The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: Luce747 on June 18, 2012, 11:02:02 am
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I need to discuss this, even though it is a bit of a sensitive issue!
Does anybody else struggle with keeping house when you have lots of animals and children??
I have a pony, goats, pigs, lots of rabbits & poultry, an owl, a dog and we raise about 60 chicks at any one time.
My house is a bit shabby and unkempt. I would not even go so far as to say it is very clean.
We are not overly houseproud and both struggle like hell to keep the house presentable.
It is now becoming an upsetting issue because our 5 year old is starting to get comments. A friend came to play a couple of times and said that our house smells. This morning another one of his friends said very loudly 'my house is clean, your house is dirty! you have to clean the whole house!'
I could have died and have come away very upset about it.
Someone told me that people have to take us as they find us and if they don't like it, don't come. The trouble is, I cannot bear the thought of my son being thought of as dirty or getting a reputation for having a dirty house.
He is always immaculately turned out for school. It is not us as people - it is our house that we have had comments about.
I keep looking around my house and wondering why it doesn't look dirty to me. Thats the scary part! It might be dusty in places and there might be a cobweb or two, but I just cannot see what they are seeing.
Have I lived with animals for so long that I am oblivious to dirt???!!!
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Oh Luce no, this worries me too. Its a tricky issue :-\ Children just open their mouths and words come out without them thinking but they also say what adults are too scared to. That's not to say your house is dirty!! Just that children are honest and harsh critics.
There might be an animal odour there that you are all immune to having lived in the house but when a new person comes (who quite possibly lives in a sterile, bleached, animal free environment as too many kids do these days!!) then they might pick up on it.
I remember when I was a district nurse, there was one house we had to visit and it was AWFUL. Cluttered, full of cobwebs (they were so bad it was in your hair and everything) mouldy pot plants, mouldy coffee cups - you name it. I think it was a health risk in itself but we used to have to go there and do the lady's dressings, made us want to baulk. - now I don't reckon your house is like that is it?!
If you are really worried, do you have a really good friend who you could ask?
Our house isn't perfect, my husband has OCD so he drives me to distraction with constant tidying (and I mean totally to distraction, every waking minute) but I make sure the kitchen and bathroom is clean as a priority then vaccuum as and when it needs it. Dusting (yuk) little as possible. Like you, my children are clean, uniforms and clothes ironed and their hair is tidy.
Try not to let the comments on the little ones get to you. Once one says it another will jump on the silly bandwagon - its probably just they've never smelt small chicks before, how lucky they are to have your son as a friend as they can actually come and visit all these animals!!
Lisa x
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well
its not easy...... its all about choice. My place has its moments from being tidy and clean and then being messy with days worth of washing up... I choose to look after my animals and then everything in the house comes later (much later ;D )
the main thing is not to stress over what others think, although when it affects kids its very difficult.
you said you wonder if its you and whether you can't see the mess- take photos and look through different eyes ::)
why not just try and keep on top of one room. so when kids have friends over
your house probably isn't overly mucky it's the other nerotic mums that are overly spotless- i have friends who bleach everything including the loo everytime after its used!!
the other kids don't have the same quality in the sense of experiences and also teaching that its the person thats important not the surroundings, all about who has what nowadays ::)
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I know exactly where you are coming from! We are the same. I go other people's houses and wonder how they can keep it so clean but they don't have animals - we have 3 dogs and a cat inside, not to mention all other jobs to do outside so housework does take a backseat. Our living room carpet is awful and does get me down. We are going to change it for laminate when we have some spare money.
I do try and keep the downstairs tidier though, especially the kitchen as we have people dropping in when we least expect it. However, people have seen it in a mess and they will have to take us as they find us. We have FAR more important things to do than housework lol.
I do try and keep on top of it and I will do, after we have had a blitz, but it eventually starts getting untidy.
Helen
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If its nice ouside you won't find me inside doing housework, i usually attend to the dusting when OH writes in it 'dust me please' ;D or i would be mortified if MIL paid a visit (a rare occurrence since i have never produced the requisite grandchildren!). I catch up on my cleaning in winter when its too horrid and dark to be out at this time of year its gets whats known as a quick lick and a promise :-J
Don't take it to heart too much, kids can be spiteful to each other and if your sons friends come from a sanitized housing estate(echo what plums wrote!) with no animals they will wrinkle their noses at animally smells. Next time they mention it ask what they mean chances are they don't know and have only heard their parents gossiping! Might be worth asking your little boy what he thinks, kids can be brutally honest so be prepared! OH is always saying i stink of pigs (i don't think i do) I now have a plug-in air freshner in a socket near the back door as thats where we hang all our working outside gear that mings a bit and it does help. I also if the weathers nice open a couple of windows in the rooms that people might visit and use or leave the back door open for a thro draft. A quick squirt round with 'fabreze' before his little chums arrive will help.
No-body has a perfect house (excet maybe Anthea Turner ::) ) whats one persons shabby chic is anothers slum and what one persons sanitized white perfection is to them is anothers idea of hell.
HTH
Mandy :pig:
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FULLY empathise!!! I agree with the 'Kitchen, Bathroom and one tidy room idea' ( I think that was the function of the old fashioned 'parlour' that most big farmhouses have) I always have to have a special tidy and clean if I know anyone is coming, but if I dont get notice... I 'entertain' in the conservatory (tatty, but at least more or less empty)!!! You have to walk through our kitchen and dining room to get to the living room and the kitchen usually looks worst. We just do what we can - focus on the amazing aspects of your life (ie entertain the children outside!!!) and I bet they will be fighting to come around!
