Why is cleaning the hardest thing in the entire universe?

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Xenophobitress
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10 Aug 2012, 9:13 am

Am I the only one who has this problem?



Kalinda
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10 Aug 2012, 9:18 am

I think it's often a mood and focus problem. If you're happy you are more productive, and if you are motivated it's easier to have a sense of self satisfaction when you clean. I finished cleaning my apartment and it feels good.



FalsettoTesla
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10 Aug 2012, 9:29 am

I have this problem, big time.

It's not helped by the fact that I've been almost completely desensitised to filth, mould and just general untidiness because my mother never cleaned our house when I was younger.

Now I'm older I know intellectually that living in filth is unhealthy and you should through mouldy food away etc. etc. Unfortunately having a tidy place just unsettles me, and I am not repulsed in the slightest by mouldy food and often have to remind myself not to eat food that has gone off and that food that's been in the bin is not edible food, because my brain is still used to it being the main source of food.

That and I just don't know how to be tidy. I just lack that program. My partner is really patient with me though, and he can't not tidy. I feel like a jackass though when he's tidying and not only am I not helping but there's a huge part of me that's thinking 'why are you doing that, it's all wrong and now I can't sit comfortably here'. :/



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10 Aug 2012, 10:56 am

I have that problem. First of all I procrastinate and when and if I actually do it, it takes me forever because of my poor fine motor skills.



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10 Aug 2012, 12:32 pm

No you're not alone! I detest housework, and I both procrastinate and am SLOW at it. I have trouble just maintaining day to day, the obvious things. I do dishes, vacuum, cat care, laundry, and everything else just seems overwhelming. My house is a perpetual mess. One of the biggest problems is it's a TINY house and we have too much stuff, and the stuff isn't junk, it's things we want or need to have, but have no place for. Storage issues. If I had the money I would just hire a cleaning person, and I'd probably pay them very well because I'd appreciate it so much! To me cleaning is a talent, to be admired and appreciated, because it's so hard for me to do. I'm even worse at (shudder) organizing.



Last edited by SpiritBlooms on 11 Aug 2012, 11:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

jagatai
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10 Aug 2012, 1:34 pm

Xenophobitress wrote:
Am I the only one who has this problem?


Why is cleaning the hardest thing in the entire universe?

Because nature abhors a vacuum? :lol:


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DiscardedWhisper
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10 Aug 2012, 1:43 pm

Because when you clean a room, it will be dirty again within a day's time.

Also if you live with the kind of narcissistic pigs that I do, they will expect you to clean up after them, as well.



chris5000
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10 Aug 2012, 2:06 pm

I cant clean kitchens or bathrooms. anything else I can clean with no problem.



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10 Aug 2012, 5:26 pm

I'm a housewife, so it's what I do. It's really not that difficult once you get into the habit and get a system. We have a fairly big house, and and I'm pretty much the only one who does housework. We have four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, livingroom, diningroom, den, eat in kitchen and laundry room. Six people live here along with two big, shedding dogs, a giant bunny and a python. Again, I am the only one that does any cleaning really.

I have to have a system because without it I couldn't function in this capacity. Once you have basic cleaning skills and a system, it's really easy. Here is my system.

Every day;
Straighten up every room
Make all beds
Take out all garbage and change bags (we have small garbage cans in each bedroom and bathroom and one in the kitchen and laundry room)
Sweep the whole house (we have wood floors and tile)
Sweep front porch and walk and back deck
Damp mop the kitchen once, and again later if needed
Do laundry and put away (I usually do three loads a day, towels, darks and lights)
Do dishes and put them away as needed

On top of that I usually cook and serve the meals and clean up after. Sometimes my oldest daughter or her fiance cooks and sometimes my husband cooks. I usually clean up after though.

Mondays in addition to sweeping every room I also mop every room and wash any throw rugs

Tuesdays I dust all the furniture, pictures and knicknacks in the house and use the broom to get down any cobwebs

Wednesdays I clean the windows (inside only), the mirrors in the bathrooms, bedrooms and foyer, tv and computer screens, and glass topped furniture and shelves with Windex

Thursdays I clean the bathrooms. I scrub the sinks and counters, tubs, and toilets and I put out fresh towels and hand towels

Fridays I change and wash all bed linens

Doing it this way gets all the major work done within a week and you don't have everything to do on every day.


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FalsettoTesla
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10 Aug 2012, 6:00 pm

OliveOilMom wrote:
I'm a housewife, so it's what I do. It's really not that difficult once you get into the habit and get a system. We have a fairly big house, and and I'm pretty much the only one who does housework. We have four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, livingroom, diningroom, den, eat in kitchen and laundry room. Six people live here along with two big, shedding dogs, a giant bunny and a python. Again, I am the only one that does any cleaning really.

I have to have a system because without it I couldn't function in this capacity. Once you have basic cleaning skills and a system, it's really easy.


Firstly I want to say that I apologise if what I'm about to say comes across as insensitive or harsh, it's not my intention.

It really irritates me when someone says 'I have an issue with this activity' and then someone else comes in and says 'it's not actually that hard'.

For some people it is hard. It's not as simple as 'I shall do this, this and this' for some people.



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10 Aug 2012, 11:05 pm

FalsettoTesla wrote:
OliveOilMom wrote:
I'm a housewife, so it's what I do. It's really not that difficult once you get into the habit and get a system. We have a fairly big house, and and I'm pretty much the only one who does housework. We have four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, livingroom, diningroom, den, eat in kitchen and laundry room. Six people live here along with two big, shedding dogs, a giant bunny and a python. Again, I am the only one that does any cleaning really.

I have to have a system because without it I couldn't function in this capacity. Once you have basic cleaning skills and a system, it's really easy.


Firstly I want to say that I apologise if what I'm about to say comes across as insensitive or harsh, it's not my intention.

It really irritates me when someone says 'I have an issue with this activity' and then someone else comes in and says 'it's not actually that hard'.

For some people it is hard. It's not as simple as 'I shall do this, this and this' for some people.


I was simply try to explain how to organize things to do it. When I first moved out I had no clue how to clean or where to start or any of that. I was just trying to help someone else by passing along what I've learned over the years that I wish somebody had told me back then.


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10 Aug 2012, 11:20 pm

I clean and then it's dirty again,I've thought of throwing the dishes in the trash and just getting more at the thrift store.I don't have a problem with cobwebs since I feel guilty about knocking them down since the spider worked so hard to build it.And if I get depressed I really don't care.It's the monotonous cycle of it.And I'll bet all those cleaning chemicals cause cancer,they smell rank enough.I'd rather have a shabby house than cancer.



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10 Aug 2012, 11:20 pm

I have a massive issue with this. I lack energy to do this a lot of the time. Muscular problems certainly don't help.


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kahlua
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11 Aug 2012, 2:06 am

Vacuuming makes me really really angry. If the hose snags, I lose it.

Other household tasks dont bother me nearly as much.

My anxiety levels drop once the housework is done.



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11 Aug 2012, 2:12 am

Hoovering isn't so bad... rest of it though is rather complex.


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OliveOilMom
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11 Aug 2012, 3:03 am

PastFixations wrote:
Hoovering isn't so bad... rest of it though is rather complex.


There are a lot of shortcuts and easy ways to do things that I've figured out. If there is a particular thing you don't know how to do or have a problem with, let me know and I'll tell you how I do it.


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