shot of sass, served on (n)ice

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Down and Dirty

We seem to have some dirty girls and I’m definitely no exception!! (And it makes me so happy to hear I’m not alone or far off on my cleaning regimen – or lack thereof)

Back when I had a job, we hired someone to come clean once a month and I LOVED it. Even if I did have to “clean up” before she came, it was a good prompt – kind of like having guests over. My husband is definitely neater than I am. I have issues with piles. And things don’t bother me as much or I fall more into the category of “why bother, it’s just going to get messed up again” (in like 5 seconds when Wild Man comes tearing through the room). I think people fall into that category with making up the bed: either you really like to have the bed made or you think “what’s the point, I’m just going to be getting back into it tonight.” Except, I fall in the middle where I like for it to at least be straightened back up so that when I do get into it the sheets and blankets are not waded up somewhere I can’t pull them up (we have 2 large dogs that commonly sleep in the bed, so it’s difficult to wrestle enough covers out from under them if you didn’t have them in place beforehand) When we first got married and had all of those nifty decorative pillows and fancy bedding, I would make it up religiously and it made me feel better to have my bed made. The rest of the house could be a disaster, but there was some order if the bed was made. As the years have passed and the bedding worn, I don’t put in the effort as much to make it all perfect every morning. Usually, I’m getting out of it to go get a child that’s crying anyway and don’t get to go the bathroom, put in my contacts or brush my teeth first either. And we climb back in it for naps, too.

When we had someone come once a month I felt like if I could just do the bigger things once between her visits, I was doing something! So, I’m kind of on an every two weeks schedule: change the sheets (see above about dogs and I just like to have clean, fresh smelling sheets! The issue is also changing out the big comforters and getting those washed at the dry cleaners! I try to keep blankets on top that I can wash at home, but they still get shifted and expose the sheets and covers at times) change out towels, mop (Swiffer), clean toilets (I use the tablets and those help and with potty training I tend to wipe them down with Clorox wipes fairly regularly; every couple of days, but actually getting the brush out and scrubbing happens less often)

I actually wash the windows fairly often. Again, with two large slobbery dogs and two young kids our windows tend to film up rather quickly! Plus, we have the extra tall windows that come nearly to the floor, so there’s more to mess up and notice. I only do the ones on the main floor. I can’t think of the last time I cleaned any in the bedrooms and I’m not sure I’ve ever cleaned the laundry room window since we moved in 6 years ago!

I used to clean the counters a lot more often, but even that has slipped. We have a cover in our microwave to help prevent the splattering, so it’s probably once a month, maybe? Same for the kitchen sink, unless there was something extra gross in it that just needs to be cleaned. And the stove top. I’ll wipe it down, but it’s much less often that I take things apart and really scrub (or put parts in the dishwasher to be washed). Speaking of, loading and unloading the dishwasher is an everyday occurrence as is laundry and vacuuming, but not every room. It just stays out to suck up all of the food in the kitchen and the living room where it’s tracked before I managed to get it cleaned up. I love clean clothes, but have issues putting them up. Especially socks. I hate matching socks. And I wear fun socks, so they are easy, but the monotonous white, gray or black socks of Hubby or the tiny socks of the kids just seem endless. I throw socks into a laundry basket and they get done when it’s almost overflowing and the drawers are running out (once a month?)

Bathroom mirrors and sinks get cleaned maybe once a week? I don’t like toothpaste splatter and smudge marks on the mirrors and our sinks are old and just seem to have a film to them. So, add in toothpaste buildup or if Hubby shaves and gets tiny hairs everywhere. ick. The kids like to help with the mirrors. I used to love helping clean mirrors when I was little. I’d take lipstick and write notes or pictures on them first and then clean them. weird, huh? And dusting. I used to love dusting when I was little even though I was allergic. Now, does it count when you run your sleeve over the table or use a sock? I wipe surfaces down regularly, because we have a lot of black furniture and it shows up, but I don’t always get the Pledge out and move objects to really get the whole shelf  like I should.

We generate a lot of trash and I take that out from the kitchen a lot, but it’s less often that I gather trash from all of the little bathroom trashcans upstairs.

I HATE scrubbing tubs, so I don’t do it really much at all. When it gets bad, I get a washcloth and use my foot to rub it around while I’m taking a shower! pretty sad, huh?

2 tips left at the bar:

penelope said...

Sigh. Ruby, I think Andi is a much cleaner barmaid than us... ;)

Those tiny baby socks ARE endless. But, um, they don't wear any socks in the summer, right? Or is that just me...

Ruby said...

Pen, I have to agree. I've heard from reliable sources that Andi's husband cleans like nobody's business, which is really pretty unfair, I think. I'll take being the worst housekeeper in the world if I only had a husband that would do it! Lucky.

I would like to know exactly what kind of messages you are writing on mirrors, Andi?! :)