It was when I was telling a friend that I wanted to get a Roomba because, "I think it would like me because I always spill so much stuff on the floor", that I knew I had a problem. No, not the tendency to anthropomorphize everything — the tendency to drop and spill everything…
I don't feel like I'm particularly messy, and yet I have to sweep my apartment every single day. Is this normal? I blame a lot on those dirty San Francisco streets, but I'm pretty sure I didn't track in scraps of embroidery floss, flower petals, red pepper flakes, and confetti on the bottoms of my shoes (and my floors are covered in these things). Thinking it over now, I realize that when I'm deeply involved in a project (embroidering, arranging flowers, cooking/eating dinner, making confetti), anything extra or unnecessary has to be tossed away immediately. "Get it out of here! It's in the way! I hate that color! I don't know — just throw it on the floor! Things are happening here!" Like the floor is in some other dimension that I'll never have to clean.
So. The question is this: can I change this habit of a lifetime? And I know I've been like this for a long time because my friend used to call me the Flour Queen "and not because you like flowers — because when you bake you get flour everywhere", and that was back in college, 12 years ago. (Hi, Ely!) Can I slow down, do things more carefully, not knock over the little pinch bowl of red pepper flakes every other day? Have you changed a household habit? How did you do it?
Or do I just accept it, buy a cuter broom that I'm excited to use, get a Roomba to love me until I'm ready to get a dog, and throw myself into projects, emerging happy and proud and very, very messy?
Image: Tess Wilson
Find Your Style: 20 Classic to Contemporary Kitchens to Add to Your Inspiration Board
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
More rugs, shoes off at the door and mindful actions should do the trick. Good luck!
Accept the fact you are a lost cause! Ha! There are more important things in life. Get that "cuter broom" and enjoy! Headstone: "She was a great housekeeper" - I don't think so. It's like you said "things are happening here".
Get a roomba and a kitten at the same time for years of entertainment.
http://youtu.be/LQ-jv8g1YVI
Why change, embrace your creativity, it's who you are, get a roomba. I've had mine for 2 years, it does the dirty work, and I create, and he's fun to watch too!
I have kind of controlled that sort of thing by having lots of little trash cans everywhere - I can throw the thread in the can instead of in the floor! It's not a 100% guarantee, but it does help...
Throw yourself into your projects and emerge happy and messy. The ability to be so spontaneous and in-the-moment is beautiful and precious. Enjoy your life.
THEN deploy Cute Broom and Roomba.
If you're being messy, its probably because you're engaged in whatever project you're working on. I say, don't worry about it. Just sweep once when you're done working. How long could that take?
Well, you'll need to do something about this habit if you ever want a dog or cat and don't want to spend the rest of your life at the vet because your pet ate <insert non-pet-safe item here>. Neither a roomba nor a broom will be fast enough to keep whatever out of your pet's jaws. Trust me on this.
So, the only solution is to stop yourself every time you're about to toss something on the floor and put it in the trash instead - or, you could put it in a pile to the side until you're done, then trash the whole thing. Lots of trash cans as lemonadefish suggested might help. Good luck. Bad habits are tough to break.
one should always accept oneself fully and unconditionally! and then, get a roomba. :)
You and me both, Tess! I'd like to know how someone bakes without getting flour all over the place. I'm a tornado in the kitchen. I had a former roomie call me Taz Tara. I need a Roomba like yesterday!
Get a Roomba and for big projects, one of those cute, overpriced reusable dropcloths high-end kids retailers sell (I'm thinking Mimi the Sardine--very cute). And don't get a cat--imagine the cat litter situation! A dog is safer. Or just have child. They make TREMENDOUS messes and will love you more than a Roomba, especially as you will be a mess-making collaborator.
A roomba is cool but just try to be neater and buy a swiffer. A low tech way to keep things clean...they work really well and get dust and small particles up.
If Roomba made a model that could follow a toddler around they'd make a fortune.
"'Get it out of here! It's in the way! I hate that color! I don't know — just throw it on the floor! Things are happening here!'" LOL. Hilarious! I find myself hovering around my boyfriend when he cooks, picking up all the crap he throws on the ground - orange peels, cilantro, bread crumbs (he slices bread with gusto, or sometimes just tears pieces off a loaf), coffee grounds.
We've reached a sort of medium state now where I can go a day or two without worrying too much about the floor.
But still not shoes on carpet allowed.
regarding your question, I think the hardest part about changing your ways is not finding a machine solution but about becoming conscious about each time you let things fall to the floor. Once you realize how frequently it happens, especially for miniscule things, it starts to drive you crazy, and it seems like an uphill battle to learn how to be consistently clean.
But I agree with commenters that it's important to be spontaneous when need be. Maybe focus on small changes? Instead of tossing confetti to the floor, sweep it into piles. Eventually toss those piles. The same for food scraps, and string.
But sometimes you can't be bothered with tidying up as you go, and that is never wrong.
If you want to go with behavior modification instead of the more fun Roomba route, I've heard putting a rubber band on your wrist and pinging yourself with it each time you notice the unwanted behavior can help.
I sympathise. Can't cook or wash up without making the biggest mess, and always seem to use every single pan and piece of equipment for the simplest meal. The dishwasher's my best friend.
Hmm... the rubber-band pinging idea IS intriguing! BUT, an alternative could be to CONGRATULATE yourself each time you do it right! And have lots of wastebaskets, make it as easy for yourself as possible to begin with.