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I try to make the kitchen and bathroom being clean the priority. Well the surfaces, the kitchen floor stays clean for anything up to an hour after it's been mopped depending on the weather and therefore the state of the dogs' feet.
But I know the place smells of animals. Litter trays, three big dogs, my wellies, the cats who have taken to peeing on the floor, hatching chicks and ducklings, plus sacks of feed and so on. I prefer most of those smells to bleach!
I did have a major de-clutter and sold stuff on eBay which was good. But stuff creeps onto any horizontal surface in the kitchen.......and that's without kids adding to the chaos.
Maybe your son needs the retort 'my house isn't dirty, but it's full of interesting things - yours is just boring' ;)
FIB - cross posted with you. Yes, I entertain in the conservatory too for the same reasons. And can completely see the sense of a parlour that the family doesn't use so you know is fit to take visitors into :D My conservatory and decent living room are upstairs though, so I have to be clear to male visitors that I am not taking them upstairs to the bedroom :D
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If it something that is bothering you and you really don't have the time (or inclination) to get everything done why not hire a cleaner? They are not very expensive (about £7.50 an hour around here. May be more pricey if you live 'down south') and if they come for just a couple of hours once a week, or even once a fortnight, it will make a huge difference for not much money. At least then you will know that your bathrooms are clean and they can catch up on the hoovering, dusting etc. Well worth the money for peace of mind and stopping your son getting teased at school. Also if they get the bulk of it done, it will then make it easier for you to keep on top of it til they come again.
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Ps forgot to say that if any man comes on here and posts "whats housework" they will get a smack round the back of the head sent thro the ether of the worldwide web!
My OH does not even know where the hoover is kept ::)
mandy :pig:
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Ps forgot to say that if any man comes on here and posts "whats housework" they will get a smack round the back of the head sent thro the ether of the worldwide web!
My OH does not even know where the hoover is kept ::)
mandy :pig:
Mine is obsessed with the hoover - its almost like if he's run that round then he's "blitzed the house" - a bog brush on the other hand hmmmmmmmmmm, if only. I've actually left a note next to the loo brush explaining that I am not the only person in a house of 7 people who is allowed to use it!!
I can almost predict which of the men will be on here to have a little wind up - quite looking forward to it ;D
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i could have written your post myself.
it is hard work trying to juggle housework & animals plus i work part time.
i also had comments like that when my children were younger & it is really mortifying.
my daughter was bullied about it for a while & this was from a child who popped in once to use the loo at a time when we were busy lambing & kidding,so it was messy i would'nt say my house is really dirty just messy.
theres 6 of us living here & my husband & elder son are hoarders.
i would'nt say your oblivious to dirt,just that you have more important things in life to think about ;D
i've been to immaculate houses & wonder how the hell they manage it.
but they have no animals & live very sterile lives,how sad.
i would talk to your children about it just to see if their worried & i used to keep one room reasonably tidy.
oh & lino instead of carpet makes hell of a difference.
kelly
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Okay, don't forget the benefits of having animals and a 'normal' house. Children growing up in the kind of environment you describe are usually healthier, have less allergies and a more rounded personality. I wouldn't feel brow beaten into changing for some jumped up kid who thinks your house is dirty. I bet your son wouldn't be so rude to tell the other mothers that their houses smell of chemicals!! Personally I hate walking into a house that smells of air freshener, prefer real flowers and the smell of puppies.
Be kind to yourself, as others have said keep the kitchen and bathroom clean and prioritise what you can and can't do. Remember, you are more normal than you think.
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I am a man who is quite happy to do some housework. Friday usually go round the house hoover.mop and a bit of a polish. To be honest there is more to life, if people have a problem with a bit of dust or animal smells tough like it or lump it.
We have friends that have a house that looks like it is a shop display, hate going round there looks like no one has ever walked on the carpets or sat on the sofa, I like my house to look lived in. Dirt is good for you that's what I tell everyone. :thumbsup:
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I am a man who is quite happy to do some housework. To be honest there is more to life, if people have a problem with a bit of dust or animal smells tough like it or lump it.
We have friends that have a house that looks like it is a shop display, hate going round there looks like no one has ever walked on the carpets or sat on the sofa, I like my house to look lived in. Dirt is good for you that's what I tell everyone. :thumbsup:
Ditto from my husband ;D . He does not worry about it at all - 'people come to see us and if they don't like our house, don't visit!' I am more concerned :-[ but I try my best to keep the downstairs loo clean for visitors and the dining room . I try and keep them outside mostly though! A couple came here straight from the allotment (no veg allowed in garden, only flowers) and he said 'It's always so comfortable here because it is a mess ::) '. At home he is not even allowed indoors in his gardening clothes - normal clothes to me. My neice did tell me 'you have a lot of dust, Auntie - she was 9 at the time'
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I sympathise with your predicament, especially when sterile cleanliness seems to be so important these days. I was amazed when I visited the hospital recently and there was a notice on the door of the x-ray department telling me to use the hand gel before I touched the bell. Unfortunately I didn't notice it until after my unprotected finger had pressed it! It makes me wonder how we survived when I was a child.
Our house is covered in dust from our solid fuel range and it highlights the cobwebs quite nicely. The floors and furniture have a good coating of dog fur and muddy footprints.
If we are expecting visitors we have to start cleaning weeks beforehand. I'm sure our house reeks of dogs but I can't smell it and if I try one of those air fresheners that pumps out different aromas, it makes me feel sick.
