Do you clean your own home?
By deejean06
@deejean06 (1952)
United States
March 18, 2009 8:38am CST
I'm finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with a home and a full time job and a husband and a child...I may be just whining but please just let me whine for a few lines...
I have found out recently that people who have these picture perfect houses and have a family and full time jobs have cleaning services. So here I'm beating myself up that I don't measure up to them and yet I simply can't. They have someone working for them! Of course I'm shocked at first and then somewhat relieved that there is something else going on behind the scenes.
So...do you have any advice for me? I don't know what to do some days to keep up with the laundry, cleaning and errands while holding down a full time job. And if you open up any women's magazine you see a smiling mother with perfect children, husband, house who does it all!
I'd love to hear any and all suggestions....
10 people like this
49 responses
@RDKOSASIH (101)
• Indonesia
18 Mar 09
i seldom clean my own home, because i am at home only between 7 pm until 7 am so i seldom clean my home, and i still single so i only live with my mom, dad and brother
2 people like this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
18 Mar 09
Well consider yourself lucky that you share a house and don't have to do any cleaning yet... Thanks for the response.
@RDKOSASIH (101)
• Indonesia
18 Mar 09
but if i have married, i would have own home, i think i will clean my house once a weeek
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
21 Apr 09
Hi sanuanu...Well you are lucky that you don't have to clean up - your sister does it for you! Unfortunately I'm not as lucky...Thanks for the response.
1 person likes this
@muru1950 (963)
• India
24 Mar 09
Hi deejean06
Clenliness is next to Godliness.
At any cost,you must keep your house spik and span.
Ofcourse it is extremly difficult for you to keep your house clean with a child and a full time job.Moreover,in your country you can't afford to have a servant maid.
Ofcourse my daughter also living in your country with two kids and full time job
and she keeps her house very clean.
The tips are very simple that you can also follow!
Every one in the house should have the sense of cleanliness.Even the child should put the trash in the trash can only.
Every item in the house will have its own place.After use it should go back to the same place.
Even the child should have a clean up time after the play time.
In the weekends,the full family will do the vacum and the bathroom cleaning works.
Occasionally you can invite some family for dinner in your house so that that day you will take some extra initiative that day to clean your house!
Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
21 Apr 09
Hi muru...I'm glad your daughter lives here and keeps her house in order. My son in still an infant and can't contribute to the cleaning. But when he gets older he'll be in charge of his room. Thanks for the response.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
19 Mar 09
i worked for 47 years & did my own cleaning except for 2 times i had someome come in & clean. one did a good job cleaning but broke some of my antiques & that didn;t go over big at all w/me.the other time a good friend & one of my customers at the beauty shop wanted to clean & she did an awful job. didn't know how i was going to get out of that without losing a friend & a customer but i got around it o.k. guess i'm just too picky. u do get overrun w/chores but i didn;t have a husband to fool with & pick up after & i expected my boys when they were home to keep their rooms clean[ not that they were up to my standards. lol].it's hard to do but if everybody picks up after themselves that helps alot. designate some of the jobs to your husband & your child if he is old enough.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
20 Mar 09
no, he wouldn't be much help. i bet he's a cutie tho. i love kids. i think we all get to our wits end sometime. i know how it is to work, have a small child & a husband at home & all u have to do when u get home. hope things get better for u.
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
19 Mar 09
Hello antiquelady! My son is only 9 months old. So his help is out of the question... my husband does help as much as he possibly can also.
I'm so sorry that some of your things were broken. That's absolutely terrible! I guess I'm just at the end of my rope and need a magic wand... got one?
Thanks for the response.
1 person likes this
@alyciassecret (542)
• United States
2 Apr 09
I try my best truly. I don't do as much as I should I think. But I make sure the kitchen and bathrooms are clean. I can't stand if either ones are even a speck dirty. I'm a bit neurotic, and I don't want things to be disarray.
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
21 Apr 09
Hi alycia...I think we all don't do as much as we should but we all try. I've been trying to spend at least a couple minutes in each room every day to keep a handle on things. Thanks for your response.
@harmonee (1228)
• United States
15 Apr 09
I try really hard to keep up on everything, but I agree it is very difficult with a job and kids. On top of it we have 3 dogs and they make a mess sometimes too. I've been thinking about getting someone just to come every couple of weeks just to do the dusting and all those little things that are so time consuming. I can handle the laundry and errands, but an extra hand would be helpful.
