I finally did it. And you know what? I don’t feel nearly as bad as I thought I would. My husband was shocked at the outcome, and I was shocked at his response.
What did I do? I have to admit, I am a little hesitant to tell you. But, here goes…
I paid someone to come clean my house.
I know you all have your different opinions on that matter. I had (and mostly still do) had some opinions on that matter. Some are true, and some, I am realizing, are not.
I used to think only the well-off families had house cleaners. We are far, far from that. The truth is, after this first time around, I am probably going to start selling stuff on Craigslist just so I can have some house-cleaner money stashed away, just in case.
And my strongest opinion on the whole house cleaner idea: I am home all day, every day. I should be able to clean the house, and keep it that way.
But then again, I am home all day, every day, with 4 kids 3 and under. We live in the house all day. 3 meals a day, a few snacks, lots of play time, sometimes lots of potty accidents (the kids, not me J ) Throw in the bills to be paid, grocery shopping, pet maintenance (2 dogs, 2 cats)….that really is work. And just one “off” day for me can turn this house upside-down in 2 seconds flat.
Too much stuff in this house has been getting to me, and the fact that I could never declutter enough to actually get down to the real cleaning. And the playroom…what a mess!
I had finally had it. I responded to a post on Facebook a few months ago from a group in my area. I asked the lady her prices. Then a few weeks later, I asked her if we could work something out. I scheduled a time for her to come…then I canceled. In order for the cleaning lady to come, I had to have the house ready to be cleaned. And, I figured if I was able to get that far, I might as well do the cleaning myself.
Fast forward a few more weeks, and I had accomplished nothing. I e-mailed the lady, picked a day, and worked my butt off the rest of the week.
While she was here, I kept the kids in the playroom with me, and we cleaned the whole thing, vacuuming and all! It felt so great to be able to accomplish the playroom pick up, knowing that the rest of the house was being taken care of at the same time. While I did clock-watch a lot, knowing that I was paying by the hour, I was also grateful for the uninterrupted time I had with the kids, and the playroom.
And you know what the best part was? My husband’s reaction! He walked in and asked what happened, because the house looked amazing! I have to admit, for a little second, I wanted him to think I did the work. I was embarrassed to tell him I had to pay someone to clean our house. This is also why I didn’t even tell him I had contacted a house cleaner. You know what his response was after I told him I paid someone to do it? Here are his words: “I don’t care how it got done. It got done, and it looks amazing. Thank you.” He also went on to say how great is was to walk into the house after working a 14 hour day, and not see a ton of housework to be done.
The second best part of hiring a house cleaner?
Well, here’s what I did yesterday:
- Made felt Christmas Tree cut outs, and felt ornaments to go on them.
- Went on a leaf-hunting walk with the kids.
- Did leaf shading with the kids.
- Made felt Owl bookmarks with the kids.
- Cut and cored apples, and made applesauce.
- Did a short dinosaur lesson with my son.
- Read 5 books to the kids.
I was able to do all those things because I didn’t have all the housework to worry about. Of course, I still have to maintain it, and I am hoping that after experiencing what it’s like to not be bogged down with all of the household to-dos, I will be able to actually keep things in order.
How do you keep your house in order?
And please, be nice. Everyone isn't a natural born homemaker (at least I hope I'm not the only one!).
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