[mojo7777]

I would love to live in a clean house, but not enough to do what it takes to keep it clean! I have a job from 8:30 am to 4:30-5, 5 days/wk, a teenager still at home and a husband, dog and cats and, of course, a horse. And I'm 60 this year. There is not enough time to relax if I'm filling in all the time I'm not doing other essential things with cleaning. So, I try to do something to keep ahead on the weekends, but end up continually ashamed to have anyone come in the house except immediate family.

My mom used to say that she had more important things to do than clean all the time, but she didn't seem to feel the guilt! And I don't remember the house being as bad as ours is now. I know people will say to ask the husband and son to help out, but husband already helps out big time in the kitchen, and neither one gives a hoot, no matter how bad the house is. Being a nag is worse than living in a dirty house.

Whew! Thanks for listening. I always wanted to post this on Off-Topic Day! Anyone else with me on this?

[JGHIRETIRE]

I'm not even working full time and I don't keep it clean enough. I can always find better things to do than clean house. The dust bunnies aren't going anywhere.

I would love to live in a clean house, but not enough to do what it takes to keep it clean! I have a job from 8:30 am to 4:30-5, 5 days/wk, a teenager still at home and a husband, dog and cats and, of course, a horse. And I'm 60 this year. There is not enough time to relax if I'm filling in all the time I'm not doing other essential things with cleaning. So, I try to do something to keep ahead on the weekends, but end up continually ashamed to have anyone come in the house except immediate family.

My mom used to say that she had more important things to do than clean all the time, but she didn't seem to feel the guilt! And I don't remember the house being as bad as ours is now. I know people will say to ask the husband and son to help out, but husband already helps out big time in the kitchen, and neither one gives a hoot, no matter how bad the house is. Being a nag is worse than living in a dirty house.

Whew! Thanks for listening. I always wanted to post this on Off-Topic Day! Anyone else with me on this?

[SmartAlex]

Ours is always tidy. I spend about an hour every week hitting the bathroom and running the sweeper and four hours every other week giving it a good scrubbing: floors, baseboards etc..

But, our house is small. Whenever I see a gorgeous big old house my first thought is "how long would it take to clean that thing?!?"

[ReSomething]

I have this story . . . So it seems that with our family issues lately we've been running over to help out and leaving our own house to molder. And one of the issues with family is the dirty house, and one of those issues is the recycling, cans and food containers aren't washed or rinsed, nothing, and with no curbside recycling it sits there and takes up space and stinks.

So I get back to my own home and realize that I have got the same issue brewing and decide to opt out for a while. Yes I feel guilty, but now what is happening is that the rest of the family is still acting as though there is recycling going on and still not placing the ex-recyclables into the trash, OR the feed bag I use to recycle (because it's not there) and I have piles of unwashed food containers being ignored by DD (but not tossed out) and piles of paper goods being left in the spot where the feed bag used to be. DH feeds, OK, but he just doesn't think about dragging an empty sack up to the house because after all we aren't recycling anymore.

To top this all off, my car is out of service and tossing the feed bags full of recycling into the bed of the pickup and zipping down the freeway to town recycling is a sure way to get to town recycling and having nothing left in the bed of the truck, and my own little trail of "breadcrumbs".

I'm going crazy slowly.

[oldernewbie]

Yes. I work a few extra hours and use the extra $$ to pay someone to come in and clean. Even once every two weeks is a huge help. I'd rather ride, thankyouverymuch!

[Huntertwo]

My mom was a neat freak and sadly for DH, it was instilled in me...
I'd actually get moody when I didn't vacuum and the dust bunnies were floating around.
See my post about the iRobot Roomba. The best thing I ever bought!!!
"I" was vacuuming while posting on here... lol Well, actually "Rosie" was.


It's much easier to put things back where they belong, than have it lying around. I'm not into dusting, so I grab the Swiffer and quickly dust over things. The bath tub? While I'm showering, I'll put soap on an extra washcloth and quickly clean the tub. Two birds with one stone..lol
Do it everyday and the tub stays nice and clean.

[shalomypony]

I think it's way harder to keep a small house(cluttered)clean,than a big one.Hate cleaning.

[Huntertwo]

Ours is always tidy. I spend about an hour every week hitting the bathroom and running the sweeper and four hours every other week giving it a good scrubbing: floors, baseboards etc..

But, our house is small. Whenever I see a gorgeous big old house my first thought is "how long would it take to clean that thing?!?"

I say the same thing when I drive by these huge homes...lol Who cleans that thing??? Ack!

Both DH and I agree- next house? Small!!!!!! Easy to clean, heat, cool, less taxes.

[Kestrel]

So... do you think that using a Swiffer instead of the vacuume is cheating? Please help reduce my guilt....

