Do tell I'm really interested to know if there's anyone out there who actually enjoys it, regular readers of my blog will know that I'm not exactly a fan and will go to great lengths to avoid it, put it this way I can always find something better to do.
Don't get me wrong my house isn't dirty but boy it's certainly untidy, when I'm in the kitchen I'm not a tidy as you go sort of person at least not always, I try to be some of the time but it has to be a concentrated effort so I usually slip back into my slovenly ways and you would think that a bomb had hit it when I've finished cooking.
I have two friends whose homes are like show homes, I know this becasue if I drop in on them unexpectedly their places are immaculate, it amazes me it really does. One of them won't do anything else until her household chore of the day has been completed, every day of the week is marked for something like washing on Monday sort of thing, I'm not criticizing how nice to be so organised! This is the friend who irons her knickers wow what commitment.
I have just been away with these two friends on holiday they shared a room I prefer a single as I suffer from insomnia and if I do manage to get to sleep I snore, anyway their tidiness didn't let up just because they were on holiday, their room was as tidy as can be in fact they even took off the dirty sheets and folded them and the towels ready for the maid to change when she came in to clean everyday. No throw the dirty towels in the bath for those two, neatly fold them ready for the maid to pick them up and place in her laundry basket, she wouldn't stuff them particular towels in would she not when they were folded. These friends had the bed all stripped and room pristine clean when it was time to leave.
If one of those two friends say they are coming to visit I grab a black bag and push everything that's lying around into it, fling it into the spare room and shut the door, I then run the hoover round but only if there's visible bits of yarn left on the floor (there usually is it gets everywhere!) a quick flick of the feather duster and there you have it 10 minutes tops and I'm ready to receive my visitors and all is well unless they go to the loo and open the spare room door but they wouldn't would they?
Thankfully my other friends are a bit like me and won't even notice the mess just as I don't notice their mess when I go to visit them in fact I find it comforting somehow.
You might be wondering where this is leading and what on earth that vase is doing stuffed full of folded pieces of paper, the thing is I've devised a plan, I'm trying to make housework fun haha what a laugh. I have been through each room and wrote down one particular chore on a piece of paper, I don't mean hoover and dust that has to be done regularly I'm talking about those things that get missed like tidying drawers, washing light shades, cleaning top of wardrobe, tidying and washing shelves, then each paper has been folded and placed into the vase, I pick one out everyday or as many as I feel like doing and once I have done the task I'll put the date on it fold it up again and put it into the done jar, once everything has been done I'll swap the jars around and start again.
I'm hoping it will work because they are only tiny doable jobs that won't take up much of my time, speaking of time this post has rambled on a bit if you have managed to get this far I would love to know what you think of housework and how you manage it. Do you like it love it or hate it?
Have a great hopefully housework free weekend :)
My job for the day....
Don't get me wrong my house isn't dirty but boy it's certainly untidy, when I'm in the kitchen I'm not a tidy as you go sort of person at least not always, I try to be some of the time but it has to be a concentrated effort so I usually slip back into my slovenly ways and you would think that a bomb had hit it when I've finished cooking.
I have two friends whose homes are like show homes, I know this becasue if I drop in on them unexpectedly their places are immaculate, it amazes me it really does. One of them won't do anything else until her household chore of the day has been completed, every day of the week is marked for something like washing on Monday sort of thing, I'm not criticizing how nice to be so organised! This is the friend who irons her knickers wow what commitment.
I have just been away with these two friends on holiday they shared a room I prefer a single as I suffer from insomnia and if I do manage to get to sleep I snore, anyway their tidiness didn't let up just because they were on holiday, their room was as tidy as can be in fact they even took off the dirty sheets and folded them and the towels ready for the maid to change when she came in to clean everyday. No throw the dirty towels in the bath for those two, neatly fold them ready for the maid to pick them up and place in her laundry basket, she wouldn't stuff them particular towels in would she not when they were folded. These friends had the bed all stripped and room pristine clean when it was time to leave.
If one of those two friends say they are coming to visit I grab a black bag and push everything that's lying around into it, fling it into the spare room and shut the door, I then run the hoover round but only if there's visible bits of yarn left on the floor (there usually is it gets everywhere!) a quick flick of the feather duster and there you have it 10 minutes tops and I'm ready to receive my visitors and all is well unless they go to the loo and open the spare room door but they wouldn't would they?
Thankfully my other friends are a bit like me and won't even notice the mess just as I don't notice their mess when I go to visit them in fact I find it comforting somehow.
