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Military Brides

Cleaning Woes

I get overwhelmed really easily when I have to clean my whole house (as I do now) and don't know where to start.  I end up wasting time watching TV or playing on the internet.  But FI comes home only a few days after I do, so I want the house to be really clean.  It'll also be nice to come back from my business trip to a clean house.  Also, we have a flea problem (damned stray cats that bring fleas to our yard, that jump on our legs and shoes and we carry them inside) so I need to have my landlord send over an exterminator, but I want my house clean first so they can do a more thorough job without soaking any of my stray clothes in poison!

Anyone have some tips on how to conquer all this?

Today I have to:

* Wash my laundry (3-4 loads)
* Fold and put away all laundry (including previously washed that is still in the basket)
* Pick up the kitchen
* Clean the bathrooms
* Pick up the bedroom
* Sweep & mop the whole house

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Re: Cleaning Woes

  • lyonstmlyonstm member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Hmm Calindi,

    Me personally I would rather them spray everything and then clean the house spik and span.  But thats just my preference!!! Wink  I get distracted too when I clean so what I do is a) close my laptop and listen to music when I clean to keep focus.  I personally clean my place in sections and will not leave that one section until everything is complete.  If I dont do that, I get overwhelmed because I would be jumping from one area to another.  Or what you could also do is make a list of what you want ot accomplish each day... but I think you've already done that! Cleaning sucks, good luck!
  • LuluP82LuluP82 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I am horrible at cleaning. I work from home, so I also put a lot of pressure on myself to have the house clean. It was getting so bad (esp as I'm exhausted from the pregancy) that H and I have hired a cleaning lady to come in every other week to do the top to bottom cleaning. We still do laundry and in the "off" week we vacuum and such, but it has been so nice! Granted, I feel like an ass on days like today when she's here, and I'm not that busy at work (I am busy, but still had time to check the Knot!). And I feel guilty bc I feel like we should save the money for the babyfund. But at least we're helping out a military wife with her own cleaning business...right?
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  • edited December 2011
    Ah, I suck at cleaning as well. I think FI gets frustrated with me because on the days I work from home I rarely manage to get anything done even when I start the day with the best of intentions. I procrastinate and mess around on FB or whatever else. The only way I manage to get things done is by giving myself a firm deadline so that I feel some pressure to get to work. Good luck!
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  • calindicalindi member
    5000 Comments Second Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Lulu - I would hire a cleaning person in a heartbeat!  If it's helping a fellow military wife's business, then great. FI and I decided long ago that part of our long term happiness as a couple involves hiring a bi-monthly cleaning service.  Unfortunately, since I've been unemployed we can't afford it.  I managed to clean the whole house before my FSIL and FMIL arrived two months ago, and I did really good, but I'm pretty horrible at cleaning.

    How's the pregnancy otherwise?   All check-ups are good?  Any morning sickness?  Have you told your families yet?

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  • edited December 2011
    I'm terrible at cleaning too! I've been trying to finish my laundry all week....I haven't even started! 
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  • Beachy730Beachy730 member
    5000 Comments Fourth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Usually for me the hardest part is getting started on the cleaning, but then I go on a cleaning binge and get a ton done.  Do the laundry as you're doing everything else (assuming the washer/dryer are in your home).  I do all 3 bathrooms at once: I squirt the toilet bowl cleaner in each once, then clean the sinks as it's soaking, then go back and use the brush to clean all the toilets, and clorox wipes on them.  I never clean our showers though because we use the scubbing bubbles spray cleaners.  

    Usually the kitchen and bedrooms are the easiest part for me since they are generally kept clean.  The floors are what I always dread and put off.  And putting laundry away I usually do while a soap opera or Let's Make a Deal is on, and just stand there folding the laundry in our room while watching tv.  


    BTW, this is basicaly the same list I have to do, but I will probably put it off for a few more weeks since H is gone and nobody is here to see the house.
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  • divinemsbeedivinemsbee member
    1000 Comments Third Anniversary 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    My Mom looooves to clean. It relaxes her. On weekends when she's cleaning the house she sets a 30 minute timer for lunch. If she and her husband get in a fight, she will go to the basement and iron, because she finds it soothing; she also irons everything, including tennis bloomers and t-shirts. She's a freak of nature. :)
    I am not like that at all, but I will offer the little bit of advice I can (basically tell you what works for me). I would start the laundry, because that's something that can kind of do itself, even if you have to set a timer and go back to the laundry room. I would start with the bathroom and then move to the kitchen, because those are going to involve the most cleaning products, generally. I would then pick up the bedroom and put all clean clothes on the bed as they came out of the laundry. Sweep/Mop rooms as you finish cleaning them, then just fold the laundry.
    All of this is, of course, much easier said that done.
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  • edited December 2011
    Throw your laundry in first. Clean your kitchen when you have a dry load fold them as you take them out of the dryer. Then clean your bathroom and sweep and mop. When all of your laundry is done put it away then clean your room
  • calindicalindi member
    5000 Comments Second Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Thanks ladies!

    Update:  folded all the existing clean laundry.  Stuck a load of laundry in the wash, waiting for it to finish before I can put it in the dryer.  Picked up the kitchen, have a bit more to do.  Threw out two bags of trash so far.  Pulled everything off the floor in my bedroom - that's a big step!

    Still to do:  Finish washing/folding laundry.  Wash sheets and put back on bed.  Clean bathrooms.  Sweep everything, mop the floors.

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  • edited December 2011
    I love to clean.. but to make it more fun I say wear your veil and crank the tunes :P hahaha
  • LuluP82LuluP82 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_cleaning-woes?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:d6fdc10b-4e7b-4449-9d7c-ea93d7a2ac65Post:d7cf0034-d24c-4708-9b7b-3812204fc2f7">Re: Cleaning Woes</a>:
    [QUOTE]Lulu - I would hire a cleaning person in a heartbeat!  If it's helping a fellow military wife's business, then great. FI and I decided long ago that part of our long term happiness as a couple involves hiring a bi-monthly cleaning service.  Unfortunately, since I've been unemployed we can't afford it.  I managed to clean the whole house before my FSIL and FMIL arrived two months ago, and I did really good, but I'm pretty horrible at cleaning. How's the pregnancy otherwise?   All check-ups are good?  Any morning sickness?  Have you told your families yet?
    Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]

    Hi! Yeah we had a cleaning service before, but then we gave it up after he joined and we both took massive paycuts, but with the pregnancy we decided to just go for it. Pregnancy is going well. Some morning sickness, and lots of symptoms so I'm hoping it's progressing as it should! We told our families last week, I have another appointment tomorrow and if all goes well, I'll let some very close girlfriends know next week when I see them, and then in 2 weeks, we'll let everyone know (so far, only H's OIC knows, no one else in his office knows, my office doesn't know, etc.)
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