Living with Filthy House Syndrome is rough at first. You feel guilty. I even felt like a failure because my mirrors didn't sparkle. I was quite ashamed of myself!

As time went by, the house got dirtier and dirtier. I finally realized that I had to accept my new condition. I have an incurable disease. It is not my fault. Once I had this epiphany, I learned to cope (and cope well!).


The first thing I did to help my situation was to encourage vistors to phone before dropping by! You can't just have people popping in when you have FHS.
You need a good thirty minutes notice to pick up the big chunks!

I started stuffing the washer fuller when I finally did the laundry. I know they say that over-stuffing the washer will break it; but, I would rather buy a new washer then spend more time doing laundry! You can see that I have my priorities straight!

I finally made the other people that live here help out! I had been doing it all by myself and it was time for that to end. Even if your family already helps, you can always find a little more for them to do.

I decided to give up on clean closets and organized dresser drawers. I can live without washing windows in the Spring. I just want to walk across the kitchen floor and not stick to it. You have to let go of those ridiculously high standards.

The key to my surviving and accepting my FHS was support! I made new friends who all have filthy houses too! I can't tell you how much I love these new friends!! It is so great to have friends that can relate to chaos and messiness. We just talk and laugh for hours about what terrible housekeepers we are. There are probably many people in your circle now that are having the same problem as you, but are too ashamed to admit to it. If you made the first move and confessed that you struggle with keeping up in household chores, you might just find a best friend for life that totally sympathizes and understands.

A sense of humor is absolutely required to be able to live through FHS. If you can laugh at your circumstances, others will laugh instead of criticize (except for your mother-in-law). Give your house a nick name. I like to call mine "THE PITT" (as in: "this place is a pit"). When company comes, tell them you would clean the house but the county judge has court ordered you not to. Here at my place, we have this running joke. Every day we wake up and say that if the maid doesn't show up for work today that she is fired! (There is no maid. GET IT?) You'll find joking about FHS to be invaluable.

Make life easier for yourself. Use more paper plates. Cook easier meals. Make the kids sweep. Keep the big chunks up and don't think about the rest! Laugh instead of cry. Most of all, make friends with SLOBS!