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KathrynAragon, I can relate to you, that is why I think I NEED a clean house. I was always embarrassed to have anyone over and if anything did get cleaned in my house as a child it was cleaned by me. My mother was very sloppy and I hated it. I am the mother of four so there were certainly times my house was not tidy, however it was always clean.
Right on. I have four kids and they were born close together. At one point in my life I had four kids under age 8. But I taught those kids from when they were toddlers, to pick up after themselves. They could make a mess with toys - but those toys had to be picked up when they were done playing. Their room had to be neat each night. Each morning we made the beds. Every meal, we cleaned up afterwards immediately. They learned to fold and put away their own laundry early on, and by age 10 or so, they could load and start the dishwasher, and even separate laundry and do the wash (with some supervision of course).
Like you - my house wasn't always tidy when the kids were little, but it was always clean and it was tidy BEFORE WE WENT TO BED EVERY NIGHT. I could at least get up every morning to a tidy house before the craziness of the day began!
Believe it or not, keeping a neat and clean average sized home really isn't all that time consuming, if everyone who lives in the home pitches in and does their part. I have always kept a very neat and clean home and I have never spent more than an hour a day total (other than weekend cleaning sprees or projects - then usually about three hours every coupla weeks or so) on housework - even when I worked full time and had a house full of school age kids (four to be exact).
An hour a day???? Yikes, that's just crazy talk right there. There are too many books I want to read in my lifetime to devote an hour a day to cleaning.
I clean for over an hour in the morning but that goes on continually with lunch dishes and pots, and squaring up again , I feel good if my house is tidy and in order, and sometimes look for wee odd jobs like today I tidied all the youngest grandsons toys, and some other odd jobs. My husband cant work now so my routine has changed a lot...I use to rip off bedclothes twice a week but because hes in bed a lot I cant do that in the mornings and have to wait to get my chance.. same with the house.. he has his laptop on the coffee table most of the day, papers, a jigsaw on another table. but its all he has just now so I dont complain... Im not obsessed by the house but like to know comfy and clean to sit in and enjoy...
An hour a day???? Yikes, that's just crazy talk right there. There are too many books I want to read in my lifetime to devote an hour a day to cleaning.
I didn't say I spend an hour every day cleaning my house. What I said was,
Quote:
I have never spent more than an hour a day total
A typical day entails:
Making up the bed - 3 minutes max
Cleaning the tub/shower after use - 2 minutes
Cleaning the toilet with the toilet brush - 15 seconds
Wiping the bathroom counter - 30 seconds
Cleaning up after meals - 30 minutes max, often less
That's about 35 minutes a day, more or less. My gosh, houses take SOME upkeep!
Every few days I will mop or sweep or vacuum - that takes about 15 minutes
Once a week I dust - that takes about 15 minutes
Laundry - about 30 minutes a week
Usually about once a month I take on a big cleaning project, like cleaning all the blinds, or going through a closet to give stuff to Goodwill, or deep cleaning my pantry or refrigerator or garage. This can take a couple of hours.
It's just not that hard if you stay on top of things.
And I'm an avid reader by the way. Just polished off an 800 page book myself.
Maybe your house is cleaner than my grandmother's house was, so hopefully your kids won't grow up with memories like my mother has - of being embarrassed when friends came over, of being made fun of by her mother and being called "prissy" and a "princess" because she wanted things to be cleaner and neater, of being afraid to eat what was in the fridge because it might be spoiled, etc. Yes, her mother loved her and my mother knew it, but it still would have been nice to have grown up in a clean house.
It's entirely possible to be both clean AND loving.
She said she had a bit of dust lying around, not that her house was at Hoarder Defcon Five. It's entirely possible to have a middle ground.
So "hopefully" her kids will be just fine. Even if they don't come from a home that's just as perfect as can be at all times.