You might be wondering where this is leading and what on earth that vase is doing stuffed full of folded pieces of paper, the thing is I've devised a plan, I'm trying to make housework fun haha what a laugh. I have been through each room and wrote down one particular chore on a piece of paper, I don't mean hoover and dust that has to be done regularly I'm talking about those things that get missed like tidying drawers, washing light shades, cleaning top of wardrobe, tidying and washing shelves, then each paper has been folded and placed into the vase, I pick one out everyday or as many as I feel like doing and once I have done the task I'll put the date on it fold it up again and put it into the done jar, once everything has been done I'll swap the jars around and start again.
I'm hoping it will work because they are only tiny doable jobs that won't take up much of my time, speaking of time this post has rambled on a bit if you have managed to get this far I would love to know what you think of housework and how you manage it. Do you like it love it or hate it?
Have a great hopefully housework free weekend :)
My job for the day....
I'm exactly like you. I too devised a plan to clean one room per day of the week except Sunday and I even succeeded for about 3 weeks, that's it, now I'm back to my old self.
ReplyDeleteHaha that sounds familiar Pradeepa. :)x
DeleteI'm like you...not a fan of housework...but if I want something to be clean or tidy I have to it myself ! So...I do it to be able to forget it ;)
ReplyDeleteHave a nice and cosy weekend !
Anna
Sounds like good advice Anna but I tend to forget it before it's even done. :) x
DeleteI also don't like housework and my plans don't last more than 2-3 weeks. Moreover, I have always got atleast one neighbour whose house is always clean. Your plan sounds interesting and fun to do:) I will also try to do that way.
ReplyDeleteWell it's working so far Preeti, I actually enjoyed cleaning that fire and it only took me 15 minutes but then it's just day one let's see how long it lasts. :) x
DeleteWash coals!!!'I have never ever done that.I think I must be Sooo much worse than you.Sunday morning OH and myself "clean".In betWeen the Hoover might come out .When asked in hospital "Are you allergic to anything?".My reply is "Housework".Having said all that we are quite tidy which makes things looks better.I do like your idea of the vase idea.
ReplyDeleteWell they get so dusty and they no longer look much like coal so a quick swish in washing up liquid gets them all black and shiny again, they are smiling at me right now as I speak. :) x
DeleteI can relate to those once-in-a-while jobs. I've been meaning to set a schedule for them so I don't forget. My bright idea was to make a note of when I do them (when they need doing) to get a feel for the intervals required with the aim of informing a schedule but I never get around to that. Your jar idea might be easier!
ReplyDeleteYes I've always meant to set a schedule too but it never happened trust me this method is so much easier. :) x
DeleteI also really hate housework! But I don't like 'show houses' so I don't really mind that our house is a bit untidy. Once in a while I have a day that I'm cleaning as crazy but it passes really quick :-) haha! I think the fact that housework is never done, that it always comes back, is the hardest for me. When you clean, the next day it's not visible anymore, I hate that.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your plan!
Sigrid x
I know just what you mean, it's never ending I hate that too. :) x
DeleteIt's not normal to enjoy housework. I only do it when the guilt gets too much.
ReplyDeleteI agree Janet it's such a waste of time. :) x
DeleteI am not in love with housework, I really detest it but I LOVE a clean house so I give it a good go at cleaning when I have the time. Today was vacuum, clean floors, clean kitchen, change sheets and do laundry. Just a typical Sunday for me. I'd rather knit! I love your chore idea, that is a perfect way to get things done.
ReplyDeleteDear Meredith you make me feel quite faint at the thought of all that housework activity going on in one day, I hope that you sat down with your feet up with a nice cuppa once you had finished. :) x
DeleteMy house used to be a lot neater when we didn't have so much furniture. It was easier to clean too, and I do love a clean house. Now it will take me a full day to get my house to the tidiness and cleanliness I like. A whole day!! And in a week it looks like I maybe haven't cleaned it in a year. So depressing. But I keep at, and I get no help from my lazy family. They do oblige me by lifting their feet as I vacuum under them ha ha! Best of luck with the jar method. I don't even know what you mean by cleaning coal?! I'm assuming it's maybe fake coal. Otherwise I'd say you're as bad as the friend who irons her knickers ;)
ReplyDeleteHaha no way Wendy trust me I'm nothing like her. My electric fire has real coals for decoration and they have been known to go white with the dust ordinary dusting doesn't get rid of it so they have to be washed, it only takes a few minutes to swish them in water with a bit of washing up liquid and they are black and shiny again. :) x
DeletePs your family sound just like mine used to be and now their homes are a mess too and they don't seem to care at all. :) x
DeleteHousework, I'm not a fan, but it has to be done. I prefer to work my hobbies, crochet, baking, and so on.
ReplyDeleteToday I'm cleaning the bedrooms, but only in the morning.
This afternoon I go again to the hooks after my round walk.
