Sigh. I don’t have a lot of stuff, my house is pretty minimalist, but it is a bogging, manky health hazard. Dirty dishes lie for weeks. Cat No.1 frequently leaves dead or dying things in hidden places. Cat No.2 likes to kick her cat litter all across the kitchen. I’m a spiller and scatterer of food but unfortunately not a sweeper, wiper or even a hooverer up of food. I could star on Life of Grime or How Clean is your House? - Kim and Aggie would have a field day…
I’d like to blame depression for this, but the truth is that if I felt better I’d be out the door doing other things, not scraping the dried-in catfood off the kitchen floor…
Yes there are, but I imagine it’s rather expensive and I doubt they actually do the work. I think they just tell you what to do and just supervise you doing it.
There’s lots of websites and books out there with helpful info. I have a book on organizing … I’m not sure where it is right now. :smack:
But I know what you mean, I think if I had enough shelves and cabinet/closet space my house would be spotless. If I didn’t have to leave things sitting out then they wouldn’t collect dust, get knocked over and just look messy.
I think my cats have conspired with our massive piles of books to take over DeHouse. They simply leave a path so we can give them treats or find something to read. I’ve given up all hope of ever seeing my garage again.
I am neat. My roommate is not neat. When she tries to clean, she only makes things worse. I’ve gotten less bitchy about it in the year we’ve lived together, but yesterday she tells me we are hosting a 4th of July party on Friday night. Also, she will be at her parent’s house for most of the week. So, guess who gets to clean up the “piles” and dishes and the one-inch dust blanket in the apartment while working and taking classes all in the 95 degree heat with no air conditioning?
I’ve found the key to a clean house is having a housekeeper, but not in the way you think.
Once a week, I pay a woman to come in and mop, vaccuum, and do the other heavy stuff. I’m paranoid she’ll think I’m a slob, so I have to clean the house from top to bottom before she gets here. (Why, oh why, did I buy such a big house?)
I’m also paranoid about visitors. Recently, some of my husband’s co-workers moved into the neighborhood. My fear is that one of them will drop by unannounced and see my house a wreck. His workplace is worse than an old ladies’ sewing circle when it comes to gossip, and stories tend to get greatly over-exaggerated. If the place was cluttery, it would soon be around work that I was like the Ebay Mom. They haven’t come by without warning yet, but the day I relax my vigilience,. that’s when it will happen.
I also have a new puppy. If you can’t afford a housekeeper, get a puppy. They chew on everything in sight, so you have to make sure to keep things up off the floor and tables within reach.
No, you don’t. You don’t even have to be there if you don’t want to. If she decided to have a party (without asking you first) and then decides not to be there to prepare for it, then it’s her problem if the house isn’t ready and there isn’t any food. Not yours. Tell her you’ve got plans of your own and you’re neither her housekeeper nor her cook. Then go off and have a great time somewhere else.
The reason it got so bad is because I was conducting an experiment to see how long it would take her to do something on her own. In the two months, two weeks, and 4 days since I began the experiment all she has done is clean the refrigerator (and only the inside). She will not do anything in this next week and I am afraid our mutual friends will come over, see the place, and I will be terribly embarassed.
Yeah, I’ve sort of conducted experiments like that with my husband. They never work out as you hope (but they do work out as you fear).
ASecretK, that does make me feel better. That’s a whole lotta shit that woman has crammed in her house. I might not put things away as often as I should, but at least I’m not a packrat on top of it. I think it might be time for another house purge soon.
I take it that she won’t be embarassed if they see the place as is? 'cause if she would be, that might be the motivation she needs to get off her duff.
And even if you do the cleaning (I can understand why you’d want to), you still don’t have to cook for the party. That’s takes some real nerve on her part to tell you you have to.
I do plan to half-ass everything, and present her with the bill for all needed cleaning supplies and groceries. Maybe I will even add in labor. I will give it to her when the guests are there.
We can only hope she finds a man-slave to marry when I’m gone Thanks for helping me develop some backbone though.
My house is a pit. I’d like to use the excuse that I’ve recently moved, but truthfully? It would be a pit even without the cardboard boxes piled in the corner. Last night, I went searching for the source of a weird smell, and discovered that my 4-year-old daughter had been ditching food behind a pile of boxes. I’m guessing that it took me a week to notice.
