I never thought I would enjoy cleaning the house. Back when I first lived with my wife and her two lazy slob kids, I hated Saturdays because they were the day for house cleaning.
We’d do 10 loads of laundry. Vacuum. Pick up all the crap all over the house. Clean the kitchen. Scrub the bathroom. Mop the floors. Strip the beds and put on new sheets and blankets.
It sucked.
As soon as I was able to, I started working overtime on Saturdays and used every penny I made to pay for a cleaning lady to come once a week.
We had a weekly cleaning lady for the next 25 years.
I never complained about the cost for a cleaning lady because we liked how she did the heavy cleaning like mopping, the kitchen and the bathrooms. As my wife got older and her health deteriorated, she couldn’t do as much heavy cleaning as she wanted. I rarely had time because I was working all the time.
Plus, I could never maintain the cleaning standards my wife wanted.
I fired the cleaning lady a few weeks after my wife died. She was costing me $100 twice a month and now that it was just me and the pets, I figured I could handle it.
And I did. A few months later I sold the house.
Now I live in a smaller home that’s a better fit for me and my dogs. In the 3 years I’ve been here, I was only tempted to have a cleaning service come in once. After my floors were installed, everything was covered in a fine coat of sawdust – the walls, the floors, the cabinets, my meager furniture.
Before paying a crew $300 or more to handle it, I figured I’d give it a shot myself. I did and it was fine.
Since then, I’ve kept my house clean without any assistance. I vacuum, dust, mop, wipe and scrub as needed.
I do the laundry, clean up after the pets and keep my kitchen and bathrooms pretty much spotless all the time.
I never suspected that I’d enjoy cleaning. Every time I clean my home, I do.
Of course I love how my house looks and feels after vacuuming, dusting, wiping and mopping. But I also enjoy the process of cleaning too.
I think it is because my life is right-sized for me. And because I am not cleaning up after two children who never lifted a finger to help.
I never resented cleaning up after my wife. She was my partner. We shared responsibilities and helped each other selflessly.
But I don’t miss picking up after the kids (literally and metaphorically) one bit.