Now That It’s Clean

Posted By on May 18, 2010

I hate cleaning. I’m not sure when this happened, but it has happened and it isn’t good.

I’m not a slob. I pick up after myself, mostly, and my house is not like a hoarder lives here. I do the dishes (because I have a dishwasher) and I don’t leave things just lying around. Mostly. But in my old age, I’ve become messier. And when you have two cats, it doesn’t help that laziness = cat hair tumbleweeds all around your condo.

This past Saturday evening, I was having people over. My oldest half-sister Alix was graduating from college. And since she went to Loyola, which is just a few short miles from my house, I offered to have people over for food and drinks after the ceremony. Most of my stepmom’s family lives much further away, so they weren’t coming, but we were going to have a small group of about 9 people. So nothing huge.

Obviously then, I needed to clean. Because, and I probably should not admit this, I hadn’t really cleaned for awhile. Like months. Like since Thanksgiving.

Oh, I clean the counters in the kitchen every now and then. The bathroom stays pretty clean. Ish. But, that’s about it. My place was disgusting. And it needed to be cleaned. But who wants to spend their weekends cleaning when you could be drinking or eating or watching TV? Not me, that’s for sure!

So I spent Friday night and pretty much most of the day Saturday cleaning. And cleaning. And then cleaning some more. I was sweaty and tired and sore, but my house was clean! Yay! And then I remembered how good it felt to be clean! And I thought “I really should do this upkeep more often!” And then I sat down on the couch to watch TV and I was like cleaning? Me? Hell to the no!

And I know that if I just cleaned a little every weekend, I wouldn’t have to spend 4 hours cleaning over a weekend every, ahem, 6 months. If I just kept it up, I could have spent most of my Saturday catching up on my DVR and not sweeping up errant pieces of cat litter.

I know this and yet? Nothing will probably change. In fact, I’ve already been Googling the prices and availability of a cleaning woman. Any takers?

About the author

Kristabella, who also answers to “Hey! Drunk Girl!”, is a reformed band geek with an amazing ability to drink most people under the table. You can read her inane ramblings here, where she talks about her exciting life as a spinster with two cats and a fascination for Bacon.

Comments

16 Responses to “Now That It’s Clean”

  1. Mama Bub says:

    Listen, you need a cleaning lady. Seriously. It will be worth every penny. I stay home, have no job, and still have trouble keeping up with the house. When I worked, FORGET ABOUT IT. I had two days to myself and I would be damned if I was going to spend them cleaning. Even someone who only comes twice per month is worth it. I would ask around as people who work for themselves are typically cheaper than people who work for an agency, like significantly cheaper. I’m sure someone you work with or a friend knows someone they can recommend.
    .-= Mama Bub´s last blog ..It’s this, then back to nesting =-.

  2. Mama Bub says:

    Oh, AND? They will get your house cleaner than you ever can and do it in half the time. You’ll kind of hate them a little bit, but let me reiterate: WORTH EVERY PENNY.
    .-= Mama Bub´s last blog ..It’s this, then back to nesting =-.

  3. Moose says:

    Cleaning ladies are why god invented money.
    .-= Moose´s last blog ..I Met a Red Wall Named Jack =-.

  4. Erin says:

    I try to keep the house clean simply because if I don’t it will QUICKLY spiral from “meh, a little clutter” to “oh my god what happened in here?” I’m fairly neat (which is surprising because I was a total slob in my earlier years) but my husband is a staunch supporter of the “I’m going to leave it where I last used it even if the last place I used it was when I was sitting in the middle of the floor” party.

    I dream of the day we can afford to hire someone to do the housekeeping stuff for us. Not because I can’t do it myself but because it is so tiring! And it is irritating that it always seems to be MY job but that is another issue for another time. 🙂
    .-= Erin´s last blog ..I’m Such a Blog Tease =-.

  5. You know what? I clean every week and it STILL takes me at least two hours on the weekends. Maybe I am just hyper-sensitive about keeping the place neat? Because, really, I only have four rooms in my place.
    .-= nancypearlwannabe´s last blog ..New Shoes Make Everything Better =-.

  6. Scarlet says:

    I’m the worst about laundry, which turns into a cleaning problem bc my dirty clothes take over my bathroom. But it takes sooooo long to do laundry! WHY!? And then I’m supposed to hang stuff up??? What? Why?
    .-= Scarlet´s last blog ..Terrified =-.

  7. Angella says:

    I suck at cleaning, much to Matthew’s chagrin. 🙂
    .-= Angella´s last blog ..The Last Dance =-.

  8. Libby says:

    Yeah, yeah, constant cleaning will save us all. And if a frog had wings it wouldn’t bump it’s ass when it hopped.

  9. Jen says:

    Dude, I am the SAME WAY, with the “The house is so clean! Look at the bathroom gleam! I should clean EVERY WEEK.” And then BOOM, it’s 6 weeks later and I’m frantically cleaning for company, while the cat and dog fur just accumulates right behind my efforts.
    .-= Jen´s last blog ..Great Little Tandem Story =-.

  10. I find there to be a direct correlation between owning a home and the number of things you pay someone else to do. Sure, cleaning dishes LOOKS easy, but it’s MUCH easier when the dishes cleaning device does it’s job. As does the oven-cleaning feature and the paying the walk in straight lines across my lawn. If the cats didn’t act all weird when I put lint-brush tape on their feet, I’d put them to work, too!
    .-= thecoconutdiaries´s last blog ..Race Relations: The Hubster’s Perspective =-.

  11. ali says:

    DUDE. GET THEE A CLEANING LADY.
    It’s 100% worth it.
    .-= ali´s last blog ..My Daughter, the Dirt =-.

  12. Diane says:

    A cleaning lady will be worth every penny. And I like to think of it as helping the economy!

  13. slynnro says:

    Once we move, cleaning lady is HAPPENING.
    .-= slynnro´s last blog ..The Little Things. =-.

  14. I do NOT do a big cleaning every weekend, because who has that kind of time? Instead, I clean a little bit every day and usually work in 5-10 minute spurts.

    If you decide not to get a cleaning service, you might check out the Fly Lady’s website. She breaks all those pesky chores down into really quick and easy tasks and has a lot of great advice.
    .-= Jen on the Edge´s last blog ..And so it begins … again =-.

  15. Alice says:

    oh i SO KNOW what you mean. i LOVE a clean house! LOVE IT!! and i KNOW i will be happier when it’s cleaner! but, the process of actually GETTING it clean? umm.. yeah. that part doesn’t seem to happen.
    .-= Alice´s last blog ..bridesmaids! vegas! birthdays! california! bedbugs! phones! oh my! =-.

  16. Ree says:

    I have a cleaning lady. Oh, wait. Her name is The Hotfessional.

    And I SO get those cat-hair tumbleweeds. I swear, I could make 17 new pets every day if needed. They may be chihuahuas, but still.
    .-= Ree´s last blog ..Grace in Small Things: 71/365 =-.