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My Mom's house always looked immaculate. Until.....you opened the cupboards and closets. The rest of the house was organized and squeaky clean, but her closets and cupboards were a disaster! Out of sight, out of mind, I guess! She was so fussy about the house that on Saturday mornings when we'd get up early to use the bathroom (fully planning to go back to bed to sleep in), my Mom would sneak into the bedroom and make the bed while we were in the bathroom. Her rule was once the bed was made in the morning, there's no going back to bed until bedtime at night. It drove us nuts then, but now it makes me laugh.
A quick side note about house cleanliness. Some believe that one of the reasons for an the increase in childhood asthma is due to houses not being as clean as they used to be (more dustmites, pet & people dander, etc.). Interesting.
My house was a lot cleaner when I had a child at home and there was more of a daily scheudule. Follow the schedule or drown!
Now that it's just the two of us, I find myself needing to clean off the breakfast bar more than I like. I don't always put away my clothes after doing laundry. And let's just not talk about the grease and dust on the pot rack :-/ The family room, which has a door on it, is our little cave and the dog crates are out there too. So there might be a bit of fur around and the table between our recliners has some magazines, remotes, and our reading glasses. Not always the neatest room but it is cleaned weekly and presentable if friends drop by.
On the other hand, my guest bathroom is always spotless and we keep it that way. Dishes are always put in the dishwasher right away. Laundry is sorted in bins, not piled in the hallway. Our bed is made each morning and sheets are changed weekly. My refrigerator is respectably clean.
I'm going to pre-face this by saying that I have been told by doctors that I have "OCD tendencies" when it comes to cleaning. When I get upset, I go on a cleaning spree and I mean toothbrush to the tile kind of cleaning.
That aside, though, I'm also a stay at home mom so I'm home to clean. My mother was a huge neat freak when I was a kid and while it certainly did nothing for me as a teenager at home, I keep my own house extremely clean. I even have a cleaning list on my fridge that includes daily chores (laundry, dishwasher, wiping down the kitchen, tidying up, etc...), weekly chores (cleaning bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, etc...), and also monthly chores (wiping out the appliances, wiping down cabinets, washing windows, etc...). It works out pretty well.
I don't know if I'm abnormal but I have noticed that my house is much much cleaner than any of my peer's houses. I also wouldn't say their houses are actually dirty either. More so just messy and not organized. But I'd never say anything to them about it or judge them for it since I don't live there or have to deal with it.
My Mom's house always looked immaculate. Until.....you opened the cupboards and closets. The rest of the house was organized and squeaky clean, but her closets and cupboards were a disaster! Out of sight, out of mind, I guess! She was so fussy about the house that on Saturday mornings when we'd get up early to use the bathroom (fully planning to go back to bed to sleep in), my Mom would sneak into the bedroom and make the bed while we were in the bathroom. Her rule was once the bed was made in the morning, there's no going back to bed until bedtime at night. It drove us nuts then, but now it makes me laugh.
A quick side note about house cleanliness. Some believe that one of the reasons for an the increase in childhood asthma is due to houses not being as clean as they used to be (more dustmites, pet & people dander, etc.). Interesting.
Actually, studies have shown that children raised on farms (and as one set of researchers said, about the bedding that they examined microscopically, "You don't even want to know what we found on the sheets of farm-raised kids!") have half the incidence of childhood illnesses, allergies, and asthma of kids raised in extremely clean environments. Something about the immune system needing something to work with while it's developing. It's called the hygiene hypothesis; been around for a while but studies are confirming it.
Actually, studies have shown that children raised on farms (and as one set of researchers said, about the bedding that they examined microscopically, "You don't even want to know what we found on the sheets of farm-raised kids!") have half the incidence of childhood illnesses, allergies, and asthma of kids raised in extremely clean environments. Something about the immune system needing something to work with while it's developing. It's called the hygiene hypothesis; been around for a while but studies are confirming it.
Interesting you mention that, I once read an article in the NYT about a pediatrician mother who would always recommend to her patients (or mothers of them) and insisted in her own children that they absolutely not wash their hands before eating after playing outside- the more pathogens they were exposed to the better! And I've read several subsequent articles that support that- including the use of anti-bacterial soap and gels are likely to be the death knell to us all after the super antibiotic resistant mutations that will result will do us all in.
It isn't against the law to have a messy house. Housekeepers have always come in all varieties. If someone you know lives in a home that is dirty to the point where you feel uncomfortable, don't visit.
There are all sorts of people in this world, you know? And how you grew up has no bearing on others' upbringings.
It isn't against the law to have a messy house. Housekeepers have always come in all varieties. If someone you know lives in a home that is dirty to the point where you feel uncomfortable, don't visit.
There are all sorts of people in this world, you know? And how you grew up has no bearing on others' upbringings.
I read every post in this thread and believe this is the best advice. I could care less how other people keep house, because I don't have to visit them if I don't want to. More than half my life was spent trying to live ("exist" is more the word) with five hoarders--*five*. I keep a clean house, but my only daily imperative is doing the dishes. I live alone. If a visitor is coming, then I'll vacuum and straighten obsessively.
Also: I have never once "dusted" without water. The idea of moving dust from one place to another seems actually unhealthy to me. So for me, dusting is a wash-and-then-wipe routine. Always.
I follow a " clean as you go" program. Make a dish, clean it, use a towel,fold it. Dont let things pile up. Do a load of laundry each night so your weekends are free to enjoy. Make a grocery list and weekly meal plan and follow it. When you take the guess work out of running a household, things run smoother. Its a form of household disciple. You run the house, not the house running you.
Ugh! Every time I see a home get a makeover on HGTV, I'm say to myself, "Why them? They're just gonna' mess it up again!!!"
Every Saturday, my mom would do a deep cleaning of the house. She (or our cleaning lady) would get on the floor and scrub the tiles and remove any group. The house should smell like bleach and cleaning products on Saturday morning.
ETA:
Quote:
Originally Posted by silibran
If someone you know lives in a home that is dirty to the point where you feel uncomfortable, don't visit.
This isn't possible when you're a kid and you're forced to go to your aunt's house who smells like smoke but keeps plastic covers on her living room furniture.
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