Housecleaning: Do You Do Your Own?

Do you have someone that cleans your house, or do you do that honor yourself? In the last 20 years I worked, I had someone come on a regular basis to clean for me. It was wonderful to come home from a long day at work to a spotless and fresh smelling home! In the beginning I had a hard time justifying paying for something I could do - it did not take long to get over that! I enjoyed it.

Since retirement and lack of funds, I can no longer afford a housekeeper, so I now get the honor of cleaning my own home. It is still not my favorite chore. I would rather mop floors than to dust!

Fallen behind

I had fallen behind on this duty so I begun to mentally prepare myself. (Yes, I have to prime myself to get ready.)

Baths & Master Bedroom

First, I cleaned and sanitized both bathrooms. Once finished with the Master Bath, I tackled the Master Bedroom. I dusted everything (Thank God for Swiffer Dusters) from top to the baseboards and cleaned the windows - inside only. Next came the carpets. Upon retrieving the trusty vacuum cleaner from the closet, I checked and the bag was full. I removed the bag, deposited it in the trash and set out to install a new one. There were no new ones! I looked everywhere and found none.

Not wanting to make the 1- ½ hour round trip to town and back, I had a thought. I would use the "shop vac" to hit the top for now. So....I proceeded with the shop vac. Then I had another thought - since the vac had such good suction, why not vacuum under the bed and around the carpet edges? Good job! Once that was done I could not leave the walk-in-closet, so out everything came from the floor. By this time, you get the full picture. Having returned to the closet only the usable items, that was enough for one day.

Office and quest bedroom

The next day I tackled the office. (The most neglected room in the house) I did not do the filing, just stacked it up for another day and continued cleaning. I dusted, moved furniture, mopped the floors and even shook the computer keyboard upside down. It is amazing what comes out of there!