Oct 3, 2012

How Clean is Your House?

Yesterday's post brought up all sorts of quirks we all have about the "correct" way to do things.  I must add in Hubs' defense- he only leaves up the seat and lid of the master bathroom- not the more public ones of our house.  I'm sure once Miss Priss gets moving, all lids will be down at all times!

Speaking of her moving-

We are almost there.  She is dying to crawl to Buddy and pull on his whiskers.  This brings up my topic of the day- cleanliness levels.

Confession- I used to be a slob.  My college roommates and mother are nodding their heads in agreement right now.  I was a mess.  Really until I had Dell Harper, my house had a least one spot where mess was accumulating.  And dog hair? Well, with a super furry golden retriever, it is always a losing battle.

Anyway, now I am in a clean house habit.  With a baby who is about to crawl at any moment, and a nanny in my house every other week, I am conscious of the neatness level of my house like never before.  I used to babysit and nanny, and remember noticing who had a clean house, and who consistently had a wreck.  Now I am scared of the babysitter judgment!  Ha!

 Thanks to this guy, my house will never be too clean.  It's a good thing that my secret slob loves a lived in feel.  After I straightened the couch last night, I went to fold clothes and unload the dishwasher.  I heard some scuttling around and panting, and came back in the den to see this-
Complete destruction.  But he had a great time, and was grinning from furry ear to furry ear.

Anyway, my messiness still manifests- my closet overflows with clothing I randomly shove in there.  I HATE HANGING UP CLOTHES!!  Why is that such an awful chore?  Mama made me start doing my own laundry when I was 9, because of my predilection for trying on several outfits, then throwing the clean ones on my floor instead of hanging them back up.  Now I have a tendency to stuff my suits in my closet opposed to hanging them neatly in my hurry to get to yoga pants and squeezing that baby.  This means increased dry cleaning bills and ironing, and saves probably 3 seconds, but I just hate putting things on a hanger.

 I also dislike mopping.  I'm terrible at it.  I have a doctorate, yet cannot avoid mopping myself into a corner. That is why I will gladly scrimp in other areas to have a housekeeper come twice a month to do floors and bathrooms.  It's not expensive, and makes my life so much better.

I am a reformed slob, who now picks up every night, cleans the kitchen before bed, and vacuums and sweeps every other day.  My adolescent self is nodding smugly at my mama, as I always told her I would become neater as I aged.  My house is cluttery with picture frames and books, but the clutter is corralled.

So- reader poll.  Messy or neat?  Always neat?  Most hated chores?

23 comments:

  1. Our dogs are my problem. Or rather the dog hair. It is everywhere. SS is in the same boat as Dh with the crawling!!
    I hate putting clean clothes away. I also hate cleaning the bathtub.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why is putting clean clothes away so terrible? I have ran the dryer 3 times recently, simply because I keep procrastinating taking out the clothes.

      Delete
  2. I am an excellent Swifferer but I do not mop. I don't mind toilets too terribly much, but I hate tubs and showers. And I hate putting sheets on our king sized bed. It's like wrestling a bear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh, I forgot about putting sheets on the king size. Is it awful that I pay an extra $10 a month to have our housekeeper do it?

      Delete
  3. I love this post.

    I'm definitely neat and tidy, but I'm a stack/pile person. My husband is tidier than me, so I really try to make an effort.

    Dog hair ... we have a husky that sheds like crazy twice a year, and keeping the house fur-free is a JOKE.

    My least favorite chore is definitely putting away clean clothes. I don't know why, but it slays me. Thank goodness for Downy Wrinkle Release because the items stay in a somewhat-folded stack at the bottom of my closet for way too long.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES! I am so glad other people hate the clean clothes put away thing.

      Delete
  4. Please give tips on how you made this transition! I am not an innately neat person and wish I were. And the fact that you successfully made the transition with child and lady lawyer job makes me feel that I can (read: should) too! How did you get into the good habits?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shannon, unfortunately I just had to be disciplined until it became a habit. Every night, I make a sweep of the house, clean the kitchen, and put away stuff. It helps me to download a good book on my ipod, so I get to listen to that while I do my chores. Also, having someone in my house means that I have to get it done, or else the babysitter will see my mess!

      Delete
  5. As a former waitress, I get grossed out by dirty kitchen. I clean my kitchen more than any room in the house - second is the bathroom. Those places require cleanliness.

    Beyond that.... I rarely if ever put away laundry and usually at much prodding by JM. It's currently in a pile on a chair in my bedroom. I just loathe folding and putting away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's hanging that kills me- I think there should be an easier way!

      Delete
  6. Oh the pet hair! And let's be honest, my hair too (thank you hormones). The baby has started crawling and I loathe vacuuming. Is it considered child abuse if I just cover him in tape, sticky side out, and let him go?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm pretty neat. Stories from my mother claim that I used to put apple cores under my bed when I was a child. I enjoy laundry and even ironing and am rather fussy about the way the kitchen is cleaned. Despise cleaning the shower walls though. And vacuuming is fairly tiresome as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, please come to my house and put away clothes for me!

      Delete
  8. I am generally neat & thankfully so is my husband (he is neater than me). That's not to say we don't let things occasionally pile up.

    I hate sweeping & vacuuming. Luckily husband does all of that. Unfortunately with a dog, we have to clean the floors 3x per week in the common areas which seems ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These dogs! I agree- the frequency which I clean my floors is out of control.

      Delete
  9. My problem is letting clutter gather every week. Mail, shoes, laundry....then, come Saturday (or whenever we're having company), it gets put in its proper place so people think I'm perfect ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I keep pretty baskets and trays around for the clutter, then pick them up and hide them in my room when people come over. Once a week, everything gets put in its rightful place.

      Delete
  10. I also hate hanging up clothes...but I have the ultimate solution. You just have to invest in a pretty/fun old fashioned coat rack for your master bedroom. Then you can remove your suit and toss it up on there- it isn't on the floor but you don't have to go through the arduous task of grabbing a hanger, etc. That plus a professional grade garment steamer (gets out wrinkles in suits & delicate fabrics like a pro) means I never worry too much about a messy house or sloppy clothes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a WONDERFUL idea. I might pop in an antique store at lunch.

      Delete
  11. Oh I am nodding my head too. Messy? Check. Unorganized? Check. BUT I swear I am getting better. Mainly because it drives my husband crazy + I really don't want to be that lady with the dirty house. We have a cleaning lady (which helps our marriage & is totally worth every penny) and I have really tried to get in a routine. Always do dishes the night of and always walk around and do a "sweep" of toys, clothes, desk mess, etc. Progress… but I still hate hanging up clothes too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's my routine too- dishes and a sweep. And a cleaning lady!

      Delete

I love to hear from y'all, so drop me a line!