All right, I’m taking a poll: how many of you think you have a clean house? How many of you clean your homes (maybe not in every nook and cranny, but pretty much top to bottom) every week?
Honestly now!
Because the truth is, I am an awful housekeeper. I hate it. I get no joy out of scrubbing or mopping or making things gleam. I hate the drudgery, and, since having Max, the pointlessness of it all. Why bother with the scrubbing and picking up when a certain little one is going come along within five minutes and mess it all up?
It’s that *logic* that’s out me in the hole I’m in, where I can’t stand all the toys and clothes everywhere but am too exhausted and overwhelmed to do anything about it.
There’s also the problem that I’m severely allergic to dust. If I touch it, my hands turn red, raw, itchy and swollen; and if I breathe it, my chest tightens and it feels like my lungs seal up. So dusting, which shouldn’t take all that long, ends up taking me a couple of hours because I have to stop so frequently. It only adds to my unwillingness to keep a pristine home.
It’s funny - here I am, admitting that I hate cleaning, and I feel like I’m talking about something very taboo. Because no one likes to discuss how messy their homes are, or admit to their bad habits. I mean, who wants to make themselves look like a slob? I do, apparently.
Now don’t get me wrong: I’ve got clutter and struggle with dusting, but my small child has made me sufficiently concerned about germs to force me to sweep and clean counter tops every day, but I think you know what I mean.
A survey from last year by the SDA (Soap and Detergent Association - who knew that existed?) stated that “72% say they have visited someone’s home and felt it was “unusually dirty or unclean.” Conversely, less than 40% of the same respondents admitted that they have been embarrassed by their own unclean homes when unexpected guests have dropped by.” And I believe it! I’m willing to bet there’s a far greater number of people who struggle with a messy house but are too embarrassed to admit it than anyone’s willing to admit.
And with my son, I’m trying from now to instill in him a healthy attitude towards helping keep his home clean. I try to make clean-up (come on now, we ALL know that song!) fun and offer lots of praise when he picks up his dishes or helps me clean something.
Now, if only someone would lavish praise on me when I finally manage to put the laundry away… I’m sure it would go a long way towards improving my attitude.
So share with the rest of us: what are your secrets to keeping a clean home? How about to making the chores less mind-numbingly horrible? And how about with your kids? How do you set a good example when it’s so friggin’ hard?
by Tere
Photo graciously provided by zonepress, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
7 responses so far ↓
AmyL // May 15, 2008 at 1:07 am
Hmm. Well, routines help me the most. Not that I’m really good at many of them. Lol. Hubby and I have been keeping up with the dishes for the most part, simply because we’ve trained ourselves to get them in the dishwasher and the clean ones put away each night before bed.
My house is messy right now, partly because we’re in transition with some renovations. When the basement gets finished and we start using that space I expect to see a big difference. Soooo, ask me again in a few months.
STL Mom // May 15, 2008 at 9:14 am
Oh, I know I should get the kids to do more, but it’s just so hard. My son will clean up (he’s 5), but his 8-year-old sister won’t do anything without someone nagging her the entire time. Left alone for 30 seconds, she will completely forget about cleaning and do something else. I give up and do it myself because I get tired of riding her.
We’re moving and our house is for sale, so it has to be cleaned every day. I hate the constant cleaning, but I must admit I like the way it looks when I’m done. I’m hoping to keep some of the motivation to stay tidy after we move.
The best advice for me about cleaning is from Flylady - don’t let perfection stop you - doing housework incorrectly is better than not doing it. It’s amazing how much better your room looks if you even take 2 minutes to clean up somthing. Also, she talks about being grateful to have a house and the stuff in it, which helps me with my attitude problem. And if I’m not willing to clean something, maybe that something needs to find a new home!
Amanda // May 15, 2008 at 9:15 am
Who told you you could put a hidden camera in my house and peak in on us?
I feel the same way you do Tere, and while I don’t get rashy with dust, my sinus allergies do flare up when exposed to it, so I know exactly what you mean about dusting taking longer than it should. I have tried to set up a routine, doing one room/area a day so that by the end of the workweek the house is somewhat presentable, but more times than not I’m too tired after a long day to keep up with it.
As for the kids, we make Brandon clean his playroom every time he’s done playing, or before bedtime. If he can make a mess, he can clean it up. Matty follows some clean-up commands, like “pon eso en el basket” (it’s all Spanglish, all the time at our house), and “eso es basura”. I figure that even if us grown-ups aren’t too keen about the housekeeping, at least the kids will have good habits and will clean up after themselves…or at least I hope so!
(p.s. sorry about the long-winded comment, didn’t realize I wrote so much!)
Melissa Lucas // May 15, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I’m a mother of 3 cats. heh
I have a housekeeper and she keeps my Brooklyn mansion clean every 2 weeks. What’s my secret to a clutter free home? I don’t have a lot of crap. Only keep what you need and use and donate the rest.
David Dale Johnson // May 16, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Yup…we resemble those remarks around here Tere. I read a similar article about a quarter century ago entitled “On Being a Mess”. The author made the point that she was not a slob…her house was just messy. She noted that the dishes were always cleaned, no food was ever left on the stove…but that you could count on seeing shirts, pants and skirts on the backs of chairs, books piled on the dining room table, a desk that was never organized (but nothing ever gets lost)…etc. Welcome to the real world…we’re the normal ones!
Bill From Gainesville // May 20, 2008 at 5:19 am
I am an Insurance adjuster. I inspect houses, I have been in the most immaculate, perfect little houses, and I have also been in very cluttered, messy houses as well. More so the latter, way more so, I would say its about 65 to 70 percent of us who are messy based on my sample view .
Debbie // May 21, 2008 at 8:49 am
I’m a neatnik and my husband is a slob, so our house is pristine in some areas and disgusting in others. Generally, the place is neat & clean unless it’s Peter’s space, in which case it’s behind a closed door. When we first moved in together, we decided to cope with the disparity in our cleanliness thresholds by hiring help. (We’re also both allergic to dust and mold–another reason for help.) We eventually found a local cleaning business whose ethics we wanted to support, and they charge us a very reasonable fee to do the basics once a week. The house isn’t as clean as I’d like, but it’s good enough for now. I supplement as much as I can.
We have two kids, age 4 and 5. Part of their morning routine is to clean their rooms and make their beds (as best they can). No TV or outdoor time after breakfast until the room is clean. We also have begun enforcing a rule: any toy left in an illegal place (e.g. kitchen counter) or remaining on the floor after clean-up time goes into a holding box. The kids have to earn those toys back by doing complete clean-ups, leaving nothing behind. We usually do major cleanups, such as the weekly playroom blitz, with a timer or loud music to make them more fun. I would like to enforce cleaning up a room before they leave it; need to discuss with Peter. He’s not good at this himself, so it might be beyond us for now.
They kids see Peter and me doing dishes and laundry, cleaning the kitchen, sorting recyclables, straightening up rooms, etc, and they love to help. We use only nontoxic cleaners so they can do so. Sometimes on days we’re stuck inside, I give them each a spray bottle of water & a sponge, or a small broom, or a hand-vac, and let’em loose.
And yes, I am very big on donating and throwing out. The kids like giving stuff away to others who need it, so it’s a family effort.
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