My mom is a neat freak. When I was about 7, I distinctly remember one New Year’s Day when she decided it was time to start the year fresh with an even cleaner house. So, she scrubbed the kitchen floor with ammonia. Did I mention we lived in Michigan and it was about 10 degrees out? The fumes nearly did us in.
When she has free time, she likes to clean. While I like how tidy her house is, I don’t like all the work that goes into having a spotless house. I can find so many other things to do like playing with my kids, cooking, blogging, working on my store, etc. Cleaning is something I do because I have to.
My house is what I like to call get-by clean. The floors are swept daily (or at least every other day), the dishes are done every day (often a couple of times a day), the bathroom is cleaned at least once a week. Still, when my mom comes to visit, she ALWAYS suggest things she could do to help. “How about if I dust the living room?” “Next time I come to visit let’s really dig in and do a deep cleaning. . .”
Yes, get-by clean means there is plenty of room for improvement, especially with clutter, as the picture of our kitchen table demonstrates. That is why I was excited to learn about simplemom.net ‘s spring cleaning party May 4th-15th. I plan to take part and blog about my experience. (After all, having an organized house can save a lot of money.) Click on the button at the top of my blog if you are interested in joining.
Maybe after the spring cleaning party my mom will finally be satisfied with the state of my apartment, but I doubt it. A neat freak can always find something more to clean. 🙂
Haha! Your mom is definitely a neat freak!! I think you’re right, I don’t think she’ll ever be satisifed! 😀
I just started reading your blog, and it's eerie – like I'm reading something I've written myself a few years into the future, but without the neat-freak mom!
Anyway, I've started using a (free) system from flylady dot net. In theory, you will never, ever have to do a "deep" or "spring" clean again – you work on a "zone" for 15 minutes each day, do a "house blessing" each week, etc., so the cleaning and organizing becomes a system and routine that just continues from day to day, with a 15-minute commitment (not an hour or two daily!)
The biggest help from the site for me, though, has been the emphasis on decluttering, letting go of things that don't bless my home so they can bless others, and "housework done the 'wrong' way still blesses your family".
Anyway, thought it might be something you could find useful!