But.
I hate cleaning.
In between rare phases of avoiding housework at all costs, I
keep a cleaning schedule so that it never gets away from me and I find myself wasting
an entire weekend scraping an inch of dust off of every surface. So that means that each week, some time must
be spent cleaning the house.
A while ago I hit a wall where I resented staying home all
day and cleaning up everyone else’s messes; after all, I am just as educated
and able to have a career as anyone else.
I stay home while my husband goes to work because that works best for
us.
But that doesn’t mean he gets away with not having to clean
either. After all, that's his pee on the floor around the toilet.
My children have been old enough for a while now to wield a
dust cloth by themselves and can actually do a good job. None of this my two-year-old “helps” me clean
crap. We all know that if your toddler
is helping you clean, you’re the one doing it.
I’m talking about kids who are able to spray some Pledge on a rag and
make a wood finish shine like the top of the Chrysler building.
Which may or may not shine, but that’s beside the point.
There are four people in this house who are capable of
cleaning whatever that sticky stuff is all over the floor.
I pointed this fact out to my family at the most important family meeting
that I have ever conducted in my entire life.
I also mentioned that it would take us one hour to do a job that takes me
four hours to do, and that all the dirt in the house belongs to all of us. They all reluctantly agreed while I tried not to think about how many years they took advantage of my slight compulsive tendencies.
I proposed that we clean on Saturdays when everyone is home. There are certain jobs to do, and we can
rotate them according to whichever one I want to do that week.
And as with every other dictate that I have laid down for my
family, there was resistance.
From everyone at first, but eventually they all came around
and resigned themselves to family clean-up day, except for my son, who has
perfected the craft of avoiding and putting off his cleaning day tasks like no
other wily beast I’ve seen.
Yay Cleaning Day! JAZZ HANDS! |
I hate cleaning more than not having a smart phone. |
Thanks for the great ideas and I will let my family know during the meeting where I got them from ;-) Jazz hands :) No smart phone :(
ReplyDeleteJazz hands were spontaneous in my family unit, but they might have to be encouraged in others. I would suggest starting with one minute of jazz hands per cleaning session, then add more time with each additional session. Eventually you will achieve continual positive results from cleaning day. Good luck!!
DeleteThat book choice is hysterical. And yes, everybody knows the toddler helper is nothing more than a gremlin to make the job harder and make it take longer. I'm happy if mine plays quietly in the same room while I get stuff done. Although she did a bang-up job organizing her sock drawer yesterday...maybe there is hope. :)
ReplyDeleteGet her to do your sock drawer next. Pay her in M&Ms, and you'll never have to do it again.
DeleteThat book has a flip side. It is "I want to be an Airline Hostess." :)