To know me is to know that I loathe housework. As in, I’d rather do pretty much anything instead of clean or do laundry or cook or basically do anything pertaining to keeping my house in order. I’m not a neat freak by nature (despite years of my father trying to turn me into one) and keeping my house clean takes work. Work that I’d rather not do. Because I feel that my energy is better spent reading or playing with my dogs or hunting the mouse that’s moved into my house and is currently taunting me with his Houdini-like escape escapades.
Pretty much anything but domestic work.
However, it has to get done. I can’t afford to hire staff (believe me, I’ve looked into it) so that leaves only me to do all the work. An in addition to the fact that I not only can’t stand it, I’m not very good at it either. You should have seen the fight I had with my vacuum a few weeks ago.
Long story short, the vacuum won and I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch.
But my house (and my child. Let’s not forget about her) needs to be clean. And I often have to take a moment to remind myself of the reasons why I have to get it done.
My anxiety
I’ve talked before about how my anxiety levels rise when I’m surrounded by clutter. Something about seeing the mess and chaos causes my mind to start thinking that way, too. Then depression starts to set in and it gets even uglier and I’m unproductive and sad and it’s just unpleasant for everyone around me. So, to ward it off, I organize and clean the areas of the house I’m in the most daily (kitchen, living room, my office) and at least once a week, I go through the bedrooms and the bathrooms. I don’t like it but the feeling of calm that I get when I’m done is worth the effort.
Country living
You know how I live in the country now? And you know how when you live in the country you have to contend with bugs and rodents and spiders and all kinds of disgusting things that are attracted to dirt and garbage? Well, I dislike rodents and spiders more than I dislike cleaning so I do my best to keep things as tidy as possible to prevent those fuckers from seizing control of my house (you know the mouse I mentioned earlier? We might be locked in a battle but I will prevail). Cleaning is probably the cheapest form of pest control there is. So I’m all for it.
My child
My daughter did not ask to be here. As such, I have a responsibility to provide her with a clean home and clean clothes on a daily basis. I couldn’t live with myself if she came home from school to a dirty, hoarder-like environment and went to school with smelly, stained, and filthy clothes. Whenever I don’t feel like doing her laundry or vacuuming her room, I think of the part in Big Daddy where Julian’s teacher tells Sonny that Julian is the smelly kid in class. I don’t want that. So, I force myself to do the chores I need to do to prevent that from happening (and I don’t just newspaper to clean things up). Also, it sets a good example for her that this is how you maintain a house (note: my husband helps, too. I’m not the only one who cleans. For instance, he cleans the bathrooms. But that is born from an argument we had 13 years ago and I’m really, really stubborn).
Please don’t be mistaken that I live in a house that’s at the cleanliness level of say, a hospital or museum. It’s not that clean. I mean, compared to a number of houses I’ve been in as a probation officer, it’s immaculate, but in reality, it’s just your average house of average cleanliness. But it works for me. 
And that’s what’s really important.
People think because I clean a lot that my house is spotless. I have three dogs and two adults in there – it is far from spotless. It is well lived in and cleaned because my mind doesn’t work in clutter and dirt.
SMD @ Life According to Steph recently posted…Take a letter, Maria, on my Thursday Thoughts
Between my daughter, the dogs, and my slob of a husband, my house is the exact opposite of spotless. But I do my best to keep it organized and as clean as possible.
We live in the same world as the bugs. It doesn’t matter where you live – city or country.
Leslie Beslie recently posted…October Monthly Spending in NYC
Country bugs are WAY different than city bugs. I’ll take a cockroach over a black widow spider any day.
Of all the things to do cleaning wise, I love doing laundry. I hate putting it away, but I love doing it!
I will say that finding cleaning tools that work does make cleaning more fun. We got a sweet cordless vacuum for our entirely-hard-floors apartment and it makes cleaning SOOO much easier than having to sweep all the time. Now I kind of enjoy doing the floors!
Tara @ Streets Ahead Living recently posted…How to Stay Financially Organized & Streets Ahead
I loathe laundry most of all. I dream of a day when all of it is actually done.
If we didn’t have carpet, I probably wouldn’t mind doing the floors. I do love our Dyson, though.
Here’s the nerdy truth: I come home on Friday evenings and clean the house. This is my way of getting into the weekend. When I’m done with dishes and sweeping and wiping counters, I feel like the weekend can begin. During the week though, the house is a mess as we both like to drape our clothes and belongings all over the place.
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In a way am pretty much the same, clutter shuts down my brain. I lose focus – I just need a clean enviroment for my creative juices to flow. Most times, I ensure I schedule cleaning before I start any kind of intensive creative work and I can say am reaping the benefits. As its said, cleanliness is second to Godliness 🙂
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I can totally relate to the anxiety thing. I get SO distracted when my house is a mess. Landry especially. When I waste precious time in morning, by running all over hell and creation looking for my clothes it screws with the rest of my day. Also, if I don’t make/pack our lunches the night before, we’re all screwed and will eat garbage, if at all.
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