heidiiiii Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Cat hair is a condiment. Those are not dust bunnies..they are fillers for dollhouse cushions. I am waiting for the lil elves to come and wash my dishes. The dog will eat it. I like the way the cobwebs sway in the breeze. Makes me think I am living on the bayou. The cats think of it as a challenge..both spacial and odoriferously (i made up a word! LOL). If you flip your pillow over if smells just as fresh as if it came out of the dryer. Okay..I cannot think of anymore..I am done..for now. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidiiiii Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Cleaning Poem I asked the Lord to tell me Why my house is such a mess. He asked if I'd been 'computering', And I had to answer 'yes.' He told me to get off my fanny And tidy up the house. And so I started cleaning up... The smudges off my mouse. I wiped and shined the topside. That really did the trick... I was just admiring my work.. I didn't mean to 'click.' But click, I did, and oops I found A real absorbing site. That I got SO way into. I was into it all night.<Sigh> Nothing's changed except my mouse It's very, very shiny. I guess my house will stay a mess... While I sit here on my hiney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymew Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 My husband is "Mr. Clean" personified. He does all of the housework, yardwork, maintains our two vehicles (he fills my gas tank once a week and washes my car inside and out). As a matter of face, he's running the vacuum cleaner right now (me, I don't even know how to turn the vacuum cleaner on ... I'm really not kidding). I think he's almost finished doing the laundry, and I know that he's cleaned the bathroom and put clean sheets on the bed. Last weekend, he pulled out the fridge and stove and cleaned behind them. Housework has never interested me. If Ray didn't like doing it, I'd hire somebody. He works shifts and always has 3 days off in a row. On his first day off he always does all the housework. About 1/2 an hour ago he was in my home office and was wondering where to put the new phone books that had been delivered today. I told him to just toss them on the top shelf in the front entry closet as I seldom used them. But no, he's gone through the whole bookcase in my home office, and tidied up and found space for them. He felt that the top shelf in the closet would be too high for me to reach. He's so funny. -Susanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyondbaffled Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Wow, you guys are great and I love all of your stories! I shouldn't let the apartment being messy bother me like it does and David definitely does not get it. He'll forget to tell me somebody is coming over until there's a knock at the door and I'm not kidding sometimes I feel downright ashamed (and I'm truely not a dirty person I promise). Or he'll tell me "oh such and such is on his way over," and then I'm running around like a madwoman - I've got to empty the bathroom trashcan, and David can you please put your shoes in the bedroom, why is there a dirty pot on the stove? Think of it this way. If someone was going to show up unexpectedly to your home, which rooms would you WANT to have clean at their arrival? For me, that would be the rooms that they would most likely go in...the livingroom, the diningroom, the kitchen, and the downstairs bathroom. So I make sure those rooms are tidy at all times. Okay, this advice I am definitely taking to heart. No one needs to be in or see my bedroom so if the bed is not made then I'll just shut the door. The obsession with clutter and trash is driving me crazy right now-I don't even go in the part of the house where my DIL lives or we would come to blows. How can anyone live with so much trash and laundry on the floor that you can't see the floor?? The kids' toys are a normal part of life and don't count as clutter. 6 old Sonic cups sitting on the window seat do. I don't know what a DIL is, but my DBD (dear boyfriend David) is definitely the one with six cups sitting on the coffee table. Oh yeah..I remember. When I was growing up my mother had this absolutely unbreakable routine of housecleaning. I think that my Mom is where I inherited my cleaning stress. Growing up the house was per-fect! My Aunt's, my Mamaw's, my Mom's friends all used to comment on how clean/neat/tidy our house was. I remember when school was out for spring break she'd have us up wiping down walls or dragging stuff out of the basement. And when my Mom was my age she had a 7 year old (me) and a 2 year old and she still seemed to do it all. I'm not married, no kids, but I do have a 26 year old boyfriend - which somehow has to count as like half a kid or something, right? As for dusting we have a gravel drive way and a dirt road that runs behind the house so keep the tv and computer screen clean the rest gets dustied when you can write your name in as the kids say. I hate dust and it seems like this apartment is a dust magnet. I never even thought about it until I read this post, but they are building a new school across the street (and have been for the last year) so that could account for a lot of it. All of this has been very helpful. Especially the reminders to not stress about it so much. I am going to make myself the best cleaning list ever though. I'm going to clean the things that need it and then just move on to more fun things - like my minis :thumb: And btw, I really like that flylady site so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyondbaffled Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 If you flip your pillow over if smells just as fresh as if it came out of the dryer. LOL! My husband is "Mr. Clean" personified. Susanne you are a very lucky woman. Does your husband teach classes? I would like to enroll David please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmgervais Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Too funny Heidi! :thumb: Yet how true sometimes! I, personally, would definately prefer to be on my computer than cleaning the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Grazhina, that sounds like my family! I have an insulated mug and a Tobasco sauce coffeecup (old as me). When I finish with the coffeecup in the morning, it goes in the dishwasher. The mug goes to school with me, holds tea at dinner, and gets washed out when I go to bed. Do you know that styrofoam (as in styrofoam cups) never biodegrades? Long after we are dead and gone, all those Sonic cups will still be laying around! Anyway, back to the subject-my dad used to decide he was going to show my mother how to get her pots and pans 'clean'. He'd scrub the cast iron pan she'd carefully seasoned right down to the bare metal. Men can be a real pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I had a girlfriend to tell me once, "Housework, if done properly, will kill you." