Saturday, September 17, 2011

The Drudgery


by Christie Kelley

Happy Saturday. Or is it? While you are all sitting at your computers, maybe sipping some nice hot coffee, I'm doing the Saturday routine. Cleaning the house, laundry, and yard work. Okay, not yard work.

And yet yard work is what should be doing. I had planned on finally mowing my lawn since my new mower arrived on Monday.

Had is the key word.

I finally opened up the box last night only to discover that one of the wheels was broken in shipment. Normally, I wouldn't be too upset over another week of not mowing. But if you haven't heard, we've had a little rain on the East Coast lately (little as in 15 or so inches). My grass is now up to my calves. I'm afraid to think about how high it's going to be by the time they send out the new wheel. Really, I'm afraid of what might be lurking in the tall grass.

So instead of being outside on this beautiful almost fall day, I'll be inside dusting and vacuuming. In a word...yuck! Actually, the dusting and vacuuming I don't mind too much, it's the bathroom cleaning I can do without. (and yet, can't).

Laundry, I'm okay with. It's not really all that difficult. Besides, I get to relax in front of the TV for a while as I fold the clean clothes.

Cleaning the kitchen seems to take the longest and yet I get the most satisfaction out of that room being finished.

I have discovered that having two kittens only makes the entire process of cleaning the house take so much longer. They want to be with me while I'm using all the harsh chemicals in the bathrooms. So now I have to close the door to keep them out and me locked inside with the fumes. No bathroom fan can handle that. Or they decide that once I finish mopping they should walk across the damp floor, leaving little kitty footprints everywhere.
(sigh). Good thing they're cute!

So hope about you? Is Saturday your day for chores? Which ones do you mind the least...the most? Anyone have a house cleaner (I so wish I did)?

And weren't we supposed to have Rosie the robot cleaners by now?

47 comments:

Helen said...

Is he staying with me

Have Fun
Helen

Jane said...

Congrats on the GR, Helen.

Hi Christie,
I don't mind doing laundry, scrubbing the sink and tub, but I don't like sweeping and mopping.

Helen said...

Blogger ate my post LOL The GR knows I have chocolate here so he wanted to stay

Christie
I do my housework on Saturdays as well I don't mind the laundry but really don't like doing the bathroom although I have done it today and the rest I have got done slowly. I pay someone to do the yard for me now it was all too much so Alex comes and does that about every 3 weeks and I get inside done with a little help from Hubby LOL.
I would so love to have a house cleaner Rosie would be great

Have Fun
Helen

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, Helen, you must be feeding him too many Tim Tams. And how close was Jane to snatching him? Wow!

Christie, I had to giggle. I've had a house clean today too. Must have been something in the air. It really was a mess and I must say I love it when it's clean. I just don't like the process of getting it that way (it's a bit like I like having written but I'm not so keen on writing!). Kitties sound cute!

Unknown said...

well done Helen... glad you bought him down for a cuppa ....

I generally go out sewing on a Saturday but mean as I am retired I can do the housework when I feel like it......hubby does the garden..... I don't have a set day.... that is the hard part with retirement ...no routine LOL

Mary Preston said...

My day for chores is Thursday. I clean the house from top to bottom, leaving me Friday to do the grocery shopping & then the weekend is all MINE!!!

Sheree said...

Congrats on the GR, Helen!

I'm going to be cleaning and filing and doing the laudry. The hardest part is going to be trying to figure out what to do with all my books since I need to straighten out the book shelves. In a box in the garage temporarily?

Kim in Baltimore said...

Aloha! My kids bowl on Saturday mornings (and hubby is their coach) so it is three hours "free for me"!

I let the dust bunnies duel and the weeds run wild - it's Hawaii!

Deb said...

Helen, put that GR to work! He can give you a break today. :)

Saturdays are my running-around-catch-up days. I usually run to the store and do other errands. But, when school is in session, it is the day I do everything around the house (should do everything). Sure, I could throw laundry in during the week and do one load or so midweek, but it's just easier to do it all on a Saturday sometimes.

Rosie didn't seem like a robot, did she? She always had that human element to her, especially with Leroy.

Have a good Saturday, Banditas and Buddies!

Christie Kelley said...

Congrats on the GR, Helen.

Christie Kelley said...

Jane, the biggest issues I have with mopping is it makes my back hurt. I need to figure out a way of mopping without putting too much of my back into it.

Christie Kelley said...

Helen, I'm so ready for Rosie to come over. I usually find that I do a bigger cleaning every other week so this week is just a touch up. Although, I have to get my son to clean his bathroom. I don't want to even step in there.

