I am learning to keep the house clean!

898 Views 13 Replies 9 Participants Last post by katiecat, Aug 10, 2006

Godiva

Discussion Starter · Aug 5, 2006

I am a slob. I admit it. I'd rather do ANYTHING but clean. I always joke with DH that I'm a great mom but a horrible wife (he doesn't disagree

). I'm only 20 and we've been married about a year and a half now but he expected me to have the house keeping skills his grandmas (they are the ones who basically raised him) have from day one. (yeah, not like they have over 50 years expereince keeping a house) So I have finally learned how to keep the house clean by making a schedule and just doing a little bit each day and it's been company ready for over a week now! (it's not much but it's a record for me) If I can keep it up for a month I think I can officially say that it's a new habit. I'm actually really happy about it and I realized that I don't hate cleaning as much as I used to. Maybe because I don't use those awful chemicals anymore, I used to cough and gag and couldn't breathe anytime I used them before. Plus right now I have a beautiful home with no animal hair despite having 2 dogs and a cat, there are wildflowers on my table, there isn't a dirty dish in sight in the kitchen, the bed is made with clean sheets, and we have clean cothes hanging in the closet. I also don't panic when someone knocks on the door not wanting them to see the house. It does truly feel wonderful and I can relax and spend time doing fun stuff without feeling guilty that I should be cleaning. It's even gotten to the point where I only need to clean for about 15 min twice a day to keep it in this condition. Having the house clean has made me feel so much happier and relaxed too! I would have never thought it could make this kind of an impact on me. We're having people over for dinner tonight and I'm not having to run around like crazy trying to clean the whole house in a few hours. Dh is killing the joy a bit by having an attitude of "she FINALLY figured it out" but oh well, he can kiss my butt. I'm not cleaning the house for him anymore, I'm cleaning it for me.

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accountclosed3

· #2 · Aug 5, 2006

awesome!

I am in the same place. We're still organizing and purging (getting rid of stuff), but i'm able to keep the house company-ready as well. I don't mind a few things laying about--a few papers that are 'in use' when someone might come over, laundry being done, or dishes drying on the counter--but overall, the place is company-ready 24-7.

i'm really proud of myself.

i think you should definately be proud of yourself too!

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ollineeba

· #3 · Aug 9, 2006

good job!

and

about DH kissing your butt- that's what I would tell my DH if he ever made a comment about my housekeeping skills! (or lack thereof

)

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Godiva

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 9, 2006

thanks you guys. I am definatly proud of myself, even more so when I slipped a bit but I didn't let it bother me and just went back to my schedule.

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princessoflove

· #5 · Aug 9, 2006

Congratulations on your successful house cleaning accomplishment.

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sapphire_chan

· #6 · Aug 9, 2006

Any chance of pics of some of the cleanness to inspire the rest of us?

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accountclosed3

· #7 · Aug 9, 2006

i push my husband to thank me for cleaning.

Look, DH, wasn't it nice of me to clean your dishes (in variably, they're his dishes, because i clean my automaticly)? doesn't it give you a nice, clean kitchen to go to? aren't you lucky?

and then i get all sorts of nice gratitude things.

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kellid

· #8 · Aug 9, 2006

bailey, i like your attitude towards the dh. they don't get it. i think that's why i had a block for so long. mine hasn't even noticed he's in a cleaner house. sometimes i wonder if it's worth it, but it definately is!! your right, your cleaning it for you. i wish mine would clean it for him every once in a while though

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Godiva

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 9, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by kellid
bailey, i like your attitude towards the dh. they don't get it. i think that's why i had a block for so long. mine hasn't even noticed he's in a cleaner house. sometimes i wonder if it's worth it, but it definately is!! your right, your cleaning it for you. i wish mine would clean it for him every once in a while though

Lol thanks. Somehow I doubt they would ever clean it for themselves though. A lot of it has to do with culture clashes. My dh was born and raised in Ukraine where women took care of the house. I don't think he ever did chores as a kid, his grandmas did them all. When it was just him and his dad he might have done some but I think it was ingrained to him that if a woman is around, it's her job. Plus he's a bit insensitive and really doesn't care much about anyone other than himself. Sadly I think our culture perpetuates this as well. When I was a kid both me and my sister helped my mom clean the house but my dad never did. I'm ok with traditional roles as long as they reognize the work we do as actual work. In dh's case, he doesn't.

I'll try to get some pics of the cleanliness sapphire. They might have my beautiful daughter as the star though

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Thalia

· #10 · Aug 9, 2006

That's great! It's hard when you change a habit like that because nobody really cares that much, but it really is a big accomplishment. Congratulations!

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Midwife

· #11 · Aug 10, 2006

I was lucky enough to grow up in a home that had a husband helping. Bathing children and doing dishes (they took turns : ) was one way. As older children, when my mom worked outside the home, my father marshalled all of us on Saturday morns~ we would put in about 2 hours and be done. The home always sparkled (2X4=8 hrs !). He was a troop master, thats for sure...and he did join in (his thing was a spotless basement, garage, & exterior of house. and repairing anything -timely).
I have taught my children to assist with home cleaning. I hope my sons turn happily in-action to their family homes cleaning needs.

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katiecat

· #12 · Aug 10, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by bailey228
thanks you guys. I am definatly proud of myself, even more so when I slipped a bit but I didn't let it bother me and just went back to my schedule.

That is so great and what you say above is awesome! That's definitely an accomplishment!

Our house isn't usually too bad. The floor is the worst. I hate vaccuuming and/or sweeping!

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Godiva

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 10, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by katiecat
Our house isn't usually too bad. The floor is the worst. I hate vaccuuming and/or sweeping!

Haha that's funny, that's the only thing I don't mind doing. We have 3 animals in the house and a hardwood floor so all the dirt and hair is completely visible. If I don't vacuum every day the floor gets NASTY!

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katiecat

· #14 · Aug 10, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by bailey228
Haha that's funny, that's the only thing I don't mind doing. We have 3 animals in the house and a hardwood floor so all the dirt and hair is completely visible. If I don't vacuum every day the floor gets NASTY!

We had a cat until recently and all hardwood and vinyl floors (no carpet). I know what you mean!

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