My domestic definitions? “Housekeeping” = “paying the mortgage so that I get to keep it.” “Dust” = “always a noun.” “Iron” = “the substance used to manufacture my skillets. Also a noun.”
eBay woman makes me feel slightly better, but I have a close relative who may be worse than she. My uncle has five acres out in the country. When his house, barn, and storage shed were too full to add anything else, he did what any sensible man would do: He bought a mobile home so that he’d have some living space. That’s nearly full now, and so is his 32-foot travel trailer, so he’s looking for another mobile home. Sadly, my uncle is certifiable. Even more sadly, my brother and I are his heirs. :eek:
Or just someone else who doesn’t care if the house/apartment is a mess. Mr Neville and I are like that. We have someone come and clean every 2 weeks to keep things from going totally to hell, but our apartment will probably never be neat enough to have people over. But neither of us really cares if it’s messy, so it’s not a biggie.
I don’t do actual filth, but I have a hugely high tolerance for clutter.
Also I have two kitties who are firmly convinced that not only toilet paper but paper towels are appropriate kitty toys to be shredded and dragged (trailing shreds) all over the house.
My mother-in-law-to-be is horrified by the state of our house, but my SO and I are generally contented when we can locate basic necessities such as the remote control and the kitties.
Dishes and anything else likely to develop life independently is cleaned up. The bathroom remains clean. The rest of the house is noteable mostly for the random piles of objects and stacks of books. Oh, and random cat toys deposited in locations only the kitties fully understand.
Just let everybody know about your experiment. If they’ve ever had roomates, they’ll understand, if they even noticed. And if you do cave and clean for her; darned right you charge her for labor. What would a cleaning team and caterer cost?
The crazy ebay lady has nothing on one of my aunts. Picture half the ebay lady’s stuff, but with the filth provided by five adults and their children, who never clean up. Dear og, the last time we visited about ten years ago, the baby peed on the stairs and they didn’t clean it up. Because it would soak into the wood eventually. We don’t understand how this happened. Her other sisters are quite tidy.
This is the website I go to when I want to reassure myself/scare the crap outta of myself about my clutter. Nastiest house ever.
I’ve been cruising the personals lately and I’ve noticed that even in the candid shots, all these people have tidy rooms. I feel so inadequate. There’s no way I’d ever post a “candid” shot of me in my apartment without a week’s worth of straightening.
Hoarding is my absolute favorite kind of crazy. What always gets me is that there’s always an order to it. The piles don’t seem to hang over the edges of things. The books are neatly arrayed. THe pictures and magnets fill spaces, but they are also orderly. And the people always think they’re going to use something or make money from something.
I’m just a bit sloppy. I leave newspapers and mugs and magazines sitting around. When it gets bad, I pick up.
Fortunately, my wife likes a neat house and even likes cleaning a little. It takes about 3 days of me making clutter to get the house to the point where she goes, “all right, let’s pick this shit up.”
But, my clutter ain’t psycho. Even after a while, I have to pick up everything.
I have a difficult time keeping up with my own housework, as I take care of my mother and her home, and I care for my grandmother and her home. It’s tough to find time to care for my own damned house!
Of course, I DO have a 17 year old daughter, but that means nothing. Trying to get her to do something is more trouble than it’s worth to me. Oh, I COULD get her to help out more, but it would require yelling/screaming and I just do NOT have the energy for it at present.
Right now, looking around, there is a pile of clean, folded laundry on the dining room table, dishes in the sink that need washed, the floor needs vacuuming again (2 dogs and 4 cats will cause that to happen) and the toilet needs cleaned…along with the shower needing cleaned, too.
Do I have time? Not really. Do I care? Not really. The place looks VERY lived in.
I’m glad it’s not just me! I clean my grandmother’s, great-aunt’s, and aunt’s house every week, not to mention keeping up with their yard work, errands, and my own business. By the time I reach my own housework, I just plain don’t care! (Okay, I care. Just not enough to actually do something about it!)
Thanks for helping me develop some backbone though.