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uppitycats Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Cleaning Poem I asked the Lord to tell me Why my house is such a mess. He asked if I'd been 'computering', And I had to answer 'yes.' He told me to get off my fanny And tidy up the house. And so I started cleaning up... The smudges off my mouse. I wiped and shined the topside. That really did the trick... I was just admiring my work.. I didn't mean to 'click.' But click, I did, and oops I found A real absorbing site. That I got SO way into. I was into it all night.<Sigh> Nothing's changed except my mouse It's very, very shiny. I guess my house will stay a mess... While I sit here on my hiney. Way way funny, and unfortunately, too true!! :thumb: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 my dad used to decide he was going to show my mother how to get her pots and pans 'clean'. He'd scrub the cast iron pan she'd carefully seasoned right down to the bare metal. I recently bought a new big cast iron skillet, and was explaining to my husband about seasoning it with cooking oil and how you're not supposed to wash it with soapy water, etc. He said "you mean you're supposed to leave it sort of dirty?" yes, I suppose he'd see it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfieldzoo Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 So many people watch shows like cribs and want to make their house look like some famous person's house. I always liked the 'Munsters'. I never have to look for paper. I just write in the dust on the table and tear the page off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Color Me Holly Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 we have controlled chaos around here. But I have also gotten rid of a lot of stuff. It makes it easier. The girls take care of their rooms. Since I am not working right now. Most everything is done. Laundry sweeping mopping etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC865PB Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Did you read the story in yahoo odd news about the german women who divorced her husband because he cleaned too much.. he knocked down a wall cause it was dirty and rebuilt it, after 15 years she couldn't deal with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellee Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 FLYLADY !!! I swear by her.!! She has really helped me to gain control.!! Check it out www.Flylady.net Kellee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Susie come lately to this thread ... Years ago, I used to use a 3 ring notebook with all the months of the years and the rooms of the house set up on a rotating schedule for "deep cleaning" - the woodwork, stripping, waxing and polishing the wood floors (before poly'd wood and laminate), curtains, windows, etc. kinda thing. Then I had a second set for weekly stuff. I was so bound to "the notebook" that I couldn't live. Finally someone pointed out the truism of "what will your kids fondly remember about you when they are grown up and/or when you are dead - your clean house or the time you spent with them?" It was a hard switch to un-program and I'm still a little over on the OCD side of order but I can tolerate putting things off and not having everything perfect now, which is a good thing now that I'm raising three grandchildren. They have so many needs because of their problems that cleaning for sanitation is the bottom line and the rest comes as I can handle it. I'm the queen of multi-tasking - you know, cleaning the bathroom while I taking a shower and brushing my teeth sort of person, so that helps. I'm still a "clean the bathrooms and kitchen every day person" and see that the kids are clean every day and the toys picked up before bed but nowadays laundry sometimes sits in baskets and curtains may or may not get washed and so on. Healing these little guys definitely comes first !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 This has always been a favorite poem of mine and had a copy of it hanging on my wall when my kids were growing up, I have since passed it on to my daughter. Song for a Fifth Child by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth, Empty the dustpan, poison the moth, Hang out the washing and butter the bread, Sew on a button and make up a bed. Where is the mother whose house is so shocking? She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking. Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo). Dishes are waiting and bills are past due (Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo). The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo. Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue? (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo). The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep. Just substitute dollhouses for babies! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Wow I haven't heard that one for ages. Thanks for sharing. I had this part on a liquid embroidery wall hanging after I was trying to get "rehabilitated". It had little pictures of children being played with done with the liquid embroidery stuff (yes, that's dating me I know). I didn't remember that there was more to it. Too long ago. The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep. Update: I just googled it and it said it was published in the Ladies Home Journal 1958. Just made myself a little paper plaque to hang on the wall again. Thanks again for sharing a wonderful memory for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 i have been a clean-a-holic for years but suddenly it hit me that i really did not have a real life. so i totally changed and have not regretted it one minute. i vacuum every other day because of the cats, mainly. i dust twice a week. as i cook, i clean the kitchen, every day a part. i do the windows once