Are you ready for this? I know I am.
I’m determined to write this post quickly before I head to the doctor for the second time with a kid who has the strangest, won’t-go-away rash.
But I also want to clarify and justify and explain and all that, because what I’m about to tell you could be a little controversial for this particular site.
I scheduled something. Something awesome. Something that makes my heart swell with excitement and makes me smile every time I think about it.
Something that also took a huge burden of stress off of my shoulders the minute I made the appointment.
Want to know what I’m talking about? Well, before I share, let me do a little more concrete justifying.
- I’ve been very open that this was a goal of mine.
- I’ve been very clear how I feel about this particular subject and the strange American resistance to it by people like me who feel we should be able to handle all things at all times.
- I warned you all, a full year ago, that I was planning to do this.
- I understand, both from personal experience and reality-check guest posts, that this won’t eradicate my slob problem.
- I’ve thought a LOT over the last year about how my frugality can, at times, be detrimental.
If you’ve been around a while, you probably know what I’m talking about. If you’re new, please check out those links in the list directly above to fully understand that this isn’t a lightly made decision.
And most of all, you know I’m going to blog all about this and give you a reality-based perspective.
Ready? I hired someone to clean my house. She comes Thursday.
Did you hear a choir singing hallelujah, or is that just in my head??
So what’s the reality based perspective I have to give at this point?
Well, reality is that time and energy are finite. And I’m having a group of people over Friday night. And this week, I’m recording my audiobook two days (in a studio more than an hour away), promotion videos (with a real crew and everything) one day, and I start back to Bible Study on another day. Today was the only day I’d be home, and now with the surprise doctor appointment, even that day is gone.
Not that I feel like I need all that craziness to justify hiring someone, but it prompted me to get busy and get it done.
And reality is that my Crazy Eyes softened to Slightly Overwhelmed Eyes the minute I received confirmation the cleaner was coming.
The details so far:
I stressed over finding someone. How to find someone? I live in a mostly-offline area and googling isn’t really an option. I felt funny asking local friends on facebook because of the whole normal stigma plus the stigma of me being a Slob Blogger, and the worry that someone would offer to do it whom I knew. I wanted a little anonymity. I racked my brain, trying to imagine which friends had cleaners, but feeling funny asking people randomly “Do you have someone clean your house?”
I texted a friend who had raved about her cleaner, but who had said she thought hers wasn’t taking new clients. I thought maybe her cleaner could recommend someone if she couldn’t do it. Thankfully, she had a spot open for me.
I’ve been cleaning ever since I set up the appointment. Post-summer clutter and book-releasing craziness is still a problem around here. I am determined to get the house to a point where she can just come in and deep clean, so that means surfaces must be cleared, floors cleared, clutter piles removed, etc.
I didn’t tell the kids. I just told them to clean their rooms.
I could share more of my thoughts behind this, and I will, but now I need to get ready to head to the doctor.
--Nony
Yea for someone coming every two weeks to clean which forces me to declutter so they CAN clean. Of course, I’ve told them, “Don’t ever touch my desk.”
I absolutely love that you’re doing this! There is a stigma in our society for getting all sorts of help, really, but the reality is that we don’t have to do everything ourselves. The less you have to think about some things, like deep cleaning your house, the more you can focus on the things that are really important right now. Go you! 🙂
I recently found out that the reason many of my neighbors houses are so clean is because they have a house cleaner come in and do it for them. I’ve been beating myself up for a year wondering how these ladies have spotless homes when they work all day, and now I know why.
Last week I had someone come and clean our house. $50 later my house looked a lot better, and I’ve been trying really hard to keep it clean by actually picking up after myself. When I see what I’ve left out, slob vision not having been cured, but I have a happier husband and daughter.
I’ve come to realize I hate cleaning the house and I’m bad at it, and I would rather do almost anything else than clean the house. So now I just have to deal with dishes and laundry.
Yay for you, yay for personal growth for us all! Through young kids, full-time office-based work, divorce, work-from-home, remarriage, dogs, cats, hell and high water, I’ve cleaned my house. I’ve done it poorly, grudgingly, even angrily (what the heck?!?) because of countless stupid reasons including that voice from my childhood community that taunts and judges: “Who do you think you are? You can’t even manage to do your own housework?” “What kind of woman won’t clean her own home?”
Six weeks ago I had a casual conversation with one of my now teenagers that eventually came down to, “Mom, that’s really old-fashioned, no one does that anymore.” Whoa!!! Me? Old-fashioned? Wait a minute…I’m a feminist. Sure, I Iike to cook and volunteer at school and church and fuss over my children and husband and pets but I am a modern woman!
And just like that, I scheduled a home visit and estimate from a local, woman-owned cleaning business. Husband thrilled. Teenagers shrugged. Our third two-week-intervals cleaning happens this afternoon. I should be finishing up my decluttering instead if telling you my story. I’m grateful that I’ve got time and head space to do both. I’m still figuring out how it all works for me. It’s a huge privilege, certainly, and I’m committed to being a great steward of it!