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
21 Apr 09
Hi harmonee and welcome to mylot... Thank goodness I don't have dogs also to keep up with although sometimes I think with the child dropping so much it would be convenient to have dogs. And I fully agree - an extra hand would be extremely helpful! Thanks for your response.
@dhanvarsha (38)
• India
19 Mar 09
Yes I clean my home myself alongwith my wife and daughter,even my 82 yeras old father cleans his romm himself it is always good to clean your home, a neat and clean home leaves a positive energy.
You may seek help of your husband and your child if he or she is grown up in cleaning your home.
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
19 Mar 09
My son is under a year so he doesn't help that much - just creates a lot of laundry for me... and my husband helps as much as he can since he also has a full time job. I can imagine that a neat and clean home leaves a positive energy. I'm looking for that! Thanks for the response.
@bombshell (11256)
• Germany
19 Mar 09
yes i always do clean my home special kitchen,i dont go to bed if the kitchen is not clean because i would like to get up with clean kitchen.some men also has thrie cleanliness.i ahve seen men who are organized stuff and can compete to the womens ability of cleaning
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
20 Mar 09
Hi bombshell! I don't always keep my kitchen as clean as it should. There are some nights when I'm so tired after dinner I just go to sleep. But you're right - it's a good idea to clean the kitchen right after a meal. This way it's a lot less piled up! Thanks for the response.
@4ofmyown (1119)
• United States
22 Mar 09
I do clean my own house. I am fortunate because I do not work outside the home. But we have 4 children and one on the way and my husband works between 50 and 60 hours some weeks. My husband is a huge help and does not mind doing things around the house. Of course, I try to do as much as I can so he doesn't have to. I pretty much have a schedule down on how I clean. I do all the sheets on one day. I do the floors everyday then it only takes about 15 minutes. I pre-plan my meals and that way I can prep ahead and makes dinner time a little less stressful. My kids are old enough now that they can help out.
1 person likes this
@tschu8 (136)
• United States
19 Mar 09
I am in the same boat. I have three kids and no matter how much I would love to have a picture perfect house it seems imposible. Just when I get one room done and head to the next I can look back and there are toys and such through the room I had just completed. And the endless laundry... I just do what I can (well, with a little more effort I am sure that I could do more) and tell myself that my youngest is 8 and if I want the picture perfect house it will be much easier in a few years when the kids are all grown and it is only mine and my husbands mess. My husband past job involved going into many houses a day and he assured me that our house was alot cleaner then most that he goes in and told me that he has seen that there are really not too many picture perfect houses out there.
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
19 Mar 09
Thanks for the reassuring response. It's really not so much that there are a lot of people - just three of us... it's that I leave the house very early in the morning and get home later in the evening. By the time I make dinner and clean up a bit I'm exhausted and have to turn in so I can get some rest and start again! Thanks again for the nice response!
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
19 Mar 09
Do you have any suggestions about getting my 9 month old son to do his own laundry? Thanks for the response!
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
20 Mar 09
I am up at 4 a.m. every day so I can get some housework done before I take my daughter to school so that I can do my freelance writing during the day. I know it is an early time to be getting up but it's the only way I can fit everything in. I divide the chores by doing a bit every day and one day a week I will spend doing big jobs such as washing the car or windows etc...
It's very hard to balance everything and I am looking forward to the day when we will be able to afford a cleaner.
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
20 Mar 09
Hi paula! Oh my goodness! I'm not sure I could wake up that early every day. You certainly have a nice system set up and I think that's what I'm going to have to put into place myself. Thanks for sharing your tips and have a great day!
@lovetobeme (215)
• Canada
23 Mar 09
i do clean my home but I'm a stay at home housewife through a disability and have time.I have heard my sister in law say alot of the time she is just too tired at the end of her work thatshe really does not want to do housework.
@Krissta (90)
• Canada
18 Mar 09
I assign tasks to my family.. Such as my daughter is to put all the dirty laundry in the laundry room, and my son is to empty the dishwasher, and my husband must mope the floor once a week. And for myself, I have certain days I do things. Like Monday is Laundry day, and tuesday is vaccuming,Wednesday is bathroom cleaning, and so on. I feel by delegating the tasks to my family it takes a big load off me, and with a time schedule it feels like I am able to do the tasks and not worry or hate them so much.
