Saturday, February 02, 2008

Household Chores: What is your favorite?

[First off, here's a shout-out to my life-long (literally!) friend that had a baby boy two days ago. Congratulations, M! I wish I could see him; we'll have to wait until July when I make the trek back to the Great White North! Now onto the post:]

Part I:
As a SAHM, I clean a lot. It's annoying. There's always something to...

...pick up, wipe off, or put away. The children don't seem to like it either, but has that stopped them from making messes? No, sirree, bob! They are undeterred in their efforts to create chaos.

When I was a kid, I don't remember my home ever being messy like this. Ever. As a teen, my room was quite disorganized, but my mother relented and kept my door shut. But the rest of the house was clean and organized. I wondered if it had always been that way, so I stretched my mind to remember back as far as I could --and I can remember clearly to 4 years old, and a few scenes at 2 and 3. Pretty good, eh? Yeah, so anyways, I couldn't remember the house ever being dirty. How is this possible? What did my parents do? Was it because my father was/is an amazing feminist-type man that always cleaned/cleans on his day off? Was it because my mother cracked the whip better than me? I asked her.

She said, "Cheryl, I was a working mom. You guys were in daycare when you were young and then in school all day as you got older. We were never home, so there wasn't much to clean."
A-ha! That was the answer! We are here all. the. time. There is nothing to do but destroy, destroy, destroy. Of course, if it was summer and not winter, there would be more outside time and more gone time.

Do you find that your house is cleaner when you're on the go?

Part II:
My favorite chore in the whole world, the chore that I love the most, that I don't mind doing everyday, that I actually beg to do is...NOT laundry. Okay, yeah, you all knew that. I've not made my disdain for laundry a secret. But I don't think I've ever divulged the secret love I have for...

...the vaccuum.

Yes! It is true! I love, love, love to vaccuum. I love to see all those little cheerios, dirt, hair, kitty litter, leaves, graham cracker crumbs being sucked up into the monstrous beast. I love the look of beautifully clean carpet. I love walking on carpet that doesn't feel like walking on gravel. But surprisingly, I also enjoy the actual chore, too!

I love the sound the vaccuum makes --the white noise that cancels out the children's whining and screaming. I love the vibrations in my hand that somehow calm me when I'm angry, and the ability to actually think without distraction while I work. I would vaccuum the entire house over and over if I had to. Plus --ooh! Plus! The kids actually pick things up when they know the vaccuum is on its way. They still have a slight fear that the monster will eat up their toys. I hope it lasts.

So, what is your favorite chore? One that you have to do, but don't mind doing?

8 comments:

Kelly said...

Vacuuming is my favorite too. Something so soothing about the whole process. But lately it is the one that causes me the most stress. I can never get to it, by the time the place is picked up enough to vacuum I'm out of time.

My house is much cleaner when I am home (but not when I had toddlers). When I am on the go I'm always dashing in the door dropping stuff over the couch or on the washer. And making half hearted meals then leaving the mess.

I remember my childhood home being spotless, always. And I remember my mom cracking the whip, literally. She denies both.

flip flop mama said...

My childhood home was spotless and my mom cracked a nasty whip to get us all to clean up! LOL she wouldn't even let my room stay messy. It was her way of keeping control I think. anyway I digress...

This week on Tuesday I cleaned my house and I was noticing until Friday night when Rachel started to get better, how clean it STILL was! It's amazing how much of a mess one little kid can make, I can't imagine 4 running around.

I don't really like cleaning the bathroom but I love the way it looks when it's done. I do like vacuuming too because my house looks so much brighter afterwards. Plus now that I have a good vacuum it's much more fun! :)

tamrobot said...

We are the same.

most favorite: vacuuming
least favorite: laundry

Hillary said...

most favorite: dishes
least favorite: vacuuming or cleaning the tub (i don't mind cleaning the rest of the bathroom)

Amanda D said...

What an interesting post. I remember my home being clean too. Of course, my mom had a routine then that she still sticks to today. First thing she did every morning was start a load of laundry (even when she left for work at 4 am), and she is religous and dusting and vacuuming. My room was always a mess and as an adult I am kicking myself for not getting in to a better habit of cleanliness. I hate to clean, but it must be done.

I enjoy cleaning the kitchen because it is easy to see progress. However, I don't like to clean it after every meal and snack, so it usually gets done once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

My favorite chore is vacuuming. We have an awesome vacuum and it drowns out all sounds of whining and screaming. I HATE to clean the bathrooms. So it doesn't get done nearly often enough. I don't mind washing, drying and folding laundry but I hate to put away laundry...

Sorry, this is so long!

Cheryl said...

amanda-
Make them as long as you want. :)

Hillary-
I hate the tub, too! HATE it! I have since I was a kid.

FluffyChicky said...

I like the laundry. I love how the clothes smell when they first come out of the dryer and I love seeing the closets full of organized clothes (yes, I have all the clothes organized by long sleeved, short sleeved, and church clothes...that way I can find things when I need to). My least favorite chore is taking out the garbage. That is my husband's job. I do everything else, he is the garbage man. No. Exceptions.

Jocelyn said...

I know this is an old post, but I just had to add.

I LOVE LAUNDRY!!! It certainly is one that never goes away (3 under 4), but it is so rewarding.

I dislike sweeping/cleaning my kitchen floor! It is the never-ending battle of my life and seems completely pointless until my feet are covered in crumbs and schmutz. That is the point at which I give in and clean it, only to find a new bowl of cereal/glass of milk/craft project remnant sticking to my foot 7 minutes later! UGH!!!

At least I get 30 minutes before the clothes get dirty again!