Category: Home maintenance

March 5, 2023. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”

No, my husband did not cheat on me (or do anything else wrong). This saying (for me) is referring to cleaning-specifically a cleaning person. The original saying has roots of expressing that when a woman has been wronged by a man, you better get out of her way because her anger/fury will destroy everything around her.

I am choosing to be a bit less dramatic (and it doesn’t relate to my husband) but I still like the saying and it has pushed me into my current situation, so I thought I would explain.

I dislike cleaning. Cleaning is different than tidying/picking up the house. I enjoy tidying. I also enjoy doing the laundry, organizing, cleaning the toilet, and running the vacuum. I DO NOT enjoy sweeping and mopping floors or cleaning showers. So at the start of 2023, I reworked my budget a bit to include a house cleaner once a month. Here is where the fury comes in. I CAN NOT FIND ANYONE TO CLEAN MY HOUSE!!!!!! (When I get mad, then I turn on turbo mode and figure out how to do it myself-hence, my current situation)

On two different occasions, I have emailed, texted and set up a time with a cleaner. Then, when it comes time to confirm the appointment, they “ghost me.” (ignore me.) At this point, I have two choices-1. I can continue to contact people who may/may not show up or 2. I can pay myself to clean my own house. I have chosen option 2 for the moment.

Some of you are reading this and thinking, “why dont you just clean your house and not pay yourself?” Well, like other things in life, when you are not specific, then things tend to get a little loosie goosie. The money would probably just get worked back into my budget and my house would stay dirty. So here are the tiny steps I have come up with.

  1. I made a spread sheet of all the tasks that I would like a housecleaner to do. (this will also come in handy if I can find a cleaner some day)
  2. I took the amount (plus tip) that I was going to pay someone per month and split it up between the chores.
  3. After I complete that task, I put down the date of completion and transfer the money to a separate account (I am saving up for something specific so the money is adding to that savings)
  4. Yesterday I paid myself $7.00 to sweep and mop my kitchen floor. It was a lot more fun knowing that I was making money by doing it)

As I get older, I realize more and more that you just have to find what works for you and go with it. This is working for me. Some of you may think the idea is crazy and some of you may think it is genius. I LOVE watching the cleaning videos on youtube. I am not that girl. I am NOT going to work all week and then clean on the weekends. This system allows me to do small tasks when I feel up to it, and then get rewarded for them. Other examples are “vacuum the bedrooms, wipe down all the appliances in the kitchen, declutter and clean the kitchen table, sweep the basement floor, dust the upstairs, etc…”

By spreading out the tasks into smaller ones (and giving myself a reward), I have been able to achieve two things I want-a cleaner house and money toward a specific goal (I should be able to accomplish the goal faster now with this additional money.)

To my 108 subscribers and 336 social followers-THANK YOU! What tiny actions do you put into place for cleaning? Are there any tasks you could make smaller in order to get them done quicker, easier? Have an AWESOME week and stay tiny!

1/15/23. Tiny tip-Don’t use valuable real estate as storage.

I teach teenagers for a living. If you live with a teenager, you know what I am about to say-their bedrooms are disaster zones. (Unless you are super strict and require it to be clean all the time.) I think the problem is that they are trying to cram too much stuff into a small space. I think that is what we sometimes do with our houses as well.

For example, my husband and I received a blender for our wedding. It is great and we use it a few times a year (I just made Cauliflower soup with it this week.) However, we do NOT need to store it in our kitchen-it takes up valuable space 98 percent of the time-space we just don’t have. Same with Crockpots and fancy dishes and platters and bread makers and muffin tins and… The list goes on and on! So, this Christmas break (we got snowed in for 3 days), I decided to move EVERYTHING we don’t use daily to the basement. It has made a world of difference in my kitchen. It goes back to the saying, “a place for everything and everything in its place.”

I have room in my cupboards. I have room in my drawers. It is a tiny little change that has made a big difference in my kitchen. Now when I tidy up the kitchen, I don’t have to shove things into places and hope the doors close. (I took out unused Tupperware and glasses a few weeks ago)

This tiny action has reaped big rewards. When I need my blender or crockpot, I will walk downstairs to the basement and get them. They just don’t need to be stored in the kitchen.

To my 99 followers-THANK YOU! What tiny organization tips do you use to keep your house in order? Have a great week!