However, I do have some standards - I always do the washing up straight after a meal!
Life's too short for housework.
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I hoover and do the loos - just finished that. I can get a bit obsessive about it from time to time with long intervals of neglect in between.
It helps a lot to have a lobby and loo between the house and the outdoors where the 217 pairs of boots fester with the 57 waterproofs. Must have a throwout.
We do have a lady who does our bedroom, the loos and the kitchen for us but once a week is not enough. And it's £15ph down here.
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We only have chickens and ducks and cat but a large veg garden. I don't get much done, everything seems half-way. The teens do their room and the occasional vacuum but OH does 0 - but I can't install stoves or radiators so should be grateful, I suppose that I don't have to pay trade to do this kind of stuff. Tidying kitchen seems to take up most of my time in the house as there is constantly something on the go when in season besides the regular meals!The kids are actually embarrassed at the state of things so hardly ever bring anyone home ::) . Off to clear out nesting boxes now as the rain stopped ::) ::) :&>
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Its not like we leave the clothes and dishes dirty. They are never left and the kitchen is always cleaned. Our bathroom is just so old it is impossible to make clean. The enamel has come off the toilet and bath so they always look filthy and unsightly. Replacing the bathroom suite should probably be our next priority! I suppose its just the dusting and hoovering that can go neglected and the floors usually look grubby because we don't take shoes off in the house. That said we have wooden floors and lino for that purpose!
I have been to the two children's houses and of course they take shoes off at the door, have pale spotless carpets and the houses are immaculate and newly fitted/decorated.
My son loves to be clean and tidy and I really don't think he considers our house to be dirty - in fact he doesn't appear to have listened to the comments or be offended by them.
I do take a reality check now and then because I realise that my son is the healthiest child with the best attendance in school (100% bar three days off when there was a chicken pox epidemic...) not to mention his teachers consider him to be extremely 'worldly wise'.
I would never trade that for carpets or a neat freak reputation.
A lot of it might even be jealousy - not just because of the animals we get to live with but because we CAN come in and out with muddy boots and I don't freak out every time my son accidentally spills something on the floor - which is a lot...
I do think those with many animals have much lower standards than those with the average one pet household. We are probably a damn site happier for it aswell! what a shame that other people have to come into the equation.
Of course this is also a 'female' issue. One little critiscism is all it takes to send me scrubbing my house from top to bottom :innocent:
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I think you are right Luce747 it is a woman thing, you are all too bothered what everyone else thinks or says. Blokes just shrug the shoulders and on we go. :thumbsup:
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You've got my sympathies ;) I have 4 kids, muddy dogs, cats, hubby - even the occaisional pig dropping in for a visit ::)
I ditto everything that's already been said - folk on here understand, folk who don't keep animals don't - simple as that ;D
We have wooden floors and lino too and they always looked bad (to me anyway) so I treated myself to a (second hand from ebay ;) ) earlex stream cleaner thingy - it's got loads of attachemnts and makes short work of the floors, no matter how bad they are - and doesn't take forever to do them either (time is always an issue for me) plus I can use it for couches, the car, chicken houses, pig farrowing quarters....... everything really :innocent:
The really good thing is if you drop some essential oils into the water tank, it makes the house smell lovely ;)
HTH
Karen x
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I keep kitchen and bathroom clean, hoover most days due to the dog hair and that's it. Washing machine seems to be on most days but if I am busy outside I forget to hang it out then it goes into the tumble dryer.We just have a one bedroom cottage so not a lot of work. what I do in the winter time when I cannot get on outside is clean out cupboards, cook for the freezer. Our cottage smells of dogs, horse tack and often wet jackets but it is tidy enough for anyone to visit. Show house it is not but I feel it is a happy home.
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Our farm kitchen gets mucked out once a month wether it needs it or not.
I hang a dead rat up on a bit of string in the outside loo as an air freshener.
I bought some young piglets a few weeks back and my OH said "where you gonna put them".
I said 'untill I make a place in the sheds they can go in the spare bedroom'
OH. But what about all the mess..
ME. They'll get used to it after a couple of days. ;D
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Excellent CF :thumbsup: :D
Luce, re-reading your original post: Most 5 year olds don't think much about dirt, so the original child is probably reflecting an obsessive mother who is so worried about germs she has passed on that concern to him. The second child is unlikely to be a second opinion but a reflection of the first.
I'm serious about your son having some sort of retort. It gives the other children a different way of thinking about the issue (so far they've only been given one, which is that a busy animal-full household must be dirty, whether or not it is). It shows that he is not ashamed of it and that's what his peers will latch hold of. If they think he doesn't care they'll move on to the next thing, but if they get a whiff that he's embarrassed they'll needle him about it. Just kids (and some adults!) I'm afraid. So however you yourself feel, don't let even a mention of that be anywhere near your child.
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I totally agree with JayKay about the child's 'opinion' being his mothers, most likely. I remember one mum coming here for coffee and checking the rim of her mug before taking a sip, her house is like a show home - the children shower twice a day, its stinks of eau de bleach and there's not a smear on her windows. Her children are off sick from school regularly with every 'bug' going and to me a house that clean show's someone who is slightly bored during the day ;D
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it isnt easy!
I have got around this problem a little, by designating one side of the house as the "posh bit", fit for the Queen & no dogs allowed . That way if I get visitors that I know may judge me they are brought in thru the front door.... friends/neighbours/other dirty people come in through the back door... on saying that, I have really struggled this spring to keep my house a nice place infact I should be cleaning the kitchen right now but instead I have had a cuppy whilst reading theseposts and now I fancy a snooze before milking... oopsie!
