Spic and Span
by Kym on October 4, 2006
My Mom and Dad are coming to visit. I can hardly find words to describe how thrilled I am (though knowing me as well as you do, you certainly know that I’m going to babble on for a few paragraphs anyway).
And, if it’s even remotely possible, I seem to have gone just the weest bit crazier. I am a cleaning machine. I find myself scrubbing the weirdest places…like the baseboards in the living room, and the inside of the pot cupboards. I was down on my hands and knees for forty-five minutes scrubbing the kitchen floor by hand. I have a mop, I just wanted them really clean.
I think I’m losing my mind.
Although I’ve learned many of my homemaking ideals from my mother (I neglected to learn the skills she endeavored to teach me out of a combination of laziness and a certainty that I’d never marry – oops?), she is by no means an obsessive-compulsive neat freak. She won’t be inspecting my cupboards or any other obscure areas of the house to make sure they’re clean. She won’t make little tsking sounds if she sees a cobweb or two.
She might think certain things, but she won’t say them. She’s way too nice for that. So I’m cleaning my house in the hopes of her not having to think things she’s too nice to say anyhow. So how completely nutso am I?
I invite all comments and anecdotes relating to this subject. Hopefully with a theme of “I’m crazy too, Kim!”, and not, “Don’t they make a medication for people like you?”
10 comments
How about this?
When my parents came in August, my dad was pretty critical of how my computer/sewing room was still a mess and not remotely close to unpacked. Vocally critical. (He’s not too nice to say stuff. He’s crabby).
Now they want to make a surprise visit, and I’ve just been told I can’t go to work anymore. And last night when I had my meltdown about work, Mum said “You need to stop making lists. If you get up and have a shower, count that as an accomplishment.”
How exactly do I ensure my house is clean enough that the Grumpy Old Man is happy, and that I am also relaxed and healthy?
Grrr!
Oh yeah. And my inlaws want to come visit. For the first time since we moved into this house…
by Nurse Pickles on October 4, 2006 at 11:12 pm. #
enjoy the time with your parents and not have to worry about your house or what your mom is thinking!
I get in these modes, where I’m just doing basic cleaning and clean one spot on the wall and the rest has to be done. Crazy women we are! LOL
by maren out my laundry on October 4, 2006 at 11:23 pm. #
Well, my parents are coming also (dude, we are, like, the same person!) and I was just thinking how glad I was that my parents are not neat-freaks. My home is in a permanent state of clutter, and I’m okay with it. Honestly, I think if I felt any burden on me to clean anything, I’d probably break at this point. (This is my slowly building sleep deprivation talking.)
Sidenote, that probably belongs more in my own blog, but here I am in yours (but it’s okay, ’cause we’re, like, the same person, right?) I think I am crazy to even own a mop. I never use it. I only have, like, a few square feet of flooring that I *could* use a mop on, and when I do (those blessed, rare occasions), I end up scrubbing on my hands and knees anyway, ’cause it gets things so much cleaner. So why do I even have a mop? Why did I just buy one after moving out here? It’s just something to mildew away in my closet … and cause whatever it’s leaning against to mildew, too.
Also, I don’t think you’re crazy for cleaning, any more than I am crazy for being a loaf. ;-)
by Bethanny on October 5, 2006 at 1:22 am. #
hmm . . . should I say what occurred to me just now . . . even for joking’s sake????
Kim . . . are you “nesting” by any chance? LOL jk
Hope your visit with your parents is a happy one . . . tell them a hearty “hi” from up here in E-town! :)
by Kate on October 5, 2006 at 3:51 am. #
Send some of your cleaning nit pickiness this away. My husband would appreciate it.
That is nice of your mom that she doesn’t say anything, but I know the feeling of wanting to avoid the whole thought process…. “Doesn’t she KNOW how to use a [insert cleaning utensil of choice] anyway?”
Enjoy your clean house!
by Amanda on October 5, 2006 at 4:31 am. #
I’m the same way Kimberly. When my mom comes for a visit, I clean like mad before she gets here. I know the clutter probably wouldn’t bother her, but I guess in a way I want to show her that I can clean my house well. If that makes any sense at all! lol I hope you enjoy the time with your parents. Try not to worry too much about what your mother is thinking, just enjoy their visit. :-)
by Duckie on October 5, 2006 at 5:26 am. #
I think of it this way. It’s a good excuse to get things done that I wouldn’t normally do or that I’ve been putting off for a while. I’m not really cleaning for company. I’m using company as an excuse to ignore my kids and clean for myself.
So, you’re not crazy. You’re selfish!!!
by The Lazy Organizer on October 5, 2006 at 6:43 pm. #
LOL! I love the way the Lazy Organizer looks at it. Hope you have a nice visit with them… I’m so jealous of these people who have their parents visiting.
by Mimo on October 6, 2006 at 2:53 am. #
I am kind of like LO in that I invite people over so that I HAVE to clean, seeing as how I don’t normally do it much!
If the cleaning frenzy doesn’t bother you, then have at it! But clean for yourSELF. If your parents say anything about it, well, the old phrase of “I guess it’s a good thing you don’t have to live here then, huh?” might be appropriate. :)
by Tracey on October 6, 2006 at 3:28 pm. #
Tag you’re it!
by Amanda on October 6, 2006 at 9:22 pm. #