[theblondejumper]

I am really bad at "maintenance cleaning" and so is the BF. We tend to just let things pile up until the REALLY need to be cleaned. I am trying to be better. Our apartment isn't that big! What's tough is we currently have just closets as storage (3) and no real furniture (yet).

Working on it! I also just don't want to be obsessed with cleaning every time I get a free minute!

[saje]

This has been a great motivator for me. So much easier to do it in little bits, focus on flat surfaces first, nibble away at it. My house looks SO much better!

[lilitiger2]

Nope. When I die no one will ever say, "but she had a clean house". Waay too much fun to be had riding hiking being outside (and of course working). Husband even worse than me so, we cut corners (whitewear!) clean when we have to (sweats) but are happy being sanitary (no dirty dishes) but sloppy (papers). My mom told me "dull women have immaculate homes" (have that as a sticker) and I take it to heart!!

[threedogpack]

My problem is not the small house or even the DD, but the lack of storage space. I have exactly 2 closets and my clothes are in one, hers in the other. With no place to store things out of the way, it gets messy quick.

That said, I vacuum every day (or nearly) am good about doing dishes and the laundry usually gets done/folded/put away immediately. Tomorrow I'm going through a few drawers and deciding what to pitch.

[HopeandJoy]

I clean houses for a living and if any of my clients saw my house they would never hire me. I just don't really want to dust or scrub another toilet by the time I get home from a full day of dusting and toilet scrubbing.

[arabracer]

It rained nonstop this summer-which meant mold on everything outside. My husband and I have been pressure washing and cleaning nonstop including the LQ trailer. I work on some clients in my home, so the kitchen,guest bath and family room have to be clean. My Japanese chin is in heat and dosen't like her diaper, so I was hand-wiping the floor as well. Our laundry is 2 loads a day and I have a housekeeper for 3hours every other week.But the good riding weather is here, so that is my priority!!

[MistyBlue]

Storage and organization.

Seriously.

It can be done in any sized house, with or without closets or storage space. Just takes a little creativity and you can google that.

And it's a big pain in the ass to do the initial dejunk, dump run, major clean and then get organized...but...once it's done, it's DONE. And you'd be surprised at how much easier it is to then keep the place clean and decluttered.

Mr Blue and I are on our 3rd house together...each house gets smaller by at least 1000 sf. So I keep it organized as possible. And clean. And it's not a full time job doing so once you get it figured out and done.

Anyone can do it. If you can't figure out how to get started...hire someone for a big declutter/dump run and get rid of the excess crap first. Then hire for one full house scrub. Yeah I know, nobody wants to spend money on those things. But...it's money well spent. That way it gets dejunked and spotless and all you have to do is organize what's left and keep it that way. If the clutter and mess bother yoou enough...get those 2 things done and you won't feel so overwhelmed.

And getting teenagers to help doesn't mean nagging. Calmly state new rules of cleaning in the house. Calmly state penalties when one doesn't pitch in to do whatever they're now supposed to do. Implement punishment when needed. No need to nag, whine, complain or argue. Cause and effect.

[Canaqua]

No! I don't keep my house clean, I gave up long ago. DH and I both work full-time, he won't clean and I don't see why I should be the only one doing it. There are too many boys and dogs in and out of this house to even try . I love the boys and dogs, even the visiting ones who don't live here, so they are staying, mess and all. I do have some ladies come in twice a month to keep too many things from actually getting a foothold and growing in here.

[NeedsAdvil]

YES. Although I do not have teenagers or men messing up my stuff, I do have 2 dogs and 2 cats. One of the dogs is elderly and has frequent accidents which means I scrub the floors at least 3 times/week.

The first time my BF came to my house, he was extremely impressed at how neat and clean it was, he said most women are slobs. I explained that I have my moments for sure! I am just happier when the house is clean.

Agree with those who said organization is key. Having a well thought out place for everything makes it super easy to keep the clutter away and then it's so easy to just vacuum and mop as needed. Once the clutter gets out of hand, well, that's when the trouble starts!!!

[Sobriska]

Nope!
We both work full time. I have 3 horses, 4 outdoor cats, 2 indoor cats and two indoor dogs that shed.
We tend to vacuum every other day.
Cat box daily or every other day.
Dishes in dishwasher and wipe up kitchen daily. Laundry is the biggest deal. We was hand dry a ton, but seem to never actually fold and put away. We just pluck what we need from dryer or basket.
We don't have company. Really, pretty much never. We both prefer to relax after feeding animals and getting dinner. Really, about two hours between finishing chores and going to bed.

[Karosel]

I clean houses for a living and if any of my clients saw my house they would never hire me. I just don't really want to dust or scrub another toilet by the time I get home from a full day of dusting and toilet scrubbing.

Me too!!! What's that old saying? "the cobblers children don't have shoes"