Congrats on hiring a house cleaner Dana! I bit the bullet and hired cleaners too, because of YOU! Thank you for encouraging me through your posts.
It is wonderful having the entire house completely sparkling. Having them come has helped with my clutter accumulation too = the house needs to be tidy for them to be able to work. (Or you can just throw the pile of clutter into the office – which I may or may not have done one, ok two times, so far)
this post just reminds me how it is so much easier to have grace for EVERYONE else other than OURSELVES!!! i’m sitting here thinking, ‘of course she should hire someone. look at all she has going on and even if she didn’t, there is NOTHING wrong with asking for help.’ and i have to laugh because i’m not sure i’m saying the same thing to myself…. way to go noni!!
Great news 🙂 I hope she helps you to have some mental space for all the other things you do. Thanks for being open and honest as always! 🙂
Good for you! The one thing even Superwomen can’t do is put more hours in a day! I’m sure after the first appointment, all doubts about having done it will magically disappear :). Please enjoy with no guilt – we tend to beat ourselves up about too much stuff already, and since this gives you the time to do things that matter to you – it’s completely worth it.
Yay, Dana!! That’s so awesome!
Hiring a cleaner is a goal for me, too. I absolutely hate cleaning, but I do love a clean, nice-smelling house. LOL
Your initial post about hiring a cleaner put the idea in my head, too. I’m thrilled for you that you have hired someone.
That’s great, Dana!
We have a cleaning lady come every other week. I love when we come home that day and the house is cleaned. Of course, about 30 minutes later, the kids have started taking out toys and we have to make dinner, so it doesn’t last long. But it’s so worth it!
Girlfriend! I’m so happy for you!!!! And I’m jealous!!!!! hahahah. I would do it in a heartbeat if I could but for now we live with slob vision 🙂 Which is ok for now because I think everyone else in my house has the same vision impairment. lol
Looking forward to hearing how it works out over time.
We will be debt free in a few months and I’d really like to look into someone coming over to clean once a month. I don’t really have a clutter problem but my 18 month old is in constant motion and it’s hard to deep clean anything. I’d rather pay someone to do it.
I would love to have someone else come clean my house for me! What glorious gloriousness to not have to do that! I’m super jealous! But in a good way! Enjoy it and don’t feel bad. Hope the strange rash on the kid gets cleared up!
I can’t believe it took you this long with all the book writng craziness to get around to doing this. I am so happy for you.
*writing*
I know! I’m kicking myself!
Better late then never =D
Hooray hooray a thousand times hooray. Ignore anyone who says otherwise. You have earned our respect for years and have made a decision that both honors your family and enables you to continue helping hundreds of other families. Hopefully others will feel enabled to do the same if they were feeling unsure.
Haha, I knew immediately what that something is! Hooray for you! And I know how truly awesome it feels, because last week, for the first time, someone came and worked magic in our house! Yes, I had to run around like a maniac making sure she could get to everything. And, sadly, I had to tell her not to look in the master bedroom (you can probably guess why). I haven’t been able to deep clean for a while due to physical limitations, and the dirt, the guilt, and the feelings of inadequacy have been really getting me down. But with (finally) a bit of funds in hand, and your wonderfully freeing post about hiring a cleaner in mind, I made the call, and experienced the wonderful feeling of walking into my CLEAN (except for the bedroom) house! I hope you enjoy it! And I hope the kid is better soon!
I fell the same way about our yard. I always say, “One day I will hire someone to take care of my gardens”. I don’t mind cutting the grass (I love my riding mower, her name is Lola), but I HATE gardening and weeding. Some day…
Hi Nony, I did it too!
Last Nov I moved. Then 1 month later, had family Christmas. Am I crazy??
(Short answer: yes.) I hired a professional organizer first to purge and organize, then had her come back a few days before the party to clean. (The organizing cost more per hour than the cleaning, which surprised me!) It was so worth it, to sit in my recliner, and watch her scrub my kitchen, then still sit in my recliner while she cleaned the bathroom.
WIN!!
Okay, soooo happy for you. Our cleaner came with the house (long story, but she’s practically family) and I couldn’t live without her but it took a while to surrender my ego to the fact that I couldn’t keep this place clean on my own.
But that’s not why I am commenting, I’m commenting to say: why didn’t I think to pre-order the *audio* version of your book??? I would love for you to read it to me (hey, that way I can clean while reading!) Oh well, guess I’ll just give my spouse the hard copy and I’ll buy the audiobook for me!
Hi Dana,
I’m currently writing my own blog post about why every woman needs a pair of rubber gloves to hand for household tasks!
Your post really got me inspired – I particularly agree with the fact that grime is much less revolting when you have a rubber layer protecting your skin!
Thanks for sharing 🙂