I didn't say I spend an hour every day cleaning my house. What I said was,
A typical day entails:
Making up the bed - 3 minutes max
Cleaning the tub/shower after use - 2 minutes
Cleaning the toilet with the toilet brush - 15 seconds
Wiping the bathroom counter - 30 seconds
Cleaning up after meals - 30 minutes max, often less
That's about 35 minutes a day, more or less. My gosh, houses take SOME upkeep!
Every few days I will mop or sweep or vacuum - that takes about 15 minutes
Once a week I dust - that takes about 15 minutes
Laundry - about 30 minutes a week
Usually about once a month I take on a big cleaning project, like cleaning all the blinds, or going through a closet to give stuff to Goodwill, or deep cleaning my pantry or refrigerator or garage. This can take a couple of hours.
It's just not that hard if you stay on top of things.
And I'm an avid reader by the way. Just polished off an 800 page book myself.
I don't have 35 minutes in my day that I want to spend cleaning. I just don't. I have 2 kids and a full time job. Dishes get done. Laundry gets washed and folded, and sometimes even put away. I'm sure as heck not going to take the time to clean the shower and tub every day. I get up at 5:30 as it is. When I hired a service to do a one-time cleaning a few years ago, they told me how clean the house already was. I'm no slob, but I like balance. Balance in my life doesn't include cleaning toilets daily.
I don't have 35 minutes in my day that I want to spend cleaning. I just don't. I have 2 kids and a full time job. Dishes get done. Laundry gets washed and folded, and sometimes even put away. I'm sure as heck not going to take the time to clean the shower and tub every day. I get up at 5:30 as it is. When I hired a service to do a one-time cleaning a few years ago, they told me how clean the house already was. I'm no slob, but I like balance. Balance in my life doesn't include cleaning toilets daily.
And I'm not criticizing you. I have no idea whether your house would meet my personal standards or not. And it really doesn't matter because your house is not my house. I'm just saying that when I had four kids at home and a full time job, I didn't begrudge the thirty minutes or so a day it took me to keep my own house up to my own personal standards. And my family seemed to appreciate it too.
And I'm not criticizing you. I have no idea whether your house would meet my personal standards or not. And it really doesn't matter because your house is not my house. I'm just saying that when I had four kids at home and a full time job, I didn't begrudge the thirty minutes or so a day it took me to keep my own house up to my own personal standards. And my family seemed to appreciate it too.
So I guess we're all happy.
I know you aren't criticizing me personally, but to say "its just not that hard to stay on top of things" implies that people who don't, have no excuse. I don't need an excuse. People simply have different priorities. I could keep an immaculate house if I wanted to. I'd rather relax a little, or hang out with my kids after working all day.
I know you aren't criticizing me personally, but to say "its just not that hard to stay on top of things" implies that people who don't, have no excuse. I don't need an excuse. People simply have different priorities. I could keep an immaculate house if I wanted to. I'd rather relax a little, or hang out with my kids after working all day.
Hell, maybe you ARE on top of things...how would I know?
I like to relax and hang out with my kids too. And keep a clean house. It's just not an either/or thing with my family. I enjoy my family best in a clean snd orderly house. I expect everyone to carry their share of the load for that matter. It makes everyone's load lighter.
Hell, maybe you ARE on top of things...how would I know?
I like to relax and hang out with my kids too. And keep a clean house. It's just not an either/or thing with my family. I enjoy my family best in a clean snd orderly house. I expect everyone to carry their share of the load for that matter. It makes everyone's load lighter.
Sorry if that offends you somehow.
I'm not offended. I'm not a slob, so I have nothing to be offended about. I don't see the need to keep harping on how clean and orderly your house is and how easy it is to keep it that way, if not to try to convince other people that they should do it too. The op said he doesn't understand how people can feel good about them selves if their houses aren't clean and tidy. Some people don't derive their happiness or self worth from the cleanliness of their house. The end.
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Yikes, that's just crazy talk right there. There are too many books I want to read in my lifetime to devote an hour a day to cleaning. 
