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  1. #1
    ♥ms.pacman♥ is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Default so sick of cleaning!!!!

    I guess this is petty in grand scheme of things. but one of my biggest frustration/stressors right now is the sheer amount of cleaning I (and DH) have to do these days.

    I freaking hate cleaning. It kills my soul. Yet i can't stand spending all the time in a house that is dirty. This is why we always had a housekeeper come every 2 weeks to clean our house.

    Now we are going on nearly 2 months without a housecleaner, and who knows for how long in forseeable future, depending on how long this all lasts.

    I feel like i have been spending every ounce of spare time cleaning and it's grating on me. It's not just because we don't have a cleaning lady. It's also because we are home ALL the time now. I am used to spending 11 hours a day outisde the home at work, gym etc. Kids were in school and aftercare. On the weekends we would go out. Now we are at home all.the.time and OMG. Everything gets messy/dirty way faster. We use way more dishes. We have a dishwasher and run it every single day now, but it's still not enough. Also, i hate having to spend all my time looking at how messy everything is. It literally stresses me out.

    i know many people are still having cleaning lady come to clean their house. My DH refused to do it unless we could all be out of the house the entire time. Which doesn't work for us, because it usually takes 3 hours to clean our house (it's Texas, homes are big). So then the question is, where would we all go for 3 hours, in the middle of the week during a workday? at least, my DH is taking every other weekend to do all the vaccuming, scrubbing etc. that is one thing - but there is also the day-to-day stuff like sweeping, dishes, etc. DH does a ton (probably same as me), but it's still not enough.

    Having all of us at home for so long very unusual for us. it has its perks, but damn, i ready to look at something other than a dirty kitchen and then be annoyed at it being dirty, cleaning it, and then having it get dirty 5 seconds later. it's maddening.

    yes, i realise this is first world problems. though it's a big stressor for me, and i don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. :/

  2. #2
    SnuggleBuggles is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Some days I literally don't see the mess then one day it bothers the heck out of me. Wishing you the ability to not see the mess.

    Buy some disposable dishes and use those for a few days so you get out of the dirty dish cycle. It'll feel better.

  3. #3
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    I'm so sorry. It doesn't matter if it is a small thing. Small things are relative and I really truly believe in the right to grieve what makes this time difficult for us. I'm also of the belief that things that are hard for some people are not for others and vice versa! I have a really hard time in a dirty place. It isn't cleaning that kills my soul, but the mess if I DON'T clean. Honestly because we are also home all day long, and even though I clean a lot, a part of my soul dies every day that I see the detritus of 6 people crammed into a small space for weeks so I sort of feel like we're going through the same thing! Here's hoping that the good news we're seeing out of Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea will make its way over here and this will be just a memory...

  4. #4
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ♥ms.pacman♥ View Post
    It's not just because we don't have a cleaning lady. It's also because we are home ALL the time now. /
    I hear you, especially this.

    We are better now that everyone has a lot more chores that have to be done at specific times vs. whenever. I felt like I could live with everything else if we could get the kitchen and the floors under control. (Floors were crazy with outdoor loving people and dogs in and out all day long - even with shoes left off.) So kitchen tables and counters are wiped down after every meal and load your own stuff in the dishwasher (which I have to rearrange, but still). DH unloads the dishwasher every morning which is more frequent, but that has always been his thing. We take turns cooking. I discovered the push broom and vacuum are apparently "fun" to kids to use so sweeping is every other day and vacuuming on Thursdays. I'm good at keeping bathrooms clean and always have sort of cleaned as I go.

    Don't get me wrong. It is still a chaotic dusty mess and I am right there with you. I so sympathize. Today's an OK day, but yesterday we had an impromptu floor mopping session when paint from an art project was spilled on the floor.

  5. #5
    mmsmom is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    I get it! We had our housekeeper come back for the first time yesterday. It was glorious! We stayed on the opposite floor as her and also spent time outside. Housekeepers were considered essential but we did not have her come for the last 5 weeks (she comes weekly). She wanted to come back a couple weeks ago but I had her wait and still told her it was fine if she didn’t want to come. I did continue paying her.

    We had all been spending a couple hours on the weekends cleaning. The first couple weeks it was good because the kids hadn’t really cleaned before and needed to learn how. But it got old very quickly!

    There is still plenty to clean on a daily basis- especially the kitchen which is used all day. But I am so grateful to have our cleaner back for the heavier cleaning.

    My mom has been really careful about exposure since she is 77. She has not been out and we have only seen her at a distance briefly to drop off supplies. Even she had her housekeeper back this week. She stayed outside while she was there.

  6. #6
    Melaine is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
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    I understand. I've never had a cleaning lady (I've been one incidentally!) but I have experienced the frustration of being home ALL the time, doing EVERYTHING at home and feeling like it's impossible, impossible to keep clean. Even when everything is beautifully completely clean it is a brief fleeting moment before it gets messed up.

    I will probably sound like a broken record, but minimalism is the answer. Less stuff, less to clean. I changed my mindset because I could. not. cope. with the clutter.

  7. #7
    scrooks is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    I am right there with you. I run and empty the dishwasher twice a day usually. The kitchen is my nemesis right now. Our cleaning lady is coming on Saturday for the first time in a month! I am soooooo excited.
    DD 7/07
    DS1 9/09
    DS2 7/13


  8. #8
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    Being home does make a huge mess.

    The dishwasher is running two if not three loads per day here. And I still ran out of ktichen towels from hand washing in between laundry days.

    My kids keep breaking obvious rules and I have rolling list of cleaning chores they are charged with. So while the kitchen is generally grimier than normal I do have clean ceiling fans, all the door panels are dusted, the tops of door frames are clean, the baseboards have been dusted and the tile in the half baths have both been hand scrubbed. I'm kind of itching for one of them to do something stupid again, so I can get the stairs vacuumed with attachments again.

  9. #9
    essnce629's Avatar
    essnce629 is online now Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    We haven't had our weekly housekeeper since the first week of March either. To keep on top of things though we've continued to have Fridays as our cleaning day where we deep clean the bathrooms, dust, and vacuum and mop the entire house. My kids also have their normal daily chores that include vacuuming the kitchen and dining room, emptying all the trash cans, loading and unloading the dishwasher, wiping down the kitchen and dining room, and wiping down their bathroom sink and toilet. We also have a Roomba I try to run most days. I feel like as long as everyone does their daily chores and we continue with our Friday cleanings, things haven't gotten out of hand. If I had to do it all I'd be mad!

    Sent from my SM-A600P using Tapatalk
    Latia (Birth & Postpartum Doula and Infant Nanny)
    Conner 8/19/03 (My 1st home birthed water baby!)
    Parker 5/23/09 (My 2nd home birthed water baby!)

  10. #10
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    I hear you! I'm used to things getting messy when I'm home with DD and the other two are at school, but now we're all home, and we've added a puppy to the mix. Plus our house is white trim, white kitchen cabinets, light colored walls and flooring, which I wanted, but it looks dirty all. the. time! I get stressed out with the mess everywhere, and am so looking forward to days when we're not home for hours at a time. Also looking forward to not cooking and cleaning up after 3 meals a day!!!

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