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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Neat And Clean Freak In Me

I have calluses on my hands. No biggy, yeah? How'd you get them, you ask? Well, not from spending a weekend outside enjoying yard work. Though that would be easy to picture. Shoveling dirt, raking dirt, moving stones, etc. Yard work can be hard on the hands. No, I had them loooong before this past weekend. Promise not to laugh at me? *sigh* They're from sweeping my floor.

See, I'm a little bit of a neat and clean freak. More like a lot a bit. I don't know when this all first came to be. I've been this way for as long as I can remember. I use to work as a house keeper in a Best Western Hotel. I LOVED IT. Who else can say that? I got to make beds, clean bathrooms, and restock kitchenettes all day long. Oh the joy! Every little thing had its place. Everything had to be cleaned the right way (which, coincidentally, was MY way) and in a timely fashion. It was Heaven.

I guess you could say cleaning is one of my hobbies. A hobbie is an activity you enjoy doing, right? Well, I enjoy cleaning and putting everything in its rightful place. So it's a hobbie. Or maybe a quirk? In any case, let me not bore you with past stories and details of my neat and clean freak life. What matters is how it affects my life today. My life of as a Mama.


Please refer to this simple equation for the answer:


Children + Neat and clean freak mama =
Mama taking a long bath with drink in hand at the end of the day while Papa watches children for the sake of her sanity


Having children running (and crawling) about your house is hard and tiring in itself. If you're a Mama, I don't have to tell you that. But add in the fact that I can't go a day without vacuuming, sweeping the floors multiple times, wiping counters like it was going out of style, making sure every hand soap, end table coaster, accent pillow and picture frame are in place....I'm running on empty at day's end. Being a neat and clean freak with children just doesn't work. Well, it doesn't work well. Gosh, I know, I know! It's my fault!! But I simply can not help it.

I feel the need to explain my excessive sweeping....for all those that might see me as just a freak instead of a neat and clean freak (which is far better than just being a freak....I think).


1) I have dogs. They shed, making up much of what I sweep. I hate it.
2) My husband and son don't always take their shoes off after being outside in our yard which is mostly just dirt. This gets tracked in all the time making up the rest of what I sweep.
3) I have a crawler in the house....she crawls all in the dirt and dog hair getting it on ever inch of her cute little
body.
4) My son insists on playing with his blankets on the floor getting dog hair all over them and then carrying
them off to his bed getting hair and dirt in his bed.
5) I don't like wearing socks or slippers all the much, I prefer to be barefoot. This doesn't mix well with dirty
floors.

In order to keep all this mess at bay, it is necessary to sweep multiple times a day. Creating previously stated calluses by an unforgiving broom stick. Maybe I need a new broom? I told my husband, Sammy, that I wanted a new broom for Christmas. I think he thought I was joking. If you would like to contribute to the "Rebecca Needs A New Broom To Further Prevent Any Future Calluses Fund," please post a comment with your credit card #, expiration date, security code, and name that appears on card. Thanks! ;)


Would you like to know some more quirks that come with being a neat and clean freak? Would you like to poke fun at me and laugh at my expense? Please stay tuned. There is much, MUCH more to share.


With love,
Mama Hauck

3 comments:

  1. LOL this made me laugh. I know it's true :).
    I can't imagine taking care of 2 young kids and cleaning the whole house every day! Meg and I only vacuum every week or 2 lol. I am OCD about my room and anything out of place though, even though it is small and cluttered!

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  2. My mom was this way and it was impossible for her to keep sain with 3 kids and a husband making a constant mess of the house. I rebel my upbringing by not cleaning, ever! I LOVE a clean house but I'm overwhelmed which leads to putting it off til tomorrow, then the next day... My obsession is more in the area of clutter. If there's a bunch of stuff around I must sort, put away and throw out. The throwing out part makes me all tingly inside! I'm a declutter freak and I'm not trying to quit! :)

    Alison
    livingalifeofbliss.blogspot.com

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  3. LOL, sometimes I wonder why I even bother! It does get rather overwhelming. But I really just can't help it! It's like this horrible urge to clean is ALWAYS there. I wish I could put things off till the next day. HAHAHA I'm the same way with clutter. I only wish my husband would get on the bandwagon. I'll give you all our mail then! :) That's his job and it's just not getting done.

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