Christie Kelley said...

Anna, as I just told Helen, thankfully the house isn't a big mess today. Just a quick dust, vacuum and mop. Maybe a quick once over in the bathrooms. But I'm really tired of looking at my lawn. I wish I knew someone who did lawn mowing. I'd pay someone today to get it done.

Christie Kelley said...

Barb, someday is all I can say. Someday, I'll be retired too. I hope! The way the economy has been, I'm not so sure some days.

Christie Kelley said...

Marybelle, you're good that you can get it all done in one day. There's a lot of times I'll do the upstairs Saturday and the downstairs Sunday (The downstairs is just the big family room and laundry area).

Christie Kelley said...

Sharee, my office is my biggest mess right now. I moved it two months ago and I haven't really put everything where it needs to go. But I'll work on that another day. I have a hair appt and might take my son to a movie later.

Christie Kelley said...

Kim, the weeds have run a little too wild too long at my house. Know anyone out this way that will cut it :)

Christie Kelley said...

Barb, I love your "should do" comment. That's where I am to day. I should do more cleaning but now I'm stuck cleaning upstairs because my 14 yr old had a friend sleepover last night. I think the vacuum is going to wake them up really soon.

Gannon Carr said...

Christie, I really wish I had Rosie the robot!

I don't usually save cleaning for Saturday. With two dogs and a cat, I have to vacuum constantly. Same with dusting. Laundry is a never ending chore in this house. It breeds when I'm sleeping, I'm certain of it!

Bathrooms are my least favorite chore, too, but you gotta do it.

If anyone finds a Rosie the robot, please send her my way.

Christie Kelley said...

Gannon, I'll let you have Rosie as long as you send her up here when you're done.

I hear you about the laundry. How is it that overnight it can double. I just have figured it out. Plus I have boys. I still have to tell my 14 yr old to change his clothes.

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

Christie, I have a 21 year old and have to tell him to change from the skin out and oh by the way? take a shower and wash your hair before you change. I keep telling him water won't wash the pretty off but apparently he doesn't believe me.
My lawn is out of control too, the mower works but something happened to the weed eater so even when I mow you can't tell it. Guess I could get the kitchen shears and have at it at least in the front but, no, not going to happen.
Rosie would work for me but I don't see that happening in the near and not even in the far future. I need to clean my fridge out and it has to be done today, it is getting scary in there.

Joan said...

I do my cleaning in pieces...vaccum one day, dust another etc and so on.

OCCASIONALLY, I'll do all of one area and that is a red letter day.

Vacumming is a bit more challenging not so much because the kitties get in my way but the amt of TOYS I have to pick up to get it done.

All of this morning's plans were dereailed in a 30 min. futile attempt to get Binky the stray lined up for a vet/humane society trip. She showed back up this morning all friendly and I got her into a carrier while I made calls....only to find she'd taken the plastic door OFF the hinges and trotted back up to the deck!

Then ran off to look at my neighbors...

Sigh...

I don't mind laundry BUT...I have to go up and down basement steps to do it....ugh

Cassondra said...

Helen, you got him again!

Make the GR do the cleaning. *grin* He's gotta earn his Tim Tams.

Cassondra said...

Saturday is my day for laundry and now, any cleaning I do. Monday used to be my cleaning day, and I loved that. But now it seems like Mondays are always too crazy busy. I work from home, and can set my own hours to a degree, but some work has to be done RIGHT THEN, and seems like lately, it's been Mondays.

And some weeks the house just doesn't get cleaned. Except for the bathroom. I can't stand to let that go. Blech.

Christie Kelley said...

Dianna...21 yr old? Really? From the my now 19 yr was in 7th grade I never had to tell him to take a shower. I keep assuming my 14 yr old will out grown this. Now, I'm not so sure....

Christie Kelley said...

OMG, Joanie...I can just picture Binky doing that! It must have been so funny, well maybe not for you but it makes a good story.

Christie Kelley said...

Cassondra, I hate to let the bathrooms go too. It just seems to then take so much longer to clean them the next time.

Joan said...

Well, I'd heard her banging around in the carrier out in the garage...I mean BANGING but didn't think that this would happen.

It looked like a prison break.

At least I know she's ok. I had a scare yesterday seeing a similar marked cat in the road :(

Nancy said...

Helen, congrats on the rooster! Sorry about Blogger. We have problems with it from time to time, and they're always annoying.

Nancy said...

Christie, Saturday was the day for chores when I was growing up. The dh and I are very bad about anything resembling housekeeping. We mostly dust, vacuum, etc., when we're expecting company.

