Homesteading and housework

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Now that we're all extra busy with gardens, animals, putting food by, etc.(not that we weren't busy before) how does your house look? Do you keep up with housework and if so how do you find the time and energy to do it. Ladies, do your husbands complain? Men do you get in trouble for tracking in mud or leaving the sink a mess? (I make those messes as much as my husband does?) Men, do you help with housework? I usually do spring housecleaning in the fall, cause that's when I had the time to do it. I'd like to get it all done before fall, so I can enjoy the season this year as well as the fall chores. Any suggestions? Another reason for not wanting draught is so I can stay in and do some housework.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), May 13, 2000

Answers

What's housework? Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), May 13, 2000.

Seems the house suffers when there's more work to do outside! Just been trying to get everything put away each night before we go to bed. I hate waking up to a mess!!

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), May 13, 2000.

Timely topic! I just came in from doing morning chores and looked at the mess inside and sort of felt overwhelmed. I am not a fastidious housekeeper by any standard, but I do like to keep somewhat organized. I also like to have at least one room where there is some semblance of sanity, just so I can decompress from everything else. No such luck today...everything is chaotic! Fortunately our house is pretty tiny, and with a couple of hours of focused work, I can get it looking presentable.It just never seems to stay that way!

My husband is pretty good about housework. I don't recall him ever complaining. He usually does dishes everyday (for some reason he likes to!)and he will do laundry more than I do, mostly because 90% of the wash is his stuff. We both just do whatever seems to need the most attention when we can get around to it...no assignments or anything.

I loved the comment about the mud/dirt getting tracked in. We have mats, rugs, everything right next to the door, but we still track stuff in constantly, and it always creates a hmm, shall we say, controversy?

I would love to hear other's comments about this!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), May 13, 2000.


We work full time plus have the farm. There is little time for amenities such as a clean house. I always used to think that farm women were messy when I was little growing up cause their houses were not spotless... well.. now I know why! there is just not any time, even if you don't work full time. I fuss about the mud but it does no good. I just keep a lot of carpets by the door and a broom. I try to do dishes daily as dirty dishes bug me. I also vacum and make our bed and if there is time a little laundry. Otherwise my house has not been throughly deep cleaned in a long time. I need to dust, scrub wall, cupboards, etc., just no time. We don't get a lot of company so it does not matter and how can you raise what you need and do it all? You just cannot! So I just warn folks before they come and tell thiem this is how it is! Hubby helps some, but he never complains, besides, he is my biggest mess maker along with our 24 yr old son who is leaving the nest soon, on home for a hiatius from college. Oh.. and my rule is I don't cook unless someone does the dishes before and after. There is just no way around it, I can't do it all, just what I can. I live with it.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), May 13, 2000.


And what about the dust. I can dust one minute and turn around the next and wonder whether I actually did it or not. I've gotten to where I dust occasionally just to frustrate myself and always when companies coming.

Little bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), May 13, 2000.



Cindy

I tell my family every spring that they had better get used to fact they won't be seeing me in the house very much for awhile.

I do what I have to do, like cook the meals, and I try to assign chores for the rest of my gang. Don (hubby) helps out if I ask him to but he's not very domestic, and he's notorious for tracking in mud. But for the most part, my housewotk gets neglected this time of year.

It makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one! - Kathy

-- Kathy (jubilant@ncweb.com), May 13, 2000.


I'm with Kathy -- it makes me feel a lot better to know I'm not the only one!! I like to keep the house organized so we can find things and have room to move around (I'm a little claustrophobic, I think). Towards this end, I do a major weeding of the house at least once a year (I wish gardens only needed to be weeded once a year!!) and get rid of stuff that isn't being used. But the biggest mess-maker is my husband, now that the two older girls are moved out -- actually, he was the biggest messer even when they were home, just the cumulative effect was overwhelming sometimes -- and amazingly enough, as much as the girls resisted at home, they are doing quite well in their own places!! I don't think it HAS to be that way, as I do know some men - - mostly single ones, but also one of my married brothers -- who are naturally tidy, and others who understand the necessity of making the effort, even if it doesn't come naturally. I keep up with the necessities -- laundry and dishes, mostly -- and try to keep the floor at least swept, as grit on the floor bugs me (especially in summer when I like to go barefoot a lot). But the cobwebs may hide in the corners of the beamed living-room ceiling for several weeks before I get to them! And I usually keep the bedroom doors shut, rather than make the beds, partly because I want the bedding to air out before night. I think it was probably easier a long time ago, when many families either had lots of children to help with the work or hired help, often inside and out.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 13, 2000.

