House Keeping Secrets

Just the other day I had not one but TWO people complement me on my ability to keep my house neat and tidy.  In fact, I think the words were “you do a nice job keeping house.”  The complement isn’t really what is so noteworthy as is the way it made me feel;  I could feel myself glowing with pride.  My mood increased from a 7 to a definite 10.  I smiled at my screaming baby and tantrum-throwing toddler.  Life was good.

What’s that you say?  I shouldn’t feel so great about such a complement?  Well, I did and thems juss facts.

This little interaction and subsequent puffing made me think about friends of mine who are on either side of the range as far as a clean home.  Steph, as we’ve talked about here before, is Type A (to the letter) and I have yet to master her (and her husbands) level of cleanliness.  In fact, I know that I will never be able to top it – though I do learn from her ways.

But what about those who can’t get into the groove?  Or just hate housework?  Or are throwing up all the time due to pregnancy?  Or just had a new baby and can’t figure out how to get a shower, let alone clean the floorboards (which, btw, I don’t do).

I know for a stone cold fact that I was not getting any awards in keeping a house the first six months I was pregnant with Elliot.  No, I was curled up in a ball on our couch feeling overwhelmed by laundry and dinner.  Both didn’t happen very often and I would even leave the house with piles of dishes in the sink.  Yes, PILES!  So, you can see that when someone complemented me on keeping a clean house, it was an accomplishment.  I’ve come a long way baby and I can only imagine that there will be another down swing at some point.

So, for those of you who keep beautiful homes with immaculate counter tops and shiny faucets, I aspire to be there too!  And for those of you who, like me struggle to keep things in order because life just simply gets in the way… keep at it!!!  You really don’t have to be good at everything – in fact, there are businesses built around the fact that there are some people who don’t love to clean and would prefer to do other things, like dancing with my toddler or blogging.

So, yes, we finally broke down and hired someone to clean and I love it.  It makes the daily maintenance not seem as overwhelming. 

*****

Joy is the Co-founder of Scottsdale Moms Blog and absolutely loves living in Scottsdale with her hubby Kevin and their daughter Reagan (born August 2009) and Elliot (born May 2011).  She is a lover of nature, a research analyst on all things related to life, a home manager, a crafty art-eest, Chief Marketing Officer for Cactus CrossFit, mommy, daughter and friend.