I least object to washing dishes. We have a dishwasher but use it only when we have guests. The rest of the time, we generate so few dishes, it seems like a waste to run it. Despite the claims of various manufacturers, we don't trust it to get clean food that's been drying a day or two, and if you have to wash the dish in the first place, why not just get it clean and call it done?

I can zone out washing dishes. I can't do that so much with other chores.

jo robertson said...

Barb's right. When you're retired, any day can be cleaning day. I tend to divide and conquer so it's not a big chore on one day. And, of course, with three grown men in the house, I've learned to delegate. Hee hee!

Landra said...

Well, normally my cleaning day is Saturday. Lately with writing the kids and hubby have been taking over the duty Friday afternoons.
I'm thankful for the help, but have a few little irks when they clean.
I'm not going to complain if I don't have to do it. Bathroom scrubbing is also fine by me. I like a clean bathroom. Sometimes the labor really allows my mind to wander creatively.

Congrats on the GR Helen.

catslady said...

Oh, the kittens are so cute!! I have one with long hair that makes more work than all others but they're worth it lol. I hate house cleaning. It is my mother's favorite thing to do and always has been. My sister is more like her. I took more after my aunt who'd rather cook than clean lol. Laundry doesn't bother me for some reason but everything else does!!

Trish Milburn said...

I tend to scatter my cleaning throughout the week, unless we're going to have company and then I turn into a crazy cleaning machine.

Christie Kelley said...

Nancy, I like washing dishes too. I should say, I like to when I have a sink that faces a window. My current sink faces the dining area. I tend to use the dishwasher and just wash the pans.

Christie Kelley said...

Jo, I definitely need to delegate more. I just arrived home from the movies and haven't check to see if my oldest cleaned his bathroom. I'm taking any wagers on that one.

Christie Kelley said...

Landra, I agree about the monotonous tasks of cleaning can make your creativity soar. I feel like about painting (walls, not pictures).

Christie Kelley said...

catslady, thanks about the kitties. They are so sweet! My mom loves to fold laundry. I don't mind it but if she's visiting, she insists (and she's so darn good at it)

Christie Kelley said...

Trish, my company cleaning is crazy. But I love to have people come over so I don't mind so much.

Kate Carlisle said...

Hi Christie, fun post! Well, except for the cleaning / laundry / mopping parts. LOL

Like some others, I try to spread things out during the week. And I have a Roomba! I love my Roomba. It's a robotic vacuum cleaner and it works great. Except, you know, it doesn't dust or clean the bathroom or change the sheets. But it's probably the closest we'll get to Rosie for a while. :-)

Helen, way to snatch that Tim-Tam mooching bird! Hope he helps you with some of the cleaning today!

Christie Kelley said...

Kate, when my vacuum dies, I'll probably look at the Roomba. I've heard great things about them.

Nancy said...

Christie, our sink is under a window facing the back yard. The view suits me better for zoning out than facing a wall, as I did in three of my four apartments.

girlygirlhoosier52 said...

You know you can do most of you cleaning with just vinegar & baking soda... check out green cleaning.. and it's sooooo much cheaper!!

Christie Kelley said...

Nancy, this is the first place I've had where my sink doesn't face a window. I can kind of see out my sliders but not really well.

Suzanne Ferrell said...

Dear God, Christie, Let's not talk cleaning!! AGGHHH!!! I've been in purge and clean mode on every day off since the middle of August. Yep, trying to keep from becoming and upcoming episode of HOARDERS!

See, my sister and neice are coming to visit on Thursday. It's been 3 years since we saw them down here. All the kids, Significant Others and grandbabies will be coming to my house for 6 days to visit.

So, you name a cleaning chore and YEP, I'm doing that this weekend!!

LilMissMolly said...

My week-ends are definitely not restful for me. Today, after breakfast I started yard work and didn't get finished until after lunch time (still not finished), and then I had to go grocery shopping for 2 hours. Then I cooked dinner and cut up melons. I was on my feet all day! I can see why I got a migraine last Sunday - it was my body's way of telling me to just stay in bed! :D

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

Christie Kelley said...
Dianna...21 yr old? Really? From the my now 19 yr was in 7th grade I never had to tell him to take a shower. I keep assuming my 14 yr old will out grown this. Now, I'm not so sure....

In my son's defense, he is autistic and just doesn't get the whole cleanliness thing. Once upon a time I could just put him in the tub but now all I can do is nag until he gets in there himself. All I can once he gets there is hope he is doing it right and not just getting wet and getting out. I have washed his hair many times after he comes out of the shower so who knows? Frustration is my middle name