every 2-3 weeks, depends on how they look. by the way, if you just put a bit of vinegar (the kind for cleaning) in the water you clean your windows or mirrors with, they become superclean. just some vinegar and water. i put the laundry in the machine as i get out of the shower in the morning. and we all put whatever we used back where we got it from whenever we are done with it. chores (is that the word? i mean little tasks) are not just for me but equally divided. i am blessed with a dishwasher, so i never do the dished by hand. i clean bathroom once a week, toilet on a daily basis. but i use a spraylike stuff, spray on wipe off, clean and sparkly. but, to be honest, most of the time its still a mess in my house. too many stuff, too little space. the good news is that i can live with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nechee Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Sounds like my house. Too much mess, too little time. I have three kids, 2 of which are in school every other day. My dishes are done daily (I have a dishwasher) and I could not tell you the last time I dusted. I mop the floors once a week (unless there is a doggy accident, then it is more)Laundry gets done on the weekend and I fold as I take out of the dryer and then put it away. The only carpeting in my house is in the bedrooms and I vacuum them about once or twice a week. As for cleaning up after my husband well that is a 24 hour 7 days a week job because he is a bigger slob then all three of my kids put together. I practically have to follow him with a garbage bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa_F Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 When my boys were growing up I was quite a stickler for keeping my home in a squeaky clean condition. It was a lot of work but I guess I was of a mindset that a "clean house is a healthy house". After the boys were grown and I discovered I had more time for myself, I really relaxed my idea of a comfortable home These days I won't be winning any good housekeeping awards because my idea of real house cleaning has changed considerably: Lisa's Guide to a Comfy Home: I sweep & mop the floors (tile & laminate flooring throughout the house) when they get really dirty or right before a major holiday when company might be expected... Whichever occurs first. I don't wash out the bathtub unless it really needs it, and it rarely ever needs it. I mean, we're talking about something that gets a "washing" everytime I take a shower! Hello? Bathroom mirrors? If I can see myself in them, they're clean enough. Bathrooms in general - if it's my mess, I clean it - if it's someone elses mess - they should clean it. I have my own bathroom & I don't share it with anyone. What the guys in the house do in their bathroom is up to them - I don't go in there. Dishes are done whenever the dishwasher is full. No need to waste water or electricity for a partial load 'cause it will eventually be full enough to justify doing it. Patience is a virtue. Same for laundry - I wash clothes when the hamper is full. Ovens - if using the oven sets off the smoke alarm then it's time to clean it out (unless it's a warm day & you can open the back door) Refrigerator - I clean it out when I need to make room for new food that I just bought. So about once a week or so something gets tossed. Another good time to clean out the fridge? On trash pickup day - if there's still room left in the trash can then by all means I'll toss a few things out to help fill the trash can up. Dusting - I definitely recommend dusting if you're expecting company. All shelves in the public areas of the home should be dusted at least once a year - whether it needs it or not! Windows.... Are we really supposed to wash those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 That's my kind of cleaning nowadays! I do pick up the newspapers though, before the cat scatters them. As for cleaning windows, you can get most of it with a water hose and spray nozzle. Then the dirty insides are not so noticeable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Lisa's guide just about suits me to a T. My 16 year old son is finally doing some of his own laundry. It's amazing how many loads his hamper can hold. My daughter had no problem learning how to use the washer and dryer. Vacation week starts on Monday. I'm planning on having someone help me with some cleaning around here. I see no reason why I should do everything myself. I admit, I resent that my husband gets to retire and I don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidiiiii Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Chelsea started something in the house that I am very happy with. Clean your own mess in the kitchen! She has been cooking more and more since she came back from TN. She wants a clean kitchen. So she cleans up after her cooking, I do with mine, etc etc. It is very nice to come into the kitchen and there is not a pile to conquer! I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Chelsea started something in the house that I am very happy with. Clean your own mess in the kitchen! She has been cooking more and more since she came back from TN. She wants a clean kitchen. So she cleans up after her cooking, I do with mine, etc etc. It is very nice to come into the kitchen and there is not a pile to conquer! I love it! Lucky you! I couldn't enforce this one, so I did the next best thing. There is a plastic dish tub under the sink. Dirty dishes are to be rinsed and put into the tub. At least they're out of sight. Lift it into the sink, add a squirt of soap and some warm water, and the dishes are ready to wash. They remember most of the time. When they don't, it's quick and easy for me to move the dishes from the counter to the tub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyondbaffled Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 I'm still trying to find my "routine." I agree that I don't want a clean house award, but I want to feel comfortable in my own place and not have to worry if company pays a surprise visit. I have found that I depise dusting - I would almost pay someone to come and do just that once a week! I now have it down to vacuuming once a week and laundry once a week, which are two main things for me. I'm still working on the rest :welcome: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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