Anyone else do this?

BoyMom21

I feel like I am constantly cleaning up.  I have anxiety that one of my neighbors is going to stop by to say hi or bring me something (we are all pretty tight and they randomly do this) and guffaw that I am in fact a slob. 

Every one of their houses that I've been to has been immaculate--whether I'm stopping by randomly to bring them something or we're heading over for a cookout.

I feel like I spend my free time with a can of Pledge and my vacuum by my side.  My vacuum is for realz plugged in all day long because I vacuum so much. 

Will someone tell me why I giveafuck?

kayleeb

I wish I was like this! Our house is always so messy. I freak out when I hear the doorbell. DH doesn't really help with the chores much, but I think he's at the point where he's tired of a messy house. I caught him cleaning up the living room a few days ago. I guess that's one way to get him to do some chores

BoyMom21

Sadly I make more work for myself than I do clean.  I have a habit of leaving whatever I'm using out so that I have to go back and pick up the 500 things I didn't put back in place.

I suck at organization.

H is pretty much the same way, so we have two scattered people and a three year old wreaking havoc on the house for 3-5 solid hours in the evening.  During the day it's just me and B, which is bad enough.   When H gets home we might as well go ahead and give up.

BoyMom21

Oh, and I have cleaning issues.  I can't clean up one single space at a time and get it done.  H pointed this out to me--I'll be wiping down the kitchen counters, then I'll hear the laundry beep that it's done, so I'll take it out and set it on the couch to fold.  But then I see the sock that I missed on the floor, so I take it to the laundry hamper.  While on my way there I see the toilet paper and realize I need to restock all of the bathrooms.  Putting the toilet paper away, I come across all of my make up still strewn across the counter from that morning, so I clean it up and as I'm cleaning, I notice my drinking glass I left in there so I take it to the kitchen and start dusting the breakfast table and hutch.

It's bad y'all. 

amidavey06

I do this too, but I'm starting to not care as much anymore. I think it's a common thing that people are always concerned about being judged for something. I also wonder if most women feel like this because it's ingrained in us that women keep the house clean. That it's part of our "job". I keep my house clean but there is no way I can keep it immaculate all the time. Our living room is overridden with toys and of course it's insane to try to keep them put away unless M is asleep.

speedysari

I have struggled with this since being married. I grew up with a SAHM, and while she worked very hard, I think it was easier for her to keep an eye on things, being at home all day. I work at an office 40+ hours/week, and I still feel myself trying to live up to the standards that my mom set. She was such a neat freak, too. We couldn't have friends sleep over much, b/c she was so self-conscious about the house (even though it was always spotless). Added to the mix, my husband works from home, and while I love him dearly, he does tend to have trouble cleaning up after himself. I wish I could just make a decision to be more laid back about it, but so far that hasn't worked out.

OSUWifey09

I am the SAME WAY as you BoyMom. I'll start doing one thing, then get distracted with another. I usually have four-hour cleaning marathons because I go from one thing to another.

I care about my clean place mainly because of JJ...I want to make sure I keep the open areas [kitchen, living room, his room] as clean as possible. But it becomes a disaster area when we get home - between cooking dinner and JJ laying his stuff out everywhere, by the time he goes to bed at 9:00, the place looks like a tornado went through it. I've tried sticking to a cleaning schedule, but I'm not that great at it. I do try to clean everything thoroughly at least once a week though.

I think I care about public perception because I don't want people to have to deal with all my sh!t thrown around the apartment...but for the most part, I only care when I know I'm having company over. When it's unexpected visitors, I'll apologize for the mess, but I don't really care anymore.

tjlovesthepokes

I kind of WISH I was like that. I'm not. Our how seems to always be a wreck. I try to keep the livingroom, frontroom, and bathroom decently picked up just because we constantly have people stopping by. Even if they just stand at the door, on the front porch, they can still see the entire livingroom (almost) and the kitchen. For some reason, if there is one little thing out, it seems as if those two rooms are completely trashed. Granted, 90% of the time there is a pile of clothes right in front of the couch where H strips down as soon as he gets home and doesn't pick up, and there are usually a few dishes in the sink...

The rest of our house? Messy. Our bedroom has clothes on the floor from one end to the other. My office has my garage sale containers, mountains of books, and other random stuff all over it. There is an endless pile of dirty AND clean clothes in the laundry room. And the extra bedroom is kind of a catch-all for all the baby things my relatives hand down to us for our Phantom Baby.

I'm a terrible housewife. I've always been terrible at cleaning. I'm like Boymom - I start something and never finish it because something else distracts me and it's a vicious cycle. I usually try to do a massive clean up when I catch H cleaning up something (although, he rarely ever cleans up anything) because I feel extremely guilty.

