Thank you for all your kind Anniversary messages!
It has continued to be a little crazy around here. I thought that my whirlwind work schedule was going to end last week but, it seems to be continuing.
Thankfully hubby has been picking up the slack…. Ok, not exactly. I will however, give credit where credit is due. Yesterday, he picked up 2 weeks worth of his dirty clothes off the floor in the bedroom.
So I ask you, my dear blog readers, what is the key to a happy home?
- It’s not non-stop sex (although this would undoubtedly make hubby pretty dang happy!)
- It’s not always kissing each other goodnight (although this is certainly nice….)
- It’s not granite counter tops & stainless steel appliances (although this would make me pretty dang happy!)
- It’s not agreeing on which way the toilet paper should roll (although this sure is helpful!)
And, although you may think I’m about to say that it is all the little things and that hubby’s effort to straighten up the bedroom is the key…. you’d be wrong again!
The secret to a happy home my friends — and pay close attention here because this could be eye-opening for you —
The secret to a happy home is CLEANING LADIES (and no gentlemen, by “cleaning ladies” I do NOT mean wives!!)
So, let’s go back to my dirty clothes story. The only reason hubby picked up anything that day was because we were prepping for the cleaning ladies. There I admitted it, we have cleaning ladies. And yes, we are those people who clean for the cleaning ladies.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this in the past but, I realized very early in our relationship that cleaning ladies are necessary to ensure marital harmony at our house.
We are both extremely busy people (ok, 4 hours of video playing isn’t my definition of “busy” but…). It’s no secret that cleaning isn’t high on hubby’s priority list. You may have also noticed with my Clean Is Not Always Clean stories that it’s also not one of hubby’s strengths. So, we agreed that hiring people to give our home a massive scrub down every two weeks was a tiny price to pay to not bicker about who was gonna mop the floors or who was gonna scour the toilet.
Little did hubby know, that finding cleaning ladies was not his free pass to never do any chores. I’m still pretty sure he was under the misconception that hiring someone to clean every two weeks, would allow him to never, ever have to lift a finger. And now, not only do I nag him to clean in between cleaning lady visits BUT, he’s also forced to prep for their arrival.
And, that my friends… is how we keep our home happy (and clean!!) 🙂
(and just for the record… .we are not on our knees with Lysol prepping for their arrival.. but good lord, if they can’t see the floor, they sure as heck can’t clean it!).
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I adore your blog…you are hilarious 🙂 I can relate to so much here! ~Kimberly
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Thanks Kimberly…. and anytime someone says they can relate… I feel the need to say “I’m sorry”.. it must mean you have a man of your own to contend with at home!! 🙂
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I am typically right on target with you but this is one of time hubby might be the sane one. Cleaning for the cleaning lady is nuts. I to have a cleaning lady and the thought has never occurred to me to pre clean. I honestly thought my mother was the only person on earth that did the “prep” as you so artfully called it. I will be sending her this link post haste. Finally after several months I can put a check in the hubby column… Happy anniversary. You keep blogging and I will keep rofl, lmbo…
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Saudia, Thanks for visiting! And, I feel the need to defend myself here by simply saying that I’ve never actually taken out a cleaning supply to “clean” for the cleaning ladies!! I have just decluttered counters, put away laundry, and washed dishes that have been laying in the sink for days. If that’s pre-cleaning, then I suppose I’m guilty as charged!! And, I do suppose I have a few quirks of my own. Sshhhhhh…. don’t tell hubby!
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My husband calls it “cleaning for the cleaning ladies” but as you said, really…it’s just prep. My biggest issue is how are they supposed to dust if there is crap everywhere? And, if you leave your crap lying around and they move it, then you later get pissed off that you can’t find it….hence, the reason for “prepping for the cleaning ladies.”
My hubby also thinks the fact that he “hired” the cleaning lady(ies) back in 2003 got him out of any cleaning. It is a major issue for me, too. I wish I had it in me to NOT do ANYTHING to the house during the 2 week period in-between cleaning lady visits, just to get his reaction. However, I would probably stuff my head down the toilet just to get away from the dog/cat hair, crumbs, sticky spills, and various other mess that would just build up. And chances are he wouldn’t notice any of that, anyway.
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Karyn ~ I’m very happy to hear that someone else understands “prepping”… it’s the only way I can ensure that the surfaces under the crap get cleaned!
And, take it from me….even if you avoided doing anything during those 2 weeks it’s unlikely it would have any impact on your husband (assuming he’s anything like mine). We just don’t see dirt through the same eyes and he wouldn’t even noticed that I hadn’t done anything!
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Yep….I am with you here. I definitely do the prep for the cleaning lady. If she has to work around clutter, you can’t tell that she has been. I usually make a few announcements in the days up to her arrival that she is due to come and that everyone should “pick up”…that is our code word for cleaning for the cleaning lady. It is easier to digest when you say “pick up”….my hubby thought of that one:)
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Zippychix ~ I have a feeling I could use words like pick-up, declutter, put away, move or even relocate and I’m pretty sure hubby would have the same difficulty “digesting” it. LOL 🙂
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OKay i must be honest- here in SA- we have a “cleaning lady” every day. It sounds like we a bunch of really lazy schmucks….. but the fact is that just like everybody else- we dont have the time to have a beautifully clean and germ free house.
So no cleaning for the cleaning lady here……. just doing what we do…… so she can do what she does- best!!!!
Enjoying your blog tremendously.
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MNB ~ Oh my… I have just one word…… J E A L O U S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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