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Our farm kitchen gets mucked out once a month wether it needs it or not.
I hang a dead rat up on a bit of string in the outside loo as an air freshener.
I bought some young piglets a few weeks back and my OH said "where you gonna put them".
I said 'untill I make a place in the sheds they can go in the spare bedroom'
OH. But what about all the mess..
ME. They'll get used to it after a couple of days. ;D
;D :trophy: ;D :trophy: ;D LOL your post has made my day
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Hi
If you are that worried about it you must have a friend that you really value their opinion - ask them - if they are a really good friend they will be honest enough to tell you if they think it needs cleaning. Although in past experience if your true friends and family haven't said anything I shouldn't worry - as others have said before me the people visiting are coming to see you not the state of your house or smallholding. If they've got anything to say on the matter put them to work!!!
Children often say things without thinking or knowing that they are causing upset and will continue to do this even into adulthood - like the rest of us - mouth into action before thinking.
Take care and try not to worry xxx
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Oh my!!!!!!!! I am so glad this thread came up. I thought I was the only one with a filthy house. Until a few weeks ago I worked six nights a week then did the animals and garden during the day and with fourteen dogs in the house, not to mention incubators it was all I could do to keep just the right side of sanitary :o :o I, too, try to keep the bathroom and kitchen germ free but the paintwork and the walls where the dogs walk through are very suspect.
My friends don't seem to mind or notice, or at least don't mention it and as the bloody house is falling down around our ears I don't much care anyway ::)
We have no carpets at all due to the dogs only hard floors, no carpets no fleas is my reckoning and I have a steam cleaner which I use when it all gets too much even for me.
An air freshener (I use Neutrodol) is useful to keep to hand if someone comes to the door.
I kept meaning to de-clutter but didn't get round to it until my six year old grand-daughter (six going on thirty!) took a hand and cleared out my cupboards and shelves for me. I can't tell you how much better I felt for this....seriously!
So, if I ever visit any of you folk, don't worry about the dust and dog smells, I'll feel at home :) :)
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Housework is a bit of a battle for me even without children! I loathe it and am not good at it. Having a cleaner do the dusting and hoovering once a week (or fortnight, she's a bit erratic) is my luxury indulgence. I would rather work an extra shift to pay for it than do the housework myself. My OH is the opposite and hates having the cleaner so when I moved in with him we had a heart to heart where I explained that either he did all the housework, without ever complaining about it to me or we kept my cleaner.
I recognise how lucky I am to have a job that means I can have the luxury of a cleaner and an OH who does most of the rest but I feed and muck out the ducks and quail, do all the bee care and all the veg garden. My animals are clean and healthy and the veg patch not too weedy. Everything else is a bonus!
Agree that the child was probably just repeating something it had heard but still very hard not to let it upset you.
Just remember only dull women have immaculate houses (anon).
One of my other favourite quotes is:
"I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again."
Joan Rivers
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I am a 'househusband' I look after: one toddler, 2 dogs (one in, one out), some chickens, 102 ewes and their associated rams....
My house is something of a mess....
Oh well, I'll have plenty of time when she goes to school, better to enjoy it now. :innocent:
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only dull women have immaculate houses
something my Mum and I are in complete agreement on :D
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i have problems keeping house, and i dont have any animals other than cats dogs and children, i believe my wife despairs of me!!!
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i confess to having a cleaner in for 4hrs every fortnight, its worked wonders, cos i have to tidy up ready for when she gets here ::)
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My Gran used to do a full clean before the cleaner came as she couldn't possibly let her see the house in a mess! I somehow manage to resist!
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Yep - done that in my past life. We would have yo clean and tidy ( even the toilet) before our cleaner came once a week for a full day.
I would go for a de-clutter and keep one room for the children to take their mates into.
Carpets are considered unhygenic here and are difficult to buy. We have tiled floors downstairs and bare floor boards on the first floor. We do have carpet in our room on the next floor but then we never take anyone up there ( too many chains on the wall and the rack puts people off us).
As a man I am happy to tidy and de-clutter becuase I think it reduces the perceived need to clean.
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As a man I am happy to tidy and de-clutter becuase I think it reduces the perceived need to clean.
I agree - if a place is tidy and uncluttered a) it's easier and quicker to clean and b) it looks cleaner longer.
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am happy to tidy and de-clutter becuase I think it reduces the need to clean
I understand this as a theoretical concept..... :innocent:
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The house cleaning (or lack of it) continues in this house too.
As an old lady said to me 10years ago when I was struggling after my 1st boy and house of animals:-
" a child will always remember if you played games with them, but will never remember if they went to bed in unironed PJs"
If people arrive at the house my hand quickly sweeps along the most noticeable corner area where tufts of dog hair have rolled up on the tiles or laminate ::)
I do like things put away every night so at least the place looks tidy.
I Hoover and disinfect floors once a week, anything more is a waste of time and energy.
The bathroom gets most attention having messy/miss-it boys
We do have a gate at the bottom of the stairs which helps reduce inevitable animal odour and hair on upstairs carpets which works fine now we don't have a cat.
