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it sounds like you're renovating an historic urban house.
It's not historic or urban. I'm in a western suburb of Boston. The people who lived here before me did not take care of it, but it's in a good neighborhood, has good bones, and I got it at the heart of crash. We could swing the mortgage and expenses on one salary if needed or two crap jobs. I could have went for the 3-400k home, as I qualified, but decided to heed the lessons of the times. Besides the projects, tho, my neighbors are out there busting their buts every weekend as well. As 2mares notes, it's a choice we all made happily, but that doesn't mean we have time machines for the chores.
Um, even before we had the kid, this house still required cleaning and maintenance.
Vacuuming, wood floor maintenance, get rid of dog hair, leather furniture cleaning and maintenance, window treatment cleaning and maintenance, laundry, dishes (we actually cook our meals here), kitchen, fridge, microwave, oven, stovetop, sweep out the garage, do all the recycling, haul extra recycling that doesn't fit in our giant Otto to the library, change lightbulbs (have to have special attachments cuz they are so high up), polish fixtures, grocery shop, polish wood furniture, unclog drains, fill the pool, etc, etc, etc, etc...
We have a maid come once every 2 weeks to do a deep clean (with scrubs and baseboards and top of the fans, etc)...but I don't understand how people can stand to have these people in your house more often than that. It is disruptive, noisy, and an invasion of your privacy. And I even like ours.
And sixy said it takes her 3-4 hrs. daily to keep house. Add that to the 8 hrs at work plus any commute time. Thats 12 hrs/day. I dont know if she is including cooking or transporting children in that time or not.
What are you doing that it takes 3-4 hours every single day to keep the house?
What are you doing that it takes 3-4 hours every single day to keep the house?
I don't want to speak for Sixy, but I'd assume that most of it has to do with the fact that she's got six people in her house (and maybe some pets, too) eating food, dirtying dishes, wearing clothes, creating trash, tracking in dirt, etc.
I don't want to speak for Sixy, but I'd assume that most of it has to do with the fact that she's got six people in her house (and maybe some pets, too) eating food, dirtying dishes, wearing clothes, creating trash, tracking in dirt, etc.
Exactly.
And you dirty up as many pots and pans cooking for fewer people.
Overall dishes and silverware go up.
Trash goes up.
Laundry goes up.
There are only 3 of us here, but I swear my wife has laundry going every other day.
Looks like another worthless study. I can't help but wonder, who funded Mr. Hansen's research, how "scientific" it was, and who does the housework at his house.
Nevertheless, I'm not taking any chances, so I've hired a very attractive maid.
Like I said a few pages back: with 2 incomes, anyone can afford household help. End of problem. So, are we done here?
Are we done here with what?
I was responding to Lilac's comment about my staying home and addressing the fact that when I do work, we hire a house cleaner. I wasn't challenging anything you said.
We're in the 6 figures and cannot afford regular help. For us it can only happen when we're in a specific financial space (no more student loan debt, fat savings on top of investments, paying double on the mortgage,etc).
Again, you have never run a household and until you own a property and home to gain the experience you have no rational reason to say the chores involved in running a household don't take that long. It's ridiculous. Mowing a lawn on a half acre takes two hours. I know this because I do it. Weeding and mulching takes hours and it rotates by section every weekend. Trimming hedges and trees takes hours. All of this crap takes a long time unless you are doing a poor job of it, but again I don't really buy what you're trying to sell.
Perhaps getting a rider mower will make mowing easier (save some time) & more enjoyable for you. If you carefully look on Craigslist you may find a good, used, well maintained rider, at a fair price.
And sixy said it takes her 3-4 hrs. daily to keep house. Add that to the 8 hrs at work plus any commute time. Thats 12 hrs/day. I dont know if she is including cooking or transporting children in that time or not.
No, cooking, transporting kids and errands are not included in that time frame. That would add another 2-3 hours approx.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4
Um, even before we had the kid, this house still required cleaning and maintenance.
Vacuuming, wood floor maintenance, get rid of dog hair, leather furniture cleaning and maintenance, window treatment cleaning and maintenance, laundry, dishes (we actually cook our meals here), kitchen, fridge, microwave, oven, stovetop, sweep out the garage, do all the recycling, haul extra recycling that doesn't fit in our giant Otto to the library, change lightbulbs (have to have special attachments cuz they are so high up), polish fixtures, grocery shop, polish wood furniture, unclog drains, fill the pool, etc, etc, etc, etc...
We have a maid come once every 2 weeks to do a deep clean (with scrubs and baseboards and top of the fans, etc)...but I don't understand how people can stand to have these people in your house more often than that. It is disruptive, noisy, and an invasion of your privacy. And I even like ours.
We had her once a week but she had a key, so she came while I was at work on Wed and left before we got home. I used to LOVE Wednesdays...the house was always sparkling! lol
I understand that people have different standards, but I like my house CLEAN, not "picked up". Sounds like you are the same way so you understand that it takes time. My husband thinks "picked up" equals clean...for him it takes half the time to get the chores done...LOL
Quote:
Originally Posted by fleetiebelle
I don't want to speak for Sixy, but I'd assume that most of it has to do with the fact that she's got six people in her house (and maybe some pets, too) eating food, dirtying dishes, wearing clothes, creating trash, tracking in dirt, etc.
Yup...2 adults, 4 kids, 1 dog, 2 cats.
Quote:
Originally Posted by capitol
What are you doing that it takes 3-4 hours every single day to keep the house?
I do about 3 loads of laundry a day...I have it scheduled out to do one persons per day (bedding included) plus whatever clothes everyone wore to work out in that day (I cannot let that sit...it would smell foul!). The 7th day is reserved for linens.
I clean 1-2 rooms per day...not pick up...CLEAN. Bedrooms get dusted, windows and mirrors are done, wash or vacuum the floors, reorganize the closets...etc. The kitchen, breakfast nook and sunroom alone take me 2 hours. Wipe down cabinets, dust on top of them, wipe counters, clean all the appliances down, clean out the fridge, scrub out the micro, reorganize the pantry (you'd be amazed how messy it gets with 6 people in and out of it), wash the floors, wash down the table and chairs..etc.
I vacuum the lower level everyday (under the furniture as well), sometimes twice a day if it's shedding season, upper level and 3rd floor every other day or so. The dishwasher runs at least once a day, sometimes twice. The bathrooms get a quick wipe everyday (toilets and sinks only).
I have a schedule that I follow each day...from start to finish if I did it all in one sweep it would take about 3-4 hours but I break it up through the day.
Now, I guess I could skip vacuuming everyday, but I haven't done it yet today and I can already see animal hair and pieces of leaves and grass from the kids.
I know my standards are different than other peoples when it comes to a clean house but I'm willing to put the time in to have my house to my standards. I don't mind it at all, but it doesn't take 20 minutes.
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