Housekeeping Hall of Shame #2

We do understand, Charlotte! I just love that we are here telling our stories! My mom had a saying when we were kids, there were 5 of us, "Get off your dead a$$ and onto your dying feet, and DO something"! I guess we were all lounging around on saturday morning, watching tv most likely. I hated house cleaning saturdays. one thing is, we didn't have a vacumn, so little bits would have to be picked off the carpet on your hands and knees. I hate carpets, there is NOT one in my house, just throw rugs I can launder, and they are looking pretty dismall right now. I noticed my pillow case has dried drool on it, I am gonna go deal with that right this minute. I hope you guys are laughing with me, I thought it was brave of me to say that about the dried drool....

Thanks,

JAN69 So sorry to hear about your husband's health challenges and your declining eyesight, followed by BC! I appreciate your understanding and try to keep these material things in perspective. Mostly I am simply thankful to be alive to see our son grow up, but I would be lying if I didn't say that the overall effects of BC have been quite difficult on us all.

I like what you said, "Breast Cancer: the gift that keeps on giving."

Take Care,

Charlotte

Geez, I hate carpet too. Had it all pulled up and put in laminate. Think I'd mop it once or twice a year! Only when Spookie gets grey from playing on it.

Yes Charlotte, we understand

Weesa Your helpful suggestions for gaining traction in the snow reminded me of my former principal. A state review team was coming and her desk was piled high as it usually was. No way was she going to be able to sort the mess before the team arrived. The solution: a box of big black garbage bags. Stuffed the bags and threw them in her car. She was proud of the solution. Who knows where those bags are, certainly not at school. And she's never had cancer.

Sorry, I don't know how cats learn their nasty habits. Surely not from us.

well , that's a great idea for those who live in snow country, or have a trunk in their car. I have a hatchback car. Hasn't snowed here since 1989. Car is cleaner than house.

Re cats. Dogs do it too, usually on my quilt that is big, bulky, hard to wash. I never know who did it, they point paws and say it was that other white dog. Kris is a white poodle

This thread is great laughter medicine! I wasn't much of a housekeeper before BC so why start now?

The cat that is my profile pic, puked any and everywhere. MIL made us a quilt & seemed to freak when I said Tiger threw up hair balls on the quilt. She asked,"Does she do that often?" Really? She's a cat, lol. Thankfully my current cat rarely has hair balls -- of course she's a less fastidious groomer than Tiger was.

Only time I make the bed is when someone comes over and I expect them to even see the bedroom. The toilet I keep from getting growdy, but cobwebs, dust I just ignore. But I now have to do major cleaning and decluttering and become the clean person to get the house ready to sell.

'The toilet I keep from getting growdy, but cobwebs, dust I just ignore." That's pretty much been it for me for the last 10 or so years and I was just diagnosed with breast cancer this Sept.!

Once upon a time I met a very nice man and we got married and he had 3 kids and I had 3 kids and then there were dogs and cats and a gerbil or four, a couple of hamsters and 2 lizards, and my housekeeping habits and goals were altered forever. Basically I forgot about keeping a clean house and concentrated on keeping the place from becoming officially condemned. Years went by and most of the children have (thankfully) grown up and moved out (but most, thankfully, not too far away) to pursue college, get married, shack up, etc. and yet my housekeeping habits have never recovered. Priorities change.

This thread is so funny. You guys are so not anal about your houses. Hate to admit it but I am OC about cleaning. Don't get me wrong our carpet is God awful as a result of wear and tear and 3 Labs and other dogs before them and kids and we have replaced it twice already. Labs chew everything and the carpet is their fav. We put off a lot of fixin' up too because of my dx and the medical bills that came with it. We have managed to progress a bit by having the inside painted. DH did the bedroom and outside did the roof by himself and the siding. I am blessed he is so handy. Looks really good finally. Oh and the kitchen floor is horrible too - its def on the TO DO LIST.

I am better than I used to be when my children were small; I used to follow my kids with a dust buster. I am one of those people who makes the bed though. My mother insisted on it and I kind of feel guilty when I don't - like I can feel her presence telling me I better.

My sister is more OC than me.  You could eat off the floor in her house.

Worrying about whether your house is clean or not is kind of lame when you think about the zillions of things that are more important. Oh btw DS' room is likened to the Bermuda Triangle.

Diane

I used to tell people that you could eat off my kitchen floor, too, Edwards750. In fact, you could feed a family of four from a third world country for a year with what's on my kitchen floor. ;

...Flannelette, I love how you described the living with the sound of mice , and it making you feel so cozy and organic! Not surprising,considering your very name sounds comforting and snug!

Weesa, I hope I did not offend you by sharing your story with my man. I just knew it would make him laugh, him being privy to all my flaws and foibles, I think he has an idea that all women are perfect housekeepers while appearing perfectly coifed and dressed too. that is so not me, sometimes I begin to feel sorry for him! I was laughing near us all, not AT us all! I am so glad you started this thread. Right now I have to go and shake my sheets out, I know there is an empty bag of candy in it..cause i finished it i the middle of the night!

Do not clean the oven, Janetanned! And do not even worry about spending precious time cleaning it before destruction! i have worked many years in construction and remodeling kitchens and baths,mainly, with my boymanfriend for the last 15. And believe me, it has to be spectacularly bad for us to even comment on it or laugh remembering it years later! believe me, what I want to see is all the underneath the floors, and behind the walls, where the support beams are, make sure electrical is good, plumbing etc. We are much more interested in what the original workers have done, and admire it, or make fun of THAT! We have seen some truly bizarre homebuilding examples. When some one's kitchens clean when I start, I know i am going to have to spend a great deal of time preparing the way into where the work is, with tarps and platic, and try to make sure I clean as I go. My boymanfriend not so much. But when i walk into someone's house that is more "relaxed", I absolutely do like it better, and would not dream of making fun. The people who have houses like yours and mine, I think they are just more relaxed and grateful themselves, and often show more excitement than the spectacularly clean ones. So, take the day off!

My husby "taking care" of a rat problem.  Fortunately they infest the fruit trees in the back yard, not anywhere in the house, so I guess they don't qualify for housekeeping hall of shame!

There's a possum and two of her babies that are coming around, now that the weather is cold. They've been partaking of the dish of dry cat food that is always on my front porch for any kitties-in-need. No, I don't mind the possums eating it. If they're hungry, they are welcome to it and I'll happily put out more.

And, in addition to the mice, I also have a birdfeeder set-up for the cold winter months. No, I don't mind the squirrels raiding it. People keep giving me advice on how to "squirrel-proof" the birdfeeder; why would I do that? Squirrels get hungry too! That's why I put out nuts, as well.

Thanks Kathec and Spookiesmom!  I'll stop cleaning.  Didn't really want to anyway.  As far as being relaxed...........  we are real relaxed!  And I AM excited to see my new kitchen!  I might have made a mistake picking white cabinets though.

Years ago, before children, my husband an I lived in an old midrise building in NYC.  We were newlyweds and pretty silly.  We had a tiny terrace, so I decided that it would be fun to put out a birdfeeder.  Needless to say, my terrace became the roosting place for all of the upper east side pigeons.  My neighbors were horrified and asked us to stop feeding the dirty pigeons.  Little did they know we were also feeding the mouse community that moved into our building when an old theater was demolished next door.  They were so darned cute, poking their pointy noses out from under the radiators.  Unfortunately, others in the building did not find them cute, so an exterminating company was called and our little friends didn't visit anymore.  Dh and I laugh about those carefree days in NYC.

sounds like my SIL. Makes me crazy