I live life doing the things I enjoy ( usually involving my animals or kids ) as the housework will always be there for another day. If I have time tomorrow I might do a bit :thumbsup:
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only dull women have immaculate houses
something my Mum and I are in complete agreement on :D
Me three! ;D
Some people have houses so clean you take off your shoes to protect their carpets. In some people's houses, you keep on your shoes to protect your socks. My house is of the latter type. :D
I try to vacuum the main routes once a week - they look much the same as they did before vaccing within 48 hours at best. ::)
I do muck out the kitchen when time and energy permit, but that's not every day (by a long shot) and I am more likely to wash something up because I want to use it than because it's just been used. :-[
I have recently managed to clear out "the front room" and do now mostly manage to keep it fairly clean and ready for use by visitors. Most of them, however, still walk through into the main living room and have to be chased out into the front room ::) The bay window overlooks one of the prettiest views in Cumbria and I've set up my spinning wheel in the bay there, so I can spin when visitors come while they drink their teas and catch up on farm news. Only about 1/3 of the room is so far filled with fibre, fleeces (I guess these make the room smell of sheep; I can't tell any more :D), bobbins, drying skeins, etc... :D
Most people come to see us and the farm, not the inside of the house; they have a cuppa and a biscuit and then we're off to see the latest calves, puppies, find eggs, scramble round in the haystacks, etc. They can visit any number of clean houses; there aren't so many places they can feed bananas to pigs :)
Sadly I know there are one or two relatives we'd see more of if they weren't so worried about their children picking up some germs... :'(
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Well I don't have my smallholding yet, just 4 cats, my OH, some fish and a veggie garden, but I already understand the problems and foresee them getting worse when we have more animals. House work is so much less appealing than pretty much everything else.
That said, like many others, I keep my bathroom and kitchen hygienic (I won't say clean cos there's plenty of grease on the cupboards, cobwebs on the windows etc). Dishes don't go mouldy, old food is composted and the floor is mopped (less often than it should but ah well). I'm rubbish at hoovering, or sweeping and I don't think I've dusted since I last moved house!
I very much agree with keeping clutter down, it makes such a big difference, our lounge is set up to be quite clear for visitors and we just keep them downstairs if we think they might judge. However pretty much all of our guests are people who will happily do the washing up and empty the bins themselves so not much worry there.
I say ask your son if it bothers him and if so what it is? Airing the house and keeping one room 'tidy' for guests should help things out. But if they are coming from sterile houses it may just be a lost cause. Get them outside instead!
Good luck!
Dans
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I have a routine, animals, feeds, milking etc first job, then house / bread / washing / ironing till noon.In the afternoons I then choose what needs doing from cutting peats to gardening etc. Tomorrow it is the same mornings but then preserving in the afternoon. I do have the house to myself all day though which does make life easier!
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IRONING, Hermit, IRONING!!!!! I do have an iron (somewhere) but have, unfortunately lost the instructions ::) ;D ;D
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Ironing is a very useful distraction activity, for when you are supposed to be doing something else. Should you catch me ironing you can be sure I'm avoiding something ;)
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If I'm ironing, it usually means there is a film on I want to watch and its the only way I get to do so undisturbed because it 'they' come in to the room I make them start putting their clothes away ;)
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I do like ironing sometimes, as said it is a good excuse to keep still for a while. Plus my daughter works in an office so she needs to be smart.
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I am so glad you posted about this!
For the last 6 months our house has been getting more and more dirty. It's really hard with all the animals and especially through kidding when you are coming going in the house to eat and pee then straight pack out again!
And it does get me down when i walk into the kitchen in the morning and i can feel all the little stones, dusty bits and hay. HAY!! I must have had nearly a bale in that sodding kitchen.
This is the first house we have had where we have a spare room and given the animals it is much easier for people to visit us than it is for us to go to them.
We have done two big things which i really had to wrestle with before i was happy to do them.
1) get a dishwasher. The ability to get all dirty pots and plates out of sight in a oner is just amazing, swtich it on over night and OH empties it before he leaves the house in the morning. It is such bonus. However we try not t use other electrical appliances to counter our extra usage, partly because of green issues and partly because we dont want our electric bills to go up.
2) I got a cleaner. :( I feel like a cop out because of it but... it's a small cost. We both work full time and then we have all the animals on top of that. Plus we want to spend some time together without feeling bad about the house.
and I have to say I love her! She's brill! She's like a cleaning fairy, stealth.
I used to think having a cleaner was extravagant but actually I'm so much happier that my house is clean. We aren't planning on staying in this place forever, as soon as we find the right place in Scotland we are off, so in the meantime we need to try to look after this place and to see it as an investment.
How you keep your house is a very, very personal issue.
And I couldn't agree more, life is too short for housework.
But life is also too short to tolerate things that annoy you.
My filthy house annoyed me, so I did something about it.
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I do like ironing sometimes, as said it is a good excuse to keep still for a while. Plus my daughter works in an office so she needs to be smart.
Has she too lost the instructions? ;) ;)
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Trouble here is that OH never takes his shoes off as he has dodgy knees - after vacuuming all looks like before within hours!
I don't touvch the iron. I made that clear when I moved in - the only thing I actually stuck to over the years ;D . He does his own shirts and the girls are so much better than myself if they want something ironed. I've raised them well, though, it only happens very occasionally ;D ;D
Sadly I'm the dishwasher, another wouldn't fit into the kitchen as the washing machine already is blocking half the floorspace ::)
I am constantly decluttering, bags with stuff leaving the house each day but it doesn't seem to make a difference...
Dreaming on - should OH ever win the lottery bigtime I want in that order - a gardener, a static caravan for a Woofer or 2 and a cleaner. ;D :wave:
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It is wonderful to have so many like minded people, here.