Can you imagine doing housework all day! your's sound like a very sensible plan I think. :) x
DeleteI think a clean and tidy house is much more difficult to achieve for creative people. We just create a lot of clutter and dust. But, we're sometimes more bothered by the clutter than less creative people--so unfair. My adult daughter and I share a rather small apartment, and we've found the best approach to be to pretend that you are not doing housework. In the morning, while I wait for the kettle to boil, I start on whatever task in the kitchen is nearest, and once I've gotten over the dread factor, I often just keep on until the task is done. And then I have to re-boil the kettle, but that's okay! And I always remind myself that the super-tidy people feel differently about housework. I think it gives them a sense of control over their environment, which is fine, and I find that sense of control in creating an object of beauty (to me, anyway) to live in my environment with me.
ReplyDeleteI get that Kate, our thing is our crafting whereas there's is housework, we are all different I guess. :) x
DeleteI am not very tidy, or good at housework. Though I tend to go into a bit of a whirl if anyone is coming to visit. When I was growing up dusting was a daily activity, whereas I think it is much more satisfying if a nice thick layer has built up. My job for this half-term week is to clean the cutlery - I have bought the polish, but so far done nothing.
ReplyDeleteI get what you mean about the dust if there's a thick layer you can see the difference when it's been dusted, haha good luck with the cutlery. :) x
DeleteMy advice is ...... do what you can, when you feel that you can. It is really NOT that important. Enjoy life, and keep on doing good in the world. x
ReplyDeleteThat advise sounds good to me Marianna. 😊 X
DeleteI've always felt that as long as my home isn't dirty, i.e, actual filth, lol, and it's just clutter and things lying around, then I'm doing pretty well. That's what I tell myself, anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Hungary!
ReplyDeleteYour post reveals my own feeling about the house routine. Well, a bit of cleaning is better than nothing. So I follow an advice to do something everyday, and don't feel guilty if my home is not as clean as in the magazine :)
Good for you! I'm so pleased you share my thoughts on this. :) x
DeleteGood Evening Linda, I'm so pleased to hear you had a restful, but creative holiday in the sunshine.
ReplyDeleteI had to smile when I read this post. I have to tell you something.... I have never washed the coals in the gas fire.... I didn't even know you could. The gas man gives them a going over once a year when he services the boiler, cooker and gas fire, but that's about it. I'd better go and have a little look to see if they need dusting... having said that, the gas man is coming in November, so I'll leave it for him to do.
I know what you mean about having tidy friends. I remember, years ago, one of my friends was immaculate where her housework was concerned. I always thought my house was clean, until I visited her home, but when I returned home, I always felt the need to get the duster out and the hoover to make my house spic and span, daft isn't it.
To be honest, lifes too short. My home is tidier during the winter, because I don't do any gardening, but when the summer arrives, its the garden that looks lovely and not the house.
Personally, I would much rather do something creative, than the housework any day.
Enjoy your evening.... leave the hoover alone, but good luck with your jar method... that wouldn't work for me, I'd start with good intentions and then I'd drift off.
Best Wishes
Daphne
Thank you Daphne that holiday seems ages ago now, yes I know what you mean I feel the same when I've been visiting my friends I always think my home looks so untidy and it spurs me to have a quick clean up it doesn't last long though. I know gardening takes us away from the housework such a shame haha but now the garden has been put to sleep for the winter I can't use that excuse. My jar method is working so far so I'm hoping that I can stick with it. :) x
DeleteHouse cleaning isn't my favorite. I love the results when it is all done, but like you, would rather be doing something else (anything else!). :-) Maybe one day I'll have a Gertrude, "Gertrude, don't forget to dust the top of the fridge." :-) Have a great day! Heather
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, I envy your organisation in even having a little jar stuffed with task-notes! Writing this from a desk piled (literally PILED) with swatches and half-done projects and skeins of yarn and projects back from the magazines and unopened mail and bits of paper with ideas on them and who knows what else. There could be an elephant nesting in there for all I know. And that's just my desk! (Actually the rest of the house isn't that bad. I do try to keep the chaos to a minimum - but of course my standards are probably much lower than those of people like your two friends.)
ReplyDeleteI don't like housework per se, but I do love the ideas I get while I'm doing it. Whenever I'm sweeping or doing dishes my brain just kind of wanders off independently of my hands, and it thinks of the most amazing things. I write brilliant blog posts in my head when I'm doing housework (unfortunately they never come to fruition as I haven't time to write them down).
Mr. M recently started doing some of the cleaning, and it's hilarious now to hear him complaining about how quickly things get dirty. Apparently he never heard me complain about that in all the years I was doing all the cleaning! It's payback time for him (bwa ha ha ha).
:D