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Friday, October 22, 2010

Is A Clean House Overrated?


I really hate to clean.  I can think of about a thousand other things I would like to do.  Like pulling out my eyelashes one by one.

Ok, maybe cleaning isn’t that bad.  Besides, my husband, Doug, is a clean freak.  He tends to keep our house in order.

Last week, I was talking to my Artist Sister, and I could tell she was really stressed out.  She has this showing coming up at the university where she works.   She said to me, “I really need to get painting.  I’m just not going to be able to clean the house this week!”

My response?  “Don’t worry about cleaning the house.  Have your husband do it.”

She started laughing over the phone.

Most guys don’t like to clean.  But not Doug.

As I was talking to her on the phone, I started coughing from the fumes.  Doug was cleaning the kitchen again.  He is obsessed with this all-purpose kitchen cleaner, and I keep saying to him, “Your going to kill us with all these chemicals!”  I even went out and bought the echo-friendly kitchen cleaner (the kind that's not supposed to kill you) but it still makes my nose burn.

I know.  I know.  I shouldn’t complain.  I should be thankful that he has such high standards.

You’re never going to convince me that “cleanliness is next to godliness” but I’m the first to admit it’s pretty nice to live in a clean house. 

What do you think, is a clean house overrated? 

Maybe the key is to have someone else do the cleaning.  Have a good weekend!

14 comments:

Heidi @ Decor & More said...

I normally think a clean house is overrated-- but then I was gone for 5 days to run my half-marathon and came home to... well, you can guess! 3 kids, a dog, and a husband left in charge does not a clean house make!
Have a good weekend-- I'll be cleaning. :)

Unpolished Parenting said...

I used to think that a clean house was overrated. But then I realized no one else is going to do it but me, especially not my husband. I'm not an OCD type cleaner, but I do feel like I can relax a bit more when the house is clean and everything is put away.

Wendy Paine Miller said...

I like things tidy. But I'm not all that into cleaning.

Who has time? ;)

Have a great weekend.
~ Wendy

Jennie said...

In our house, I do the daily routine maintenance, and then every month or two, my husband get highly motivated and does a deep clean. And I mean *deep*. (For some reason, I feel obligated to help him even though it wasn't *my* idea.)

I try to keep it tidy/clean enough that if someone randomly stopped by I wouldn't die of sheer embarrassment. But on the other hand, if they do, they're kind of asking for it.

Whenever we have a get-together at our house, my husband goes crazy cleaning. My opinion is that they know our house is lived-in, so I'm not going to stress if it isn't perfect.

I guess that means my short answer is, "yes"...a clean (especially squeaky clean) house is overrated.

Julie Cragon said...

Completely overrated. Please call if you're coming to visit.

Unknown said...

The motto at our house:
If I can live in it - you can visit it!

A clean house is overrated....however, it was nice to be surprised for my birthday with a good friend cleaning all my bathrooms, vaccuming and sweeping as well as picking up all the toys!!

Ang said...

We have a plaque near the front door that reads: "This house isn't under construction. Kids just live here." Housekeeping is not my strong suit, yet clutter tends to stress me out. I tried keeping up for years, but with each new child in the home (on some days, I'd add my husband to the list of children!), it became overwhelming.

Nowadays, I budget for someone to come over and clean twice a month, while we [try to] wrangle the clutter and keep the floors tidy. We're not neat-nicks, but for having five boys running around, the house is usually presentable.

Unknown said...

I think you nailed it when you said the key was to have someone else clean it. (sigh) If only that someone else wasn't me.

I tell people if your coming to see me, just come over if you are coming to see the house, call first.

P.S. I got your book and am enjoying it so far. Thanks again.

Rachel Kahindi said...

I actually kind of like cleaning. More than that, I love having a clean house. We keep a cleaning schedule so that the whole house gets cleaned every other week, a little bit each day. I kind of miss having everything clean on the same day, but this way, at least everything has been recently cleaned.

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

Yes, I do think a clean house is over-rated! It's nice, but I don't stress out about it.

It's funny, there are certain cleaning things my husband has always thought were his job. I guess his dad did them. I've never mopped a floor, and he does all the carpet cleaning. But touch a toilet or iron a shirt? Never!

Michelle DeRusha said...

I have to say, I love to clean...and it's a good thing, because my husband couldn't care less about a clean house (which is good on those days/weeks when I didn't get around to it!).

Susan DiMickele said...

I think I'd be in big trouble if my husband was like me and hated to clean!

Unknown said...

Your husband and my husband should start a support group for husbands of lady lawyers who hate or can't clean. I don't clean because I can't meet my husband's high standards in cleaning. He literally has followed me around cleaning up after me with the dustbuster or a paper towel.

Unknown said...

I used to think that a clean house was overrated too. However, I'm also benefited by having a clean home. Yes, it's my wife who always clean our house since I'm busy at work. I'm so happy because our baby, Allison, crawls in a clean carpeted floor. I can't see any unclean spots in our house too. One of the best way to have this peace of mind is to hire carpet cleaners. Carpet cleaning in Kansas City will be easy in doing so, especially for a busy Dad like me. Carpet cleaning (Kansas) our rugs and carpet takes time, by the way, because we have 3 dogs in the house. I'm so grateful for the services of the carpet cleaners and my wife's patience in cleaning our house.