Monday, October 8, 2012

If You Could Would You?

I am sitting in the middle of a very cluttered office while thinking about the very messy room upstairs that my children have been given to play. I don't like clutter. I don't like messes. Makes me cranky. If I am cranky, I am not happy. I can't think. And today I can't think!

So my question today is if you could afford a weekly housekeeper would you hire one?

I might, but I know myself well enough to know that I would clean the house before the person I paid to do it came over. I should just make a donation. I don't want someone to do my laundry. I may let them change the sheets, and put away linens. I would certainly let them clean the kitchen and bathroom(s), and all the floors. Only after I straightened and put everything away. Before they came I would have to get everything else taken care of and in the end I think having someone over to clean my house would just give me something else to fret over and cause me anxiety.

I have taken to cleaning my children's spaces. Before you say I shouldn't let me tell you how. I have tried in vain for the last few weeks to impress upon the need to pick up after themselves. It hasn't worked. But I have some empty plastic totes:-)

At the end of the day when they are in bed I just put everything in the tote and haul it out to the garage. Eventually they will notice that their things are missing and might want them back. They might even notice that the number of items in their closet and drawers are shrinking too.

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14 comments:

  1. Yes, yes I would pay someone else to clean my house and do my laundry -- except my under things. My husband is mormon so his are sacred to the religion and I, well, don't want people touching my bras and undies!

    But I would have no shame in paying someone else to clean my house. I even joke about buying a smaller house to afford the cleaning crew/landscaping/ect!

    The way I see it, both my hubs and I have jobs that take us away from our kiddo so much that why not sacrifice a bit of fun money to have someone do that for us so that we can enjoy more time with our kid. That may seem odd to some, but it will hopefully work for us. :)

    Counting down the days.

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    1. The thought of cleaning a larger house that gets just as messy as this one holds no appeal for me. I keep thinking if we get rid of more stuff there will be less to clean, but it doesn't seem to be working out that way! Your rationale doesn't seem odd at all, and I hope it does work that way. Wait.... what are you waiting for? I thought you were already practicing.

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    2. We are in our last year... pgy5. :) He has had his contract (wow, lot of h's there) signed for awhile now, so we've been very lucky in the fact that we have had a ton of time to plan knowing already where we are going after this.

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    3. Congratulations! Are you staying in Michigan?

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    4. We aren't in Michigan. :) But, no we are not staying where we are now, we are headed out west. :)

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  2. I have someone come every other week. When I was working, I had a complete nervous breakdown over the house and so Doc H told me to bring them in weekly. They did everything, including laundry. I was didn't care that every now and then they shrank one of my sweaters or broke a picture frame. We had clean clothes, clean toilets, and a dust-free home. Everyone always complains that you have to pick up before they come. I don't pick up before they come over. If they don't know where to put things, they stack them up very nice and neat and we can go through it afterwards. The kids have learned they need to put things away before they come otherwise they might not be able to find it.
    Now, our vacation home... I clean the whole thing myself. In fact, I am on a vacuuming break right now. :(

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    1. So I guess you are still stuck like the rest of us dragging that darn vacuum cleaner around:-) I am still tossing around the idea. I think what I need more than someone to come clean is a place to put the stuff I have. A place for everything and everything in it's place. Our rental doesn't have much storage and so I see "stuff" that normally is away. We lost our away places. But I would love someone to do the dirty work that I always seem to put off. I would be nice to know that every Monday the bathroom would be spotless and the floors clean.

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    2. I don't think I could ever give up vacuuming! Something gratifying about those lines when you are done!

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  3. When I could find decent help I pay them to clean my house, do my undies and make no apologies for it. This surgeon lifestyle leaves us with questions to ask ourselves: time v. money. If I can pay someone $X to take care of 8 hours of labor that will give me peace of mind and help for the week then it's worth it to me. I hate feeling like I can't sit down in my own house without feeling like I've got a million "work" things to attend to. My only current problem is I live in a city where people don't want to work 6 hour shifts for $25/hour +. Makes me think the economy is doing a lot better than the media tries to portray. Who wouldn't work for $25/hour?!! Good grief! Back home immigrants did this job (with pride) for $12/hour. I digress...yes I would and do pay people when I can find someone. It's worth every penny.

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    1. I will be right over! I don't mind cleaning someone else's house - it is my own that gets me. I am beginning to think I should just try it and see how I like it instead of pondering over the subject more:-)

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  4. I wish I could afford to have someone come in to clean. My kids already think we have a maid so it would be nice to have someone else clean up after them.

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    1. My kids don't know the word maid as of yet, but if they did I am sure it would be appropriately attached to me. They might not like the maid so much when they notice all of their things have disappeared. It is easier to keep nothing clean than to keep something clean!

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  5. I used to clean houses for a living. (thank GOD I don't any more. lol) The thing is you SHOULD pick up first. We're there to clean, not pick up, and you usually know where you want things to go. For example I can't vacuum the rug if there are toys all over it. Sure I can pick them up - then I'll have to spend more time there and thus charge you more. It's best if the house is picked up so that I can spend my time actually cleaning - dusting, vacuuming, bathrooms & kitchen mostly. We did change sheets but actually doing laundry is a separate thing.
    Just something to think about! =)

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    1. Thank you. I guess my instincts were right! I am sure you have seen some messy houses and have some stories to tell:-) Maybe that is what I am secretly afraid that who ever would come to clean my house would have a story to tell about the crazy people who live in xxx.

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