I will say that I feel like if I had someone come in just once and do an all-over clean in one day, I'd be able to keep it clean...

critti710

BoyMom21:

Oh, and I have cleaning issues.  I can't clean up one single space at a time and get it done.  H pointed this out to me--I'll be wiping down the kitchen counters, then I'll hear the laundry beep that it's done, so I'll take it out and set it on the couch to fold.  But then I see the sock that I missed on the floor, so I take it to the laundry hamper.  While on my way there I see the toilet paper and realize I need to restock all of the bathrooms.  Putting the toilet paper away, I come across all of my make up still strewn across the counter from that morning, so I clean it up and as I'm cleaning, I notice my drinking glass I left in there so I take it to the kitchen and start dusting the breakfast table and hutch.

It's bad y'all. 

Yep, I do this ALL the time.

 I normally don't really care about how messy my house is.  If I'm having company other than one or two of my close friends, I will clean my house like a mad woman, but I don't worry about it being super clean if people drop by.  Luckily the only person who usually does drop by is MIL, and she doesn't care if my house is clean or not (my mom would be another story).

I am actually having kind of major anxiety about putting our house on the market because I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of having to keep it spotless all.the.time since I'm normally such a laissez-faire kind of housekeeper.  I know it will be much easier once it gets a thorough clean to keep it that way when I'm basically making it my job, but our house is SUCH  a mess right now since I'm trying to pack up a ton of stuff to put in storage and we still have renovations going on.  Even though I know it's kind of irrational, I keep feeling like I will lose my mind trying to keep it clean to show. 

tbvenable

I am the same way but do 1 room at a time and laundry off and on while cleaning. I like everything in its place and when its not it bothers me. I will not invite people over or if someone want to bring me something and my house isn't clean I just go pick it up myself. Even after I have cleaned and everything is in its place when someone is over I go on and on about how my house is a mess and it will be so clean you can eat off of the floors and I won't even enjoy their company because I am always thinking something is not where it should be; I don't want to be one of those people that when someone leaves my house they are saying OMG did you see this or did you see that. I was raised in a house that had crap laying all over the place so its hard to believe I am OCD but I want to be proud of my house and enjoy people commenting me on how clean it is.

ostatekris05

I think H and I are the exact opposite.  We don't have company often and our giveafuck has gone down the drain.  When I do clean, I'm exactly like you, Boymom, I cannot stay focused and am all over the place!  During the week, our kitchen table isn't visable because of the shiit we pile up on it.  I take all of our bills, statements, mail and dump it on the spare bedroom bed.  I've seen worse, but I would die if my mother in law stopped by.

So, over the weekend we discussed getting a cleaning person.  I know we'd still have to keep our stuff organized, but if someone else is doing the actual cleaning, I think I may be able to keep up better.  This time of year is especially busy for us with DSS's baseball schedule, so maybe if it's just until the season is over, it will help.

tjlovesthepokes

I think part of my 'problem' is I have the mindset of "Eh, we actually live in our house - and we don't live spotless'.

stripesandspots

My vaccum is always plugged in too.  We have two cats (and now a dog) and there is always hair everywhere. I am extremely self concious about it so I vaccum constantly. Pledge, not so much.  I am not sure I can give you any advice - my issues are more about me - when things are put away at home I feel less stressed everywhere else.

Sorry! I like to clean!!!

BlinkingLight1

Whoa dude! The only reason I care about keeping my house clean is because we are showing it all the time. In general I like to keep it picked up, but not because I worry about someone stopping by, because I don't like a cluttered house.

amandajean_8807

I always feel the need to have a clean house. It isn't always clean, but I like it to be. I try to pick up things as I go so that I don't have to do too much cleaning at one time. I am super bsuy with school and work. Cleaning often gets put on the back burner, and it stresses me out. I'm the type of person that can't focus or relax if my house is a disaster. If I have a little extra time, I am usually folding laundry, putting dishes away, or clearing off the desk.

stripesandspots

I am guessing you don't get on your hands and knees and clean your baseboards once a month? LOL - I am crazy!!!

BoyMom21

stripesandspots:

I am guessing you don't get on your hands and knees and clean your baseboards once a month? LOL - I am crazy!!!

Sadly, I am right there with you...every time I dust, I dust every single cabinet front, the wood trim around my entryways, baseboards, etc.  It takes FOREVER.

fuzzylogic

I'm pretty easy going about housework. I do what is necessary, clean the kitchen every day, but if there's things around, I don't freak out about it. I definitely don't do baseboards often.

Steven&Jamie

I try to keep the house "picked up" during the week, but I save my real cleaning (sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, etc.) for the weekend.  During the week I do laundry, dishes, and clean the kitchen counters but not too much else.  

Luckily I don't have to worry about unexpected guests--our families don't live nearby, and our friends that live close by just don't ever drop by like that.  Cleaning is more for me though....I do care about what our house looks like for other people, but I'm just not comfortable/can't relax if/when the house is a mess.