Off topic: How do you keep house?

S.N. Visit, BSN, RN · Feb 4, 2006

My cleaning helper came by today, and I am ever so happy to be sitting in a beautiful house again . It took us over 4 hours to get the main part of the house done. She is one heck of a polisher I tell you. I don't how she got my stainless steel appliances to be streak free, but she did. Next week we'll be starting down-stairs, but I'm afraid to go down there. I'm sure I ought to get a RX of valium or an anti-psychotic before I look into my two oldest kids bedrooms :clown: .

RNSuzq1, RN · Feb 4, 2006

My house keeping has gotten so bad lately, that today my husband threatened to hire a cleaning lady. I called his bluff and guess what? He called a cleaning lady to come in and start this friday! I'm so thrilled & relieved. It's been terrible trying to keep the house clean with 3 messy kids and a pig of a husband. How do you all handle juggling classes, studying, working, running kids around while keeping the house clean? I feel so blessed to finally get help!

Tanzanite, Lucky You!!! If we could afford a housekeeper, my husband would have hired one long ago. Unfortunately, his Mother is a Martha Stewart Clone - you could eat off her driveway, so of course I'm compared to her and don't quite live up to the high expectations in the housekeeping dept. We also have 3 sloppy boys and not one of them can aim into the toilet - nothing like sitting down in the dark on a cold, wet seat, it's disgusting..:angryfire They each blame the others for the "wet seats" - I've threatened to do DNA testing on the PEE to settle the matter, hee, hee... I've also found splattered toothpaste all over the bathroom mirrors everytime they're in there (also claim that they have no idea how that happens) - drives me insane...

For the last few years since I've been in school, there's not much time during the week for housekeeping, so I do the bulk of it on the weekends. I've just tried to deal with it until I finish school and have a more normal routine again. The only thing that has bothered me is that our son in college has his first serious girlfriend and the few times he brought her to the house - (without notice), just so happens that I was in the middle of studying and the house was a disaster area - laundry folded on the dining room table, dishes in the sink, the younger guys toys all over the place. She's an only child and I've heard their home is immaculate - so I was mortified the first time she came over and saw the place. I never thought I'd be apologizing to a 20 year old college kid for the state of my house, good grief, how humiliating!!!!

Chaya, ASN, RN · Feb 4, 2006

Humph. Housework; ya do it and six months later ya just have to do it again!

LeashRN · Feb 5, 2006

While in school........I DIDN'T!!!!!!!!

Alisha:rotfl:

genhen · Feb 5, 2006

Funny, our house was clean at the beginning of the semester. But......now it is a train wreck. What's really annoying is the fact that I took Micro. So, I know a little about germs, etc. But, my wife and I only have so much energy and money. We can't afford a cleaning lady (yet!). So, we clean when we can't tolerate it anymore. Temporarily, we have a less than clean house. But, in May of '07, I will graduate. My wife and I will both be RN's in California making bank.

They say it's not about the money. This is true but the pay certainly is cool.

Nursing school does not equal clean house. Math? lol

Peace

Genhen

KKS · Feb 5, 2006

I don't! LOL! Just step over it, kick it out of the way, push it in the floor, throw it out on the porch, until it eventually gets in someone else's way and let them take care of it. My house used to be so clean, and it really bothered me at first, but quite frankly, I don't have the time or the energy to let it bother me now. I go to class, the hospital, study, and do paperwork. Sleep, food, and going to the bathroom have become my luxuries in life! Ha. I will graduate in 2007, and then I will worry about my house!

:lol2:

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Feb 5, 2006

I cleaned the kitchen today and the master bath is still clean. It's amazing! I never thought it could be done. I've realized what has sparked this in me. I'm doing home health now and go into nice clean homes, come home and get sick. My patients would freak if they saw my home. They have a cup on a table and "oh excuse the mess". I wish ! They don't believe me when I tell them my house is a disaster. I made a deal with dh today that I would clean the bedroom if he would clean the dinning room (our horizontal filing cabinet) well, I did, he didn't, the man is in trouble now. I told him I expected him to keep his crap off the kitchen table and off of the kitchen island, I've had to remind him about 5 times today but he has done it. Tomorrow my office! I'm on top of the world, now if I could just be skinny!

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 10, 2006

Before nursing school-did it myself.

Now-cleaning lady!

I study much better in an organized environment :roll

kukukajoo, LPN · Feb 10, 2006

I am a slob of the worst kind but am getting better! I think is because we never had chores as a kid other than outdoor ones. Plus the old house I just sold ALWAYS looked bad, even when spotless. I hated it so much I never put much effort as the effort never amounted to squat. It needed so much maintenance I could never keep up with that- you shoulda seen the lawn!!

