Housework!

[Rhythm Thief]

Once again, I suspect Arch and I are related in some way.

 

[domtyler]

I would prefer to live in a completely clean and tidy house all the time. I really hate mess of any kind.

I can still manage a smile though when I am hanging the washing on the clothes horse and my little one is taking it all straight off again and dumping it in the floor!! I'm sure she thinks she is helping too.

 

[Kirstie]

I loathe mess too but it's a fact of life. I was brought up in a spotless house, as my mum turned herself inside out keeping it clean, and everything in order. I've given up trying to live up to that, and I've ever ironed anything! We do a massive spring clean once a year and probably scrub the house/put stuff away every fortnight between us. I refuse to clean at weekends because that's not what weekends are for. Any cleaning takes place on a weeknight when I've got nothing better to do...

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I refuse to clean at weekends because that's not what weekends are for. Any cleaning takes place on a weeknight when I've got nothing better to do...

Absolutely. The only problem as far as I'm concerned is that I'm often not home from work until gone ten. I'm certainly not flouncing about in a pinny, waving a feather duster, at that time of night.

 

[domtyler]

I loathe mess too but it's a fact of life. I was brought up in a spotless house, as my mum turned herself inside out keeping it clean, and everything in order. I've given up trying to live up to that, and I've ever ironed anything! We do a massive spring clean once a year and probably scrub the house/put stuff away every fortnight between us. I refuse to clean at weekends because that's not what weekends are for. Any cleaning takes place on a weeknight when I've got nothing better to do...

I think that's my problem too, I come from a family of scrubbers!

It [living up to that standard] is just never going to happen in my house though.

I am actively training my daughter to help out though. The main problem is the time factor though, this morning it took ten minutes to sweep up a piece of garlic skin in the kitchen and then she turned the dustpan upside anyway when we managed to get it to the bin!

 

[Kirstie]

See, kids create mess. I couldn't stand it...

 

[Arch]

Absolutely. The only problem as far as I'm concerned is that I'm often not home from work until gone ten. I'm certainly not flouncing about in a pinny, waving a feather duster, at that time of night.

Well, unless it's a special request for Mrs RT....

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

Well, unless it's a special request for Mrs RT....

Arch, I think the point he's making is that he's been doing that all day.

 

[Dayvo]

My mate's mum used to clean the house up a bit, before the cleaner came round to do it properly!

 

[domtyler]

My mate's mum used to clean the house up a bit, before the cleaner came round to do it properly!

Unfortunately that is how it works. The cleaner used to complain if the house was a total mess when she got there as they are generally only hired to do the cleaning, not the tidying.

 

[Tetedelacourse]

I see Derek's bollocks have fallen off.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I see Derek's bollocks have fallen off.

Eh?

 

[trustysteed]

housework sucks cocks.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Yes definately worse ... I have 3 that produce huge tons of mess, dirty clothes, expect food to appear, and as they are older also seem to have a social life/activities to revolve around. Trying to get them to help is almost impossible ... the only hold I have over them is computer time.

Well today is the start of half term and they are behind on their chores ... I think they are expecting to get on the computer or Wii machine - NO WAY till they have done a bit around the house. (They seem to think that makes them slave labour!!!)

I don't like spotless places anyway... they look cold and souless ... I would just prefer to be able to walk from one side of the room to the other only treading on the carpet!

This is my reality...

We have 2 teenagers and an 8 yr old, they can cause more mess, dirty clothes and chaos than we can possibly deal with, there's not a horizontal area clear enough to put a mug down, you can never sit down without moving something first and walk around in bare feet at your peril. We have a cleaner to do the worst of the cleaning once a week, but a lot of the weekends are taken-up taxi driving, cleaning, washing & Ironing etc. The idea that the teenagers help is just weird in our house it seems...Mrs FF doesn't want to support my attempts to get them to contibute any assistance around the house and then gets annoyed at all the housework to be done. What to do? I've all but given up, but get roped into helping it all the same...then she wonders why no DIY or anything else ever gets done...
We live in Stepford. Every house in the street is clean, perfect, sterile, not an applience on the kitchen worksurface, not a decorative vase or weird keepsake, like perenniel showhomes, every car is gleaming, every garden tended...except ours. BUT! No kids ever visit any of the other kids houses, none of them ever go out with mates...at least in our house there are the kids coming and going, playing, chilling, drinking juice and eating buiscuits...suddenly staying for dinner or impromptu sleep-overs, there's a pile of bikes, scooters skateboards and roller-blades outside the door, muddy sneakers abound, My Chemical Romance blares out of bedrooms...

Striking the balance is soooo difficult...but one day they'll be gone, the house will fall silent, muddy footprints in the hall no longer appear by magic. It'll be a sad day.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I'd sooner have it that way than a sterile dead house, FF. We have no kids, but I suspect me and the other half are both just grown up children, since every surface is covered in stuff. I like it like that.