Comments on: Managing Housework: Making Cleaning More Enjoyable

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:27:53 +0000

Thanks so much, I was beginning to think I need a cleaning lady, but you’ve restored my faith in my own abilities!!
I do have one other trick to add to your list: when I do the dishes I use one of those sponge on a stick things, the ones where you put the dishwashing liquid into the end of the handle. So to make it more pleasant I add a few drops of my favourite essential oil! It’s just lovely, feels like I’m cleaning in a day spa!!

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:14:54 +0000

I’m glad this post helped some without kids! That’s so cool. When I think back to before kids, I can remember messes being overwhelming even then. I’ve changed my perspective and chosen not to let it get to me anymore. Occasionally it does, but it’s so much easier to get past it now.

By: Kat

Kat — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 06:51:53 +0000

I’m surveying my living room – complete with piles of stuff that need to be returned to their homes (it’s been a long week) – and reading this (having reached a state of wondering whether I will EVER manage to keep my home clean and tidy and we don’t even have kids yet) makes me feel a whole lot better. I think in today’s world a lived in home has to be better for everyone than a spotless one. One it really is a home then (not an institution) and two mom/dad actually gets time to spend with the kids, or when you haven’t any, with each other.

So thanks girls for the encouragement to keep at it and remember that it’s a work in progress. I must say I rather like the idea of keeping a day to do it – that means you can leave it and know it will happen, I’ve been trying to do it in the evenings during the week so I have the weekends free – but it never feels completely tidy/clean all at the same time then… and you’re always doing cleaning/tidying of some sort or another.

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:38:13 +0000

I can’t leave this alone.

Hold your ground if anyone complains “you’re getting rid of my STUFF!” Because are they cleaning up their precious stuff? nooooo!

Let me pose the question: What right does anyone in the world have to get rid of another persons “stuff” without their permission?

Then let me answer the question: They don’t.

By: ceebee

ceebee — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:56:42 +0000

My suggestion: do not compare your house with anyone else’s. Unless theirs is messier.

No, seriously, though– I have a couple of friends with small children whose homes are absolutely immaculate. Sometimes I visit them, or even just look at pictures taken in their homes, and feel defeated. Angry, even!

And this, even though I’m actually generally satisfied with the state of my house. No garbage– the laundry is washed, dried, and mostly put away every day, and we start each morning with clean dishes and a shiny sink, a la Flylady. lol.

Sure, my carpets are stained and my mantel is dusty, but I don’t actually much care about that. And my husband REALLY doesn’t care; he was raised by a neat freak and has no interest in spotlessness for its own sake.

Anyway. I have a lot of interests and hobbies that aren’t housework-related and that generate their own messes… would I like to amputate my sewing or gardening skills for the sake of perfectly organized closets?

Heck no!

Sandra, I would totally do a major, massive purge in your case. Housework is really impossible if there are piles of junk everywhere. Hold your ground if anyone complains “you’re getting rid of my STUFF!” Because are they cleaning up their precious stuff? nooooo! lol

By: Sandra Mort

Sandra Mort — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:20:27 +0000

OHH, how I struggle with this one. One ADD slob husband, four kids who take after papa and one disorganized mama with a bad back leads to a house that’s messier than anybody’s lax standards are okay with. I’m tired of friends walking in & looking horrified, even though they help me pick up. I’m tired of worried about somebody calling CPS about it. I’m tired of nobody else in the house remembering that leaving things on the floor makes it hard for me to walk across the room without falling or that leaving old food/trash/choking hazards around is unsafe for the baby. I’m tired of everybody making it out that I’m a neat freak when the house is humiliatingly filthy all the time. I really get the concept of lived in means they’re learning, but does that need to mean disgusting? I’m the stay home mom, I get that I’m expected to do some of this, but when did I become a maid obligated to scrub the toilet half a dozen times a day because the boys can’t be bothered to aim or wipe up? I could go on and on. We’re moving in a few weeks and i’m throwing/giving away half our stuff because I can’t live like this anymore.

By: JoAnn

JoAnn — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:26:59 +0000

I firmly believe that if they can invent a self cleaning oven they can most certainly come up with a self cleaning toilet. Thanks for the encouragement….I am hoping for a trip to Ikea for some shelves and baskets next week.

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:12:35 +0000

Bathrooms. I hate cleaning bathrooms. If we had the funds, I’d totally hire someone to clean my bathrooms! I don’t think buying a prettier toilet would solve my issues either.

By: ~Tara

~Tara — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:50:39 +0000

I just have to say there are some housekeeping things I don’t enjoy and some I really do. Dusting? Not for me (as evident by the dust MONSTERS on the shelves when we moved them). But vacuuming? I love it! It’s like instant gratification!

So maybe my tip is to find something that gives you some sense of pleasure or happy accomplishment and save it for last.

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:01:01 +0000

You are so welcome! Thank you for reading! Our first home was 972 square feet and we had 2 kids. I felt cramped so I can only imagine how you are feeling. When I moved here I met someone with 2 children in 672 square feet. Spaces that small were so foreign to me but, it left me feeling very grateful for the space we do have, even though the mess is bigger now! Wall shelves are a necessity in a small space! I love walls full of shelves. They say so much about a family when they are all filled up with *stuff*!