as I can remember her house has been a disaster zone. Think hoarding, piles of stuff that make it hard to even walk from room to room, plus general disorder and debris from garbage, old dishes, etc.

Honestly, towards the end (after I had moved out) I was surprised to not see rats and cockroaches all over, considering how bad and out of hand things got before she died.

The only memories I have of my mother ever cleaning house would be right before company was due to come over. She'd have this huge "clean house day", which would always be a nightmare and very stressful for everyone.

Now that I'm living out on my own (with a husband, a cat, and no kids), I want to do better for myself. I don't want to collect crap like she did and let it pile up and become clutter. I make a conscious effort to get rid of junk that isn't used often so that clutter won't pile up. (Thank goodness Easter Seals picks up donations right from your doorstep!)

There are two problems right now with my being able to have a happy, clean household:

1. It is very hard for me to get motivated to do any cleaning. I'm sure this relates to my depression, as on some days it's hard to get motivated to do anything at all. I just try to use positive self talk and remind myself that I don't want to become my mother, and that is usually enough to get me going enough to at least wipe down the bathroom, or do some dishes, sweep, etc. But I end up feeling defeated, even if I do get a few things done, because it never feels like enough, and the work to be done is endless.

2. The biggest problem is that I really have no idea how to keep up a house. I had no example to learn from, and I really need some tips/tricks/advice. There are many things I don't know how to do, such as clean out a stove. It occurred to me the other day that we've been in our apartment 5 years now, and I've never once cleaned out the stove! Yikes!

So I guess I'm asking - how do you keep up with housework? Ideally, I'd like to have a "base level" clean that the house is just always kept at. I'd like for myself to not be embarrassed by the house if friends or family stop by unannounced and I don't have time to clean first.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Do you follow a cleaning schedule? Or do you divvy jobs up amongst members of the household? (So far all I can get my husband to do is clean the dishes and scrub out the bath tub occasionally - but he has said he wants to do more to help me to not stress so much, so that's a start at least. Now I just have to make him a 'honey do' list.)

Thanks in advance.