With asthma my house is tile, no shoes in the house period, you are only a guest the first time you visit, no animals or smoking in the house. Porches are a great help! I pick up everything mornings with a laundry basket and deposit stuff in the kids rooms, I damp mop (with an industrial mop and squeeze bucket) evenings as I go to bed, and vacume every day. Dusting is when I make a kid do it, and dishes are while milk is pasturizing. It really takes very little time to do all of this, and I will fold laundry while on the business phone. The only place in the house that is an embarassing disater is husbands office, so I close the door. I refuse to clean the office or his shop. He keeps his junk (I mean priceless building supplies) behind the shop so I don't have to see it in the yard. Him clean the house? You have got to be kidding! The true waste of time is the computer, really the only thing I do that I can't do something else while on this! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 13, 2000.

Yes, I help with the housework! I hate vacuuming as much as Maggie. Whichever of us has the time does the dishes. She's the cook, but I have my successes. She mows the lawn. I do most of the canning. etc. etc. etc. We figure out who likes to do what, who can handle doing what, and who abhors doing what. Then we trade off. And, we are not pristine, but one of the best compliments we've had was that our home was "comfortable - lived in!" We, and our guests, can have fun enjoying each other without worrying about sweeping the floor. Relax, and GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), May 13, 2000.

I hate doing inside work especially when the weather is so nice outside. But I also like a neat and tidy house. So I compromise and devote 30 min a day to actual cleaning. I pick up after myself throughout the day so the dishes etc are usually done. Since I really dislike housework and the thought of it gets worse as the day gets on, I do it first thing in the morning (usually before I go to work) Thirty minutes early in the day is something I can get myself to do and it keeps the house in pretty good shape.

-- teresa (teresam@ascent.net), May 13, 2000.


Our family adopted my wonderful mother's philosophy. (She had seven children and worked 40 hours a week outside the home - before it was fashionable to do so.)

She always said a home should be clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy. Well, we're healthy and happy, nuff said.

-- homestead2 (homestead@monroecty.net), May 13, 2000.


Being single and juggling farm work and outside jobs, housework tends to pile up. Now with summertime hours upon me, after bath and supper it's almost ten. Household chores get sidetracked...they get done either when it stacks up so that I can't move about, or it waits for a rainy day.

My house is a home. Not a museum. If it's raining cats and dogs, come on in and dry off. If you track mud in, that's ok. It'll clean up just fine tomorrow. Put your feet up on the furniture. I know too many folks, including my relatives, who expect you to take off your shoes, frown upon you entering their house if your not spotless. Needless to say, I visit them rarely. My younger sis was one of the worst. After two years of 'new house' rules, she's broken down somewhat. After folks stopped visiting, she keeps her house clean, and cleans after they leave, but she doesn't complain to them.

My great grandma's house was so cluttered, folks would hesitate to enter. She'd tell em 'you found your way in, you can find your way out'.

-- phil briggs (phillipbriggs@thenett.com), May 13, 2000.


Cindy, In February we had a few very nice days, so I was able to wash all of the house windows, clean out the coops, & did some of the "spring cleaning" ie: cleaned walls, rearrange the kitchen pantry (threw out old stuff, etc). During busy times, the housework gets done randomly, but the bathroom & kitchen are top priorities. I do get our son to help when I'm busiest, like during canning or butchering times. He is a big help to me, my dh helps on occasion. Right now I need to straighten the kitchen so I can get Mothers' Day dinner started! No going out for us, can't see spending that extra $$. To look at our home right now, it's in not too bad a shape, things are sorta/kinda picked up, company coming. Hummm.....finding time & energy, don't know how to answer that one, we just have to do the best we can. If it's nice out, outside stuff gets done, rain, yeah, I get a bit more housework done, ironing, you get the picture. Are there things you can do while on the phone? I'll cut out