Before we moved, once we had finished redecorating that house, when I was working long hours and commuting and had v. young children, we had a cleaner. I also had what became 'Mummy's tidy room' which the midwife and visitors were allowed in ( unfortunately if they needed the loo they had to go through the rest of the house!) We could not let cleaner go even when OH was made redundant ( and he is reasonably house trainedbut he was spending more time with an increased number of animals and land). But every Sunday eve we would go into overdrive putting everything away so cleaner could hoover and dust. BUT at least I knew that everything was getting cleaned. I would do basins/loos and worktops in the meantime, but hoovering and dusting not on the agenda....( good intentions let down by garden/chickens/dog etc etc). We would also go manic before we went on holiday if she was coming in,,,,,but it was REALLY nice to come home to a clean house!
Now we have moved I do despair. No commute (or cleaner) and a hugely increased dirt level. My excuse is that a) dog + kids in static carvan = constant dirt and b) in the partially renovated house (kitchen being 'lived in') plaster and bricks = dust. THis does not explaing the dog hair wafting around the floors, but I do try. We have shoes off at the door policy, but that is to stop everyone ( apart from the dog) tracking sheep/pig/chicken/ duck poo into what is remains of the clean patches of carpet.
When my kids (new) friends come around I have to tell them to watch out for chicken poo and apologise for any dead rats they find ( outside-not in house I hasten to add!!). Most kids seem to be fine, but my girls were very embarassed to start with. However we now have one girls who spends more time here than she does at home. I apologise for the mess, but I think that is what she expects now....
Unfortunately my kids are now also becoming immune to mess and chaos, so when I yell at them to clean up they look at the mess and cant see it anymore.
Re Ironing - totally agree. In a small spaceiIroned clothes fit better and kids always go to school in ironed stuff, and it is an excuse to watch telly, but otherwise life's too short.
Just to confirm that my girls also have 100% attendance record, although we think youngest may be developing an allergy to plaster dust. At least is it not a fear of dirt :-)
Jo
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Iron? ??? I had an iron, once, I think... ::)
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My parents in law turned up for a suprise visit when we had the goslings in the conservatory. :o Conservatory full of gosling poo ( they seemed to like throwing it out of the cage) and straw, last nights dishes and several empty bottles of wine dotted around the kitchen (despite having a dishwasher- no one wants to empty it) and the remains of a roast chicken on the kitchen floor that the cat had liberated. It's not usually that bad but if they will turn up without warning.
And anyway they have one houseproud domesticated daughter in law who cooks and irons they don't need two. :)
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anyway they have one houseproud domesticated daughter in law who cooks and irons they don't need two
absolutely not, variety being the spice of life ;D
And if people turn up unannounced they have to take what they find - I have ducklings in the hall at the moment so have complete empathy about the mess and smell :D
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Thank you for writing this post, and to everyone who has replied!
We have a small holding 25mes away from there we live (1st floor flat in a s town). So we have just put out the goslings but now have chicks and more in the incubator. We also have 3 cats and 3 dogs. The chicks r brooding in our living room as we have a lodger in the spare room (covers fuel costs to he field)- luckily he is a close friend who loves animal as much as we do and is unfazed by random animals in our lounge! Everyone else thinks we r nuts!
Bedroom is a huge pile of clean washing that never gets put away- just moved to the dirty pile once used. But kitchen is reasonable and bathroom clean. Lounge is half tidy and half boxes and poultry feed/water containers waiting to go bk to the field etc. A big throw goes over it and a quick spray of fabreeze sorts it out when visitors come!
I am mortified if anyone pops round for a cup cos god knows what the dogs/cats/husband has chews/brought in/ left out when my back is turned!
But my house my rules! I work long shifts and do Oncall from home which is when I catch up on house work if the phones are quiet.
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We are living in a caravan at the mo whilst the house is being rebuilt. Me, OH and the dog.
We have a sort of system - muddy wellies etc come off in the composting toilet and change into clean crocs. Path from composting toilet to caravan is clean and mud free. Take crocs off at caravan door. However, this doesn't apply to the dog and he just bounds into the caravan filthy. Towelling him down is an option but that just unleashes a cloud of dog hair etc.... and in an emergency we are both guilty of sneaking into the caravan with our wellies on.
I work away during the week and take the washing with me on Monday monrings to wash and iron during the week becasue a). we don't have wash and iron facilities in the caravan and b). I don't want to waste valuable weekend time doing washing and ironing.
OH does a "Friday tidy" in the caravan but I've ususally wrecked it by Monday :innocent: He has the patience of a saint. We did have a "Scooba" - a floor cleaning robot which we used to put on the kitchen flooor each night in the old house. We did have a vacuuming robot too but he couldn't cope with the flecky carpet so he went to my MIL.
I have promised OH that we will get a cleaning lady once a week in the new house, plus the Scooba, plus me taking the washing and ironing plus the integrated vacuum system..... hopefully we will get there in the end ;D ;D
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I understand that from time to time there is a quaint odour here and that the front door may occasionally be unusable because of the stock of animal feed/ironmongery and cardboard boxes of stuff blocking it. Nevertheless people keep coming round because we're interesting to visit.
Being interesting is, to my mind, the essence of the situation. Those people with perfectly clean homes and pastel carpets have nothing interesting in their lives beyond the latest episode of Eastenders.
