I think it's great that you realize that having a clean house is a goal worth working towards. It has positive psychological effects and just makes life easier in general.

I am having problems with cleaning now (and have been for several months) because of apathy from depression and low energy from health problems. I just signed up for the "Tiny Habits" (free) er, system, I guess. I start next Monday. The general idea seems to be to commit to do things which are helpful but so small that they're embarrassingly manageable. Three habits next week with e-mail feedback.

I grew up in an extremely clean house with a stay-at-home mom who cleaned, cooked, gardened, canned vegetables, sewed clothes, etc. She definitely had a schedule and she taught my sister and me a lot about house cleaning. Even so, when I moved out on my own, I found that there were lots of house cleaning tasks that I had never done before. Cleaning the oven was one of them. The internet is a great resource for information now, if you want more info. than just reading the instructions.

I don't usually recommend books I haven't read, but I have been *wanting* to read this one for a while, so I'll make an exception: The Lost Art of House Cleaning. It's supposed to be funny, too.

Maybe your husband will help you with trying to come up with a cleaning schedule and reading about how to clean. (Unless it's one of those topics that will cause a husband/wife argument.)

After I moved out on my own, I was living alone and I found myself letting things get very messy at first. It took a few years of trial and error, but with me, I finally got so that I usually would keep things pretty clean and neat because it was just so much easier and made me feel better. I think people who have clean houses do it for different reasons.

I have been making a little bit of progress the last month or so towards getting things back to a cleaner state. My depression has been a bit better, so I have seized a few moments when my apathy wasn't so bad to do a cleaning task.

I also find that looking at photos of the interiors of houses and apartments inspires me to want to clean and improve my own. I don't know if that works for everyone. I get an e-mail newsletter from "Apartment Therapy" (I live in an apartment.) It doesn't address cleaning at all, but does address storage methods and how to arrange your things to look good and be efficient.

I wish you lots of luck! Oh, and the person who said not to forget music made a great suggestion. When I'm doing serious cleaning, music makes it less boring. I actually made a "House Cleaning" playlist a few years ago of energetic favorites. Now I just need to use it!