1 person likes this
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
18 Mar 09
My husband does help me when I assign him tasks. He doesn't usually take the initiative to help around the house but can follow a list like no one! I'd like to assign tasks to my son but what can a nine month old do besides drool and laugh?
The day assignments sound like a really great idea... I'm going to have to work on that - Thank you!
@maean_19 (4655)
• Philippines
19 Mar 09
I am single and independent, I have a hard time cleaning my apartment too, what more to a working mother and a wife like you. Well, that would involve a real time management. I managed cleaning my place through the help of "Good Housekeeping" magazine. There was this topic suitable for working women who has less time doing the chores and cleaning the house. Of course, if you have no other choice, get the housekeeping services of others which can be found at the classifieds or yellow pages.
I will just share to you some easy and speed cleaning tips.
In the kitchen - every night, take 5 minutes after dinner to wipe down the counter and stove, then after that sweep the floor.
- Every 2 weeks, take 15 minutes to dust walls and cupboards, clean out the fridge, wipe down surfaces, and clean baseboards and floors.
In the bathroom - Every day, take 3 minutes after shower to spray tub, tiles, and shower curtain. Spruce up the sink and wipe down the toilet. Spot clean the floor.
- Every 2 weeks, take 15 minutes to Disinfect the toilet, clean the sink, shape up the shower, finishing the toilet then sweep and mop the floor.
In the living room - take 5 minutes before going to be to clear away clatter, spot clean the floor.
-Every 2 weeks, take 12 minutes to dust ceiling fans, bookshelves, walls and windowwalls. Tidy the tables, sweep or vacuum the floor.
For bedroom - everyday, take 2 minutes to make the bed and unclatter the dresser.
-Every 2 weeks, take 10 minutes to change the beddings, wipe out dusts and finish it with sweeping the floor.
Hope I was able to help you with this. Taking some time every day to clean each part of the rooms can save you time when you do the general cleaning. It helped for me because I have less things to clean up during weekend.
1 person likes this
@parvezjs (422)
• India
19 Mar 09
Yes I do clean my home many times. I am always ready to help my wife in doing household work. I cant see my wife doing all the work all the time. Its only me who messes up our home keeping things anywhere and one day I saw my wife was not well but still went on cleaning without saying anything so since then whenever I am free and at home I help my wife in her work. My wife is just a housewife so she manages everything without complaints. I can understand your situation. It gets very difficult to handle a job and then home and family together. Either you should leave your job or keep maid, that's the thing you can do. In magazines the photos which you see are with fake smiles or people having a very luxurious life so don't think over it. Think about yourself as if you keep on working like this it will affect your health the most. You need a break.
@sumiirajj (1983)
• India
19 Mar 09
Hi friend,If you have full time job then you need some cleaning services only.If you keep worrying about all this and get tensed you will not be able to concenterate in your work.I am a home maker and so there is no problem for me to have picture perfect house.Otherwise you have to spare one day per week , stay home and do all this.If you cant spare some time then no other go you need cleaning service.thanks for sharing.happy mylotting.
@kayedanda (1850)
• Philippines
19 Mar 09
I don't know Dee. I am a work at home mom who's husband is not here right now and with no house help too. House is not as clean as I would have want it to be right now but I do what I can. This is an interesting discussion. Will read the rest of the answers so I may find wisdom in all the input of other myLotters
@peterjtd (76)
• India
19 Mar 09
well i would consider my self lucky enough because my mom does mostly the cleaning. i think she does the job. very much. neat & tidy she keeps it all. so i really don't have to bother at all . sometime i do get angry when don't find my things in place, but later i realize it is i who don't keep things in place, and later i only blame other.
1 person likes this
@ajamiro (160)
• Philippines
19 Mar 09
Well...mam deejean06....although I am not wed and had still no children of my own, I could say that you had the same situation with my mom. She handles well on cleaning our own home when I and my brother were still little. She just manage her time well. When we were growing up, she taught us also all the jobs that she's been doing like, cleaning the house, cook food, and the like...so we too managed to do that and until now...to help her as well as my father. Helping each other will work. If you and your husband will do that...then you could really manage your time to do it.
1 person likes this