Friday, November 16, 2007

Hazel I'm Not.

Today is that day. The day when I either have to clean the house or become utterly and officially shamed by the cat hair tumbleweeds rolling past me.

Cleaning is, well, let's just say it's not my forte. I do it, but with malice in my heart. And I'm not a good cleaner. I'm the kind who dusts around things as opposed to picking them up.
This results in the occasionally, but necessary, Big Clean. And that's where we are now. In need of the Big Clean. *sigh*
Adding to this need to clean is the fact that Hotrod comes home from his business trip today and I hate for him to come to a house that looks like it needs an intervention. So, after I set up my coffee IV and have a bowl of porridge, I will begin this arduous task. With malice in my heart. I will, however, be taking some solace in the calories burned. And of course, the happiness of the final product.
Do you hate to clean? Love it? (Sicko) Or do you have someone do it for you? I've tried that in the past, but I rarely find anyone who cleans any better than I do, so why not keep the money for myself and buy shoes?
Any words of cleaning wisdom?

21 comments:

  1. Hate It!!! Hate cleaning with more than just malice in my heart. :):

    If you aren't Hazel, then I'm not June Cleaver. And I don't want to be either.

    By the way...your house is in pretty good shape, Chickie, given all the cat hair challenges you face. :)

    I wouldn't ever have called for an intervention. :)

    Seriously, watch Clean House once or twice and it will make you feel so much better about your house. :)
    L

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  2. I don't know if I would say I hate it. I'm just apathetic about doing it. Sure, there are clumps of cat hair, but they keep mostly to themselves under the furniture. As long as the house isn't a health hazard - the kitchen and bathrooms are at least tidy - then I'm okay with it. Until... Every so often I get fed up with it, and clean like a madwoman until the place sparkles. Thank goodness it's a rare bout of insanity.

    Speaking of shoes, I almost bought the cutest little suede boots yesterday. Darn budget guilt got in the way, but I'm keeping them in mind for my x-mas present to myself.

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  3. Um--cough cough--I'm a sicko.

    I enjoy cleaning. BUT I need the proper equiptment: a good vacuum, a swiffer, clorox wipes, Mr. Clean, a decent sponge, Windex (not that generic stuff), plenty of thick paper towels. Makes the job go a lot more pleasantly.

    Yeah, I tried a cleaning lady, too. It was too awkward, especially if I was home. I felt like I had to make myself look extremely busy on the computer, so I wouldn't feel like the guilty bum I was. LOL!

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  4. I feel your pain (and your malice).

    I live in a very, very messy house. I only clean when I have to (someone is coming over) or I can no longer forge paths between pieces of furniture.

    I had a cleaning lady for a while years ago... Keep wanting to do this again, but you need to (or, at least I need to) get the house at some kind of baseline before they can even start.

    So, I need to do a BIG CLEAN -- more like a BIG ORGANIZE before I can hire a cleaning person to do the BIG CLEAN and then subsequent maintenance cleans. I feel like my life will be 100% better should I ever get around to doing this. I'll be thinner, men will fall at my feet, I'll instantly sell one of my books and hit the best seller lists... If only I had a clean house. :-)

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  5. Lara - See, if I had two boys like you do, they'd be cleaning their fingers to the nub. But you can't make cats clean. I've tried. The best Max can do is pick up random bits of flotsam off the floor while he rolls around.

    B.E. - These boots you speak of...would you be posting pics of them soon? I do love shoes.

    Jennifer - I totally understand what you mean about trying to look busy. Last time I had the house cleaned, the two women doing it basically yelled at each other in Spanish the whole time. I don't feeling like I'm in the way in my own house.

    Maureen - If only cleaning and organizing really did make you thinner and help sell books. I might actually find the motivation then!

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  6. Even if you have the kids to clean-they KID clean, which is not YOUR clean. It's like asking the cat to clean your dishes by LICKING them.

    Cleaning is best done with a nice MIXED DRINK. I tend to not hate it with malice in my heart as much when my drink is COLD and I can look at the pretty colors and dance while I mop.

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  7. Eva - You have a point about the kid cleaning, but Lara's kids are exceptionally well trained and rather anal when it comes to detail. Plus, they do laundry.

    Now your cleaning technique is not one I've tried. Yet.

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  8. I don't think I could ever pay someone to clearn. First off, I don't like non-family in my house when I'm not there. Trust issues, anyone? LOL! Second, I'd feel like I'd have to clean my house before letting someone else see it, even if they were there for that same purpose. Yes, I know that's rather warped thinking. ;-) I don't enjoy cleaning at all, but I do LOVE that feeling when I've finished. My biggest problem is that I tend to deposit papers and other miscellaneous things on my kitchen counter or dining table all week and then I've got even more to organize come the weekend. I'm definitely not Hazel, but I sure wouldn't mind being Samantha from Bewitched so I could just wiggle my nose and my entire house would be clean. :-)

    Christina

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  9. Ack! I saw the boots at a store yesterday, but I can't find anything that even looks close online. I did just see a gorgeous pair of spike heeled knee-high suede boots while I was looking for my cute boots, but the damn things are $450 and not available yet.

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  10. Christina - Nose wiggling would be a much better cleaning method, I agree.

    B.E. - Why are all the good shoes so freakin' expensive?

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  11. I hate cleaning. I think it was rooting in childhood, being the oldest of 9 my mom would make lists of who should do what and my brothers were slobs.

    So, after a long marriage, I am now single, live alone and never have to clean again, if I don't want to. But a nose wiggle would be nice.

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  12. It was one of the things we agreed on when we got married and I moved from New York to Ohio for him. We would get a cleaning service in at least once a week. We have a very nice lady who comes twice a week (once just wasn't cutting it--the dishes just kept piling up!) and in fact, I feel good about giving her work. Is that awfully Reaganomics of me? Sigh. The sad part is that even with her help, I still feel like I have to do more cleaning than I want to. I know, I'm spoiled rotten.

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  13. Try not sleeping...or rather, two hours of sleep on my keyboards and finishing my book in 3 days... then try cleaning the apartment which I must do tonight as well as 3 book covers and packing for Hawaii...now that's a feat! LOL

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  14. I hate housekeeping—especially washing dishes. When Bryan and I were househunting, I told our realtor that I wouldn't even consider buying a house without a dishwasher.

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  15. Hate to clean but hate having a dirty house as well. My mother did that to me. :)

    I try to keep things in relative order during the week and then on Saturdays give it a little boost. Which means I'm thinking the house is in good shape until I have company coming and really clean. That's when I find out I like to write so much more than clean. :)

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  16. Do you hire yourself out? LOL!!

    Love ya, mean it.

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  17. I hate it, but I damp dust and vacume every other day. Have to. Otherwise I wheeze.

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  18. not a big cleaner. Do it, cause I like a tidy house. But really don't like it much. And I am one of those people who do out of sight out of mind until the coat closet is packed and the linen closet is a danger to open. Hope you had fun. Hee.
    Teri

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  19. I don't hate it, don't love it, I'm indifferent to it. My teenage children are doing a good bit of the chores I hate and I call it 'Training For Real Life' They roll their eyes at me and accuse me of having children only because I wanted live in maids.

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  20. Avoid it until it's absolutely necessary. Bleeding children come first. Then the writing.
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .....Then the cleaning.

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  21. I hate it so much, gaaaah!!!

    And having small children just really really makes it worse. Someday I SWEAR I will have a maid! A maid I say! That I will clean for before she comes to clean my house!
    (I say that cos I've heard stories of women doing this. And I probably would too cos I'm silly that way).

    :)

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