Yesterday afternoon we had a cleaning lady come to the house and give us an estimate. She drives up in her brand new Land Rover and gets to work, poking and prodding through our house. She seemed a little surprised at the fixer-upper-state the place is in; wallpaper glue on the walls, old linoleum and drywall aren't very inviting. She said our house was really messy so we would have to pay her extra for the first cleaning. She will cost $200 a month to come every two weeks.
After some more thought I decided to give myself more of a chance to get on my feet and start cleaning again. This morning I went out and bought a planner and a bunch of cleaners. I am using the planner as a cleaning schedule. I think that if I do a load of laundry every day and one other project the house will stay clean.I didn't realize how emotional cleaning is for me. Having a cleaning lady come made/makes me feel like a failure. My mom really pushed on us the 1950s idea that a woman is in charge of running a tight, clean household. Every morning I would wake up to her deep cleaning the bathrooms, kitchen, mowing the lawn or redecorating. She did this on top of homeschooling us, baking, and cooking homemade dinners practically every night. I am not that ambitious/successful/neurotic. In most ways being different from my mom's ideal is a good thing, in little emotional ways I feel led through the ringer.
You would be proud of me I didn't overly freak out about the house being perfectly clean. I left some dust bunnies visible and ya know what, it felt great! I love a clean house, but I love a livable house even more.
ReplyDeleteA little bit each day makes a huge difference though. I promise to come visit soon. I love cleaning other people's houses. I used to go to friend's houses and clean their rooms for fun. I know, I know, I'm weird.