“A place for everything, and everything in its place”…that’s the saying right? It makes perfect sense…you use it and then you put it away. Then why can’t I do it? Some women are just born cleaners. They can’t help themselves. If something looks at all untidy, then they clean it. Not me…it takes a lot of effort and motivation for me to clean.

My House

I have friends that no matter when you walk into their homes, surprise or not, it looks immaculate. What happens if you surprise me at my home during the week?? You enter a zone that is un-vacuumed, magazines and glasses are on the coffee table, and the bathrooms aren’t clean. It doesn’t help that my husband is pretty much a tornado every time he walks in the door…shoes in front of the door, tie around the kitchen chair, and keys on the coffee table. I guess I feel that if I make a mess I know I will clean it, but when I see his mess I just know who’s the one that will be picking it all up…me!

It’s not that I don’t enjoy a clean house. I am so happy when I actually finish the task and do a good clean. The house looks great and I say to myself…..this time you are going to keep it this way…but it’s never the case. I have even tried a technique of one room a day. The technique being that if I just focused on one room a day, every day of the week, it wouldn’t be overwhelming to clean. But every day after work what do I do? I sit back on the couch and watch some TV, and then I make dinner and another day is done.

On the weekends if I am acting as hostess (which is often) I clean the downstairs so the guests can see how neat and tidy I am (ya right!), and the unfortunate part is when I wake up the next morning it’s all a mess again! I hate to be that hostess who cleans around others while they are enjoying themselves, so I try my best no to be “that guy”. So when I wake up I am bummed about the time I spent cleaning yesterday, and start all over.

Maybe a Maid in my Future

Someday, when I have some extra cash I’d really love a person to come and clean my house at least once every other week. This would make sure all the floors get mopped, the bathrooms get clean and the furniture gets dusted. It would be a lifesaver. My new goal is to every day at least make sure the place looks tidy. At least if a surprise guest comes over it will look neat to the naked eye, and I guess this is all I can ask of myself for now. Because let’s face it…I will never be a neat freak. My home will always be “lived in” and when I have children it will just be even harder to maintain…so with that I will just accept to be mediocre when it comes to cleanliness!

So how do you do it? Is your house spic and span? What is your technique? Please share, because I just shouldn’t accept mediocrity when it comes to my home!