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Exactly :thumbsup: ;D
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Hear hear :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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I grew up in one of those awful clean and spotless houses, Mum cleaned from morning to night and Dad insisted in 100% cleanliness in everything. They are divorced now and his house is still pristine, you can see him cringe when he comes here to visit! I think he's getting more used to it now he can see that the benefits of our lifestyle far outweigh any disadvantages
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I have also worked out that is you fold things a certain way......and then let the pile build to a decent hight, the clothes press themselves. Simples! :thumbsup:
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Oh I am with you there 3 kids under 5 and alot of animals!
I hoover the middle of the room if someone coming over, makes the whole place look smarter, have one of those mops with a spray on it so can quickly do kitchen floor and I use dettol so it smells clean
Never iron, never dust (maybe twice a year)
I have also bought a powder disinfectant from a horse shop that you put on stable floors, it is working a TREAT! I used to muck out every day to try and keep ontop of urine smell. Now just poo pick and full muck out once a week. This stuff kills the urine smell!
Good luck, have a glass of wine and don't worry about it x
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Ironing? What is this stange thing of which you speak?
Life is definitely too short, even to iron things for wearing at work...
I try to have a quick clean & tidy round before my mum & dad visit ... and even then she'll sometime "pop in" with bin-bags or "on offer" cleaning products, yes mother I take the hint!
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I have also worked out that is you fold things a certain way......and then let the pile build to a decent hight, the clothes press themselves. Simples! :thumbsup:
Or fold neatly and sit on the pile whils't reading your book......it's called ass-ironing!!
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Ironing? What is this stange thing of which you speak?
Life is definitely too short, even to iron things for wearing at work...
I'm with you on that LB :thumbsup:
I do have an iron, but it's just to stop the dust gathering on the shelf :innocent:
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i only iron school uniform. and the occasional shirt when i have to dress up a bit. i quite like ironing actually :eyelashes:
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i quite like ironing actually (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/Smileys/default/batting_eyelashes.gif)
I like ironing too but wouldn't want to waste valuable weekend time at home doing it. I take the washing to work with me to waste time doing it during the week :innocent: :innocent:
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I never ever ever iron, not even school uniforms. I find if you line dry clothes, all the creases fall out anyway. I went on holiday and used the laundrette to wash and dry a load of clothes and everything came out of the tumble dryer creased to buggery. My house is messy but not too dirty. My husband is a hoarder and keeps every receipt, leaflet and letter that he receives. I get told off for chucking stuff away so it is a bit of a balancing act between us. The kids (four of them) are all hoarders too. This means the house is full of clutter until I have a clear out. I have two fridge magnets; one says 'housework won't kill you but why take the chance' the other says 'dull women have immaculate houses' ;D
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When my children were small a friend said 'if we feel depressed about the state of our houses, we go round to Helen's and we feel much better" Now you could say that was an insult but i like people and my house was always full of visitors and my children had loads of friends to play with. If i'd been busy cleaning i'd have had less time for friends.
Now we have a smallholding and the children are college age or older, my house does have an animal smell about it and my kitchen has every available space filled in fact i love clutter, i like to see the stuff I've got. The friends still call and bring their grandchildren, who spill toys everywhere, when they go i look at the chaos and think, how lovely to have had all the next generation livening up my home. As for ironing, i love it, it's a great excuse to watch a film especially those awful aga sagas that come free with the daily mail (guilty secret) that i wouldn't inflict on anyone else. Mind you my ironing is that slapdash it'll do sort of effort.
i have a friend who keeps an immaculate house (1child no pets) she isn't boring just different to me, she says all the people she loves most in the world are what i refers to as sluttish housewives so thats me and on reading this it's nice to know i am not alone.
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, she says all the people she loves most in the world are what i refers to as sluttish housewives so thats me and on reading this it's nice to know i am not alone.
Ah Fantastic! I'm a sluttish housewife - I like that title ;D
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When my children were small a friend said 'if we feel depressed about the state of our houses, we go round to Helen's and we feel much better" .
I used to watch "How clean is your house" and must admit do now watch any hoader program there is and I do feel better after ;D ;D :&>
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I have a teddy bear sitting on my mantle. She is a mummy bear and has a sign around her neck saying 'messy floors, dirty dishes, happy kids'
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my sister-in-law gave me a present a few years back, a lovely wee cushion. the stitching says "I cleaned my house yesterday, sorry you missed it" .At the time I was more sensitive and found it rather cheaky but now I have to laugh ;D so true - as I do clean something every day. Mainly dishes and kitchen surfaces, but also other
invisible
things like wardrobes to find the cause of the moth plague, kitchen cupboards (ditto), sink, loo, the odd window (inside), ............. ;D :&>
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I have actually done half of mine today!Why only half,the hoover broke down. ??? So I have had to leave it until another one arrives ;)
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April on my calendar said ...
"she had a phrase for Spring cleaning .... it rhymed with bucket!"
:D
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Hello all you small holders and animal lovers, I am the same, I have been reading posts for ages but only just signed in, I have a lot of animals and try to keep clean but too become aware of how the smell of dogs linger, I often get a whiff getting into the car after I have been out and they get wet, also I take photos and notice the dirty skirting and carpets.....BUT, children are all grown up so not too much of a worry.......I remember having a lot of farmer friends and always thought their houses dirty when I was a child but now I would think differently, so many people live in shinny show homes.....not for me.....and as my hubby ( I AM A WOMEN) also thinks cleaning is walking frantically around with a hoover, never cleans the bath, toilet of loo and never puts toilet rolls on or gets rid of dust, I dust as I walk around using the ends of my jumper as I have very short arms........weigh things up......enjoy life not spend life cleaning!
