Help I don't like cleaning

Prepare the evening meal at nine o'clock in the morning!
That's never going to happen in my house....I feel faint at the thought.

Ana - it probably won't happen in our house either! However, I think her idea of doing it then was that when she came back from her afternoons out, she just had to take the food out of the fridge and put it in the oven to cook with no further effort. Mind you, I have to say the thought of slicing onions first thing is a bit of a turn-off!!

The trouble with dusting is that you do it and then, damn it, 6 months later you have to do it again

I've always had a cleaner as I had my own business and no time. My current one is a good friend - I was her first 'client' 10 years ago when she barely spoke English. Now she has a thriving business and employs people. She started work, looking after children when she was eleven and she can do everything. I am in awe. She loves ironing and the results are amazing.

I am absolved of all guilt about the state of the house as it is not my responsibility

When the boys were little and saw me with the vacuum cleaner, one of them said, 'Mum, who's coming today?' Oh the shame of it! Plus ca change...

When my youngest daughter was little she loved to play with the vacuum cleaner so I used to switch it on and as she played she cleaned the carpet lol.

Gracesmum you are so right about the 6 months!!

A quick tip for those who need specs - leave them off when cleaning - it'll get done in far less time.

I loathe housework and do the minimum. A clean sink, cooker, bath and loo make the place look respectable enough anyway, and provide the necessary hygiene.

When necessary, DH and I have a good dig out together. Sometimes we take up to 2 hours. But that's not often.

If we ever move or downsize we'll get the professionals in.

6 months seems a bit excessive to me.

I mean, dust just falls off stuff that you use all the time. Recently, I picked a book from an open shelf that I hadn't used for a while (years). I blew the dust off it and looked up what I wanted. There: dusted and done .

I'm a 'stuff things in a cupboard/under beds' type of person. I tell myself that when I retire I'll have a massive clear out and suddenly become a clean freak. Think I may be delusional

There is a TV programme about people who tackle real filth - I think it is called something like 'The Grime busters'. It is like watching a horror movie - you have to wonder how some people manage to live in their houses when they are filled literally from floor to ceiling with junk. (I am sure nobody here has anything worse than a bit of clutter!) I find it hard to understand why anyone would want to keep stuff that they can't access and never use.
I do realise that some people have a problem which causes them to hoard, even empty cardboard wrappings from food.
When I mentioned casually that I thought I might suffer from mild OCD, I was told pretty sharply that this is a really debilitating condition which can confine the sufferer to their home and make them avoid contact with other people. My daughter said to me: You just like things to be tidy, you don't have any kind of 'condition'. She is very good for me!

I'm one of those people who go looking for dirt in my home so I pull out the fridge, freezer and washing machine every month to make sure the floor under them is cleaned.

Every summer I have a clear out. If it hasn't been used for a year then I don't need it so it goes to the charity shop.

VQ -I think we were separated at birth! I can't stand having any bit of my living space that I can't reach to clean.

I have to have order and I have to know things are clean. I can cope with the children's room because they're children and it's a small room. Also they try to keep it tidy. I go in midweek to clean it and finish the tidying although they're very good.

My daughter had six children so some of the younger ones had to share a room. When they were older and some had left home she used to try to ignore the mess in the teenagers' rooms until she thought they were actually a health hazard or she was running out of crockery. Of course, the messiest ones are now very fussy about keeping their own homes tidy and she was rebuked for not putting her suitcase away tidily when visiting one of them!

baubles I'm like you I'm afraid, thought I would have a good clear out when I retired - didn't happen. There were always more interesting things to do, going places with DH, meeting friends, reading some of the books I had always wanted to read etc. etc. etc! Once DH had died I found that whenever I tried to sort things it would raise memories and I would sit in the middle of the muddle sobbing - so now I leave it alone. I will get to it one day

You will, Barrow, and if you don't it won't matter .

I have a mountain of ironing waiting to be tackled. Now, do I take the plunge or take refuge in the G'net Grotto?

What a question anno you need to conserve your strength to fight off the bugs etc that are around at the moment - off to the grotto for a sit down and refreshments.

You can tell what my decision was. However, I shall soon find I have nothing left to wear, so ironing will have to be done.

This thread is quite reassuring, others might just be as bad as me!

I have the double problem of not being good at cleaning or tidying.

One thing I have tried with some sucess is just to put away about 3 or 4 out of place things when you go into a room. It doesn't impinge too much on what you were really intending to do. It does leave drawers stuffed full of "Stuff"
The best solution, with which I do not have much sucess, is not to leave stuff lying about in the first place!

Having visitors is the best remedy, but it usually results in a bit of a panic. I have just had both my children and partners over. Windows were cleaned and cobwebs removed. The house looks good OK right now but it won't last.

I do have two "Free range" Budgies who leave quite a few feathers, feather dust, and neat little poos around. This means that basic vacuuming of our living room does get done daily.

Every teenager has the right to live in a tip if they so choose. However I did have three rules.

1. Laundry rule.....if it's not in the bin it doesn't get washed.
2.Penicillin rule...nothing to be left in the room that will grow penicillin or any other mould.
3.Bedroom door must be closed when unoccupied.

I forgot to mention....these rules helped to prevent Godzilla moments.

I haven't retired yet, at least that's my excuse! I keep thinking about doing so, but then I realise I would have to start clearing out stuff.
And I change my mind.