Now that I have a beautiful new townhouse I am keeping it pretty clean. The floor plan makes sense and there is much more storage space! AND it shines and is like a magazine when spotless so I want to keep it that way!

Two things I recently did that made a HUGE difference- I packed away the mother lode of towels and hid the boxes! I got new towels that are color coded so each person has their own towel and that is it. Before they would be all over the place and wet and stinking!! I must have forty towels packed away and I could never for the life of me figure out where all that laundry was coming from!

The other is I cracked down on the laundry a couple weeks after the towel rule went into effect. I told the kids they have to do their own laundry from now on and it stays in their room until it goes into the machines and no leaving loads half done. If they go to do a load and one has to be taken from the dryer they have to fold it and put in a basket for owner to take care of. Viola! The house is so much neater!! I love it!

Also I noticed that living here in the new place the kids are actually helping more too as they also see how nice it looks when clean and they actually have been showing it off to friends!

These two things made a 100 fold difference! There used to be clothes everywhere and I was always washing clean clothes over and over again as the kids would dump the load on the floor or into the dirty bin!! I could never tell what was clean or dirty. There would be piles on every piece of furniture needing folding and whenever company came over I would have to clear spots to sit down!!

brightmoon · Feb 12, 2006

You guys are too funny!!!:chuckle It's been awhile since I've read this thread. Its so refreshing to read all of the extras. Like I mentioned in my previous comments, my house is a beaken for a man made tornado. My mother in law came by last week with some donated goodies, I had her put the stuff on the swing next to front door even though she has a key. My in laws are so anal about everything. We had a family dinner to attend at sister in law's house yesterday and was told to be there at 5:30pm. Of course with my schedule and at times, three bratty kids, we arrived at 5:35 and got a lecturing. It drives me crazy that they are so anally anal and it drives them crazy that my house looks like a germ factory. Anyways, I did get to throughly clean my boy's room. I had to start outside their door because their was too much crap to even get in. As for hubby, I think the previous comments pretty much sums it up but I think I can do one better. My loving but lazy husband is sooooo lazy that at times instead of getting up to take a you know what, he would relieve himself in an empty water bottle. :eek: and to make it worse, I won't find it until I clean underneath the bed and as you guys are already aware of, that doesn't happen too often, especially since I'm still in school. So imagine my suprise and disgust when my little ones comes across his portable toilets. :no: We have gotten into many heated discussions via flying objects from me about this issue among others. He has promised to do better. Do you think this is his way of reacting to years of rigid, inflexible, anally anal mother and sisters? :confused:

P.S. I think I'm becoming addicted to this site.

BoonersmomRN · Feb 12, 2006

Im pretty sad..my house is a mess...but mainly my room + my bathroom. My fiancee does most of the cleaning....I do the cooking+ laundry. However most days I can barely manage to find something that matches.....I need a better structure for sure!

LydiaNN · Feb 13, 2006

You guys are too funny!!!:chuckle It's been awhile since I've read this thread. Its so refreshing to read all of the extras. Like I mentioned in my previous comments, my house is a beaken for a man made tornado. My mother in law came by last week with some donated goodies, I had her put the stuff on the swing next to front door even though she has a key. My in laws are so anal about everything. We had a family dinner to attend at sister in law's house yesterday and was told to be there at 5:30pm. Of course with my schedule and at times, three bratty kids, we arrived at 5:35 and got a lecturing. It drives me crazy that they are so anally anal and it drives them crazy that my house looks like a germ factory. Anyways, I did get to throughly clean my boy's room. I had to start outside their door because their was too much crap to even get in. As for hubby, I think the previous comments pretty much sums it up but I think I can do one better. My loving but lazy husband is sooooo lazy that at times instead of getting up to take a you know what, he would relieve himself in an empty water bottle. and to make it worse, I won't find it until I clean underneath the bed and as you guys are already aware of, that doesn't happen too often, especially since I'm still in school. So imagine my suprise and disgust when my little ones comes across his portable toilets. We have gotten into many heated discussions via flying objects from me about this issue among others. He has promised to do better. Do you think this is his way of reacting to years of rigid, inflexible, anally anal mother and sisters?
P.S. I think I'm becoming addicted to this site.

OMG, brightmoon. I thought my husband's little habit of throwing trash into the sink was bad!!!! I'm no shrink, but the pee in a bottle has to be a reaction to something in his life, most people just don't do that!