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Hello Bill the Brew :wave:
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I do not know wher our iron lives or if we have a board for it ;D I had to take 2 T shirts of the washing line today - one at 07:00 and the second at 16:00 as the first was wet with sweat. I am on my third T shirt now and all will be put in a bin at the top of the stairs and next appear on the washing line. G-d moves in great ways.
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Hi..I always end up making more mess as I multi task and get fed up so go out to feed the chickens and ducks then forget I have the draws tipped out, the dog beds tipped out and rubbish all over the place!! The answer is get some one in!! I do...hubby!
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My OH does most of the housework too. I get to do the dusting and cooking. Dusting gets done when ever it needs it - when I'm expecting visitors. :innocent:
We have laminate throughout the ground floor except the sitting room. I chose one that was called ancient oak because it looked dirty. That way no one will notice. ;D
When I had my first house,my mum used to come round and as she was saying hello, would wipe her finger along the mantlepiece. We got rid of the fire place so the only surface that needed dusting was the top of the TV. I kept a tin of spray polish behind it (lavendar) and when I saw her car pull up, rub my sleeve across the top of the tv and spray polish into the room. She wouold sniff as she entered and say how nice it looked. Now I live miles from her so don't have to worry.
My fridge magnet says, "Excuse the mess. We wanted you to feel at home." Creative people are naturally messy. I am creative. :thumbsup:
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I do not know wher our iron lives or if we have a board for it ;D I had to take 2 T shirts of the washing line today - one at 07:00 and the second at 16:00 as the first was wet with sweat. I am on my third T shirt now and all will be put in a bin at the top of the stairs and next appear on the washing line. G-d moves in great ways.
Neil! Is that you?!
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I never realised my OH was called MAK online and registered on this place ;) :D ;D
We moved into this farm last August, and it was already fitted with perfectly serviceable, but utterly unsuitable, WHITE carpets and floor tiles :o
To keep such stupid floor coverings clean would a) be too much work to be worth the effort and b) mean they would have a longer life than they deserve!
My favourite place to visit when I was a child was the messiest house on our street, lived in by an older lady who everyone else thought was a bit batty, but who was probably the most deep thinking and intelligent person I have had the pleasure of knowing. And the most interesting.
Wear your busy-ness and interesting life with pride!
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Housework is not a priority, and I hate doing it, but I like it better when it is done. With two adults and three rapidly growing kids (15,11,and 10) all squashed into a small two bedroomed house it gets grubby very quickly and there is a constant problem with space.
Most of the visitors we get here are fellow smallholders and farmers - I have never felt that any of them are turning their noses up because the place is a tip (although I admit to hoping that they don't need to use the bathroom!). No animals in the house - I am not fussy about hygiene on the whole but draw the line at dogs and cats in the house. No way!
You just have to muddle along as best you can - at the end of the day it is your house and it is you that has to live in it, so no-one else has the right to make any judgements about it.
I have just done a "full" clean of the kitchen and bathroom today - first time without cobwebs in ages. Funny how the rooms seem so much bigger!
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we rarely have inside tidy at the same time as outside,
we often have goat kids/lambs etc in the house but are lucky to have wood/tiled floors.
we do keep the dogs in the porch now as they made far too much mess in the house as they are always outside getting muddy.
visiting kids with white clothes and socks, do not leave the same colour!
in the winter we have a thick layer of dust from the woodburners, but rarely have visitors in winter as its too cold, we r used to it, but those used to central heating, go blue!
i wouldnt worry xx :wave: :wave:
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Ours are outside dogs too, having a kennel and run of their own out by the barn (filled with straw in the winter!). I agree that that helps keep the excessive mud and dust out of the house. If thre is ice on the pond, however, we pop them in the boiler room for the night.
(http://i46.tinypic.com/23picg.jpg)
Shame you can't do the same with the rest of the family, though :D
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I also struggle the upkeep of the house, a smallholding (in various places) and a full time job. what works for me is when i am cooking i mentally tell myself to 'put it away' after, also i have 'just a minute' jobs... they really only take a minute, i.e polish the mirror, hoover the carpet, put away ironing (which i hate with a passion) it does make life a bit easier and a bit less clutter, also the black bin bag twice a week is very useful :thumbsup:
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'put it away'
therein lies the key... ;D
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we don't have enough places for stuff to be put away to ;D ;D :&>
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i love the self-cleaning spaniel coat which cleans itself on any piece of soft furnishing it happens against.
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We were walking around the new house yesterday and I realise that there are no less than five different places for coats - three cupboards and two rows of hooks - plus there will be big school coats hooks on the back of every door.
The boot room is going to be just that - with a big double row of cubby holes for shoes and a row of taller cubby holes under a bench for boots (and of course a long line of hooks...... and a high shelf for hats........) :innocent: .
;D ;D ;D
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I wish we had a boot room. The wet weather has shown me just how essential it is
Sally
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A boot room, air lock or decontamination room would be great.
Our back door goes straight from our kitchen/living area so when it is hot grasshopers and lizzards follow me in, wet - frogs sit on the step and the floor gets muddy, cold - snow stays on the floor a few hours and we waste valuable heat with an open door.
We have had carpet in our third floor bedroom since March but to my knowledge it has not been hoovered. I hope the OH does not read this ;D
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The best way to feel better about your own farmhouse is to go and visit another farmhouse - cos the majority of them are - well - farmhouses.
There is always far more important things to do than tidy the house. You could say that having time to tidy is actually a luxury commodity.
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Whenever I moan about the state of our house, my husband say's " you should see some of the farms I go to with work!!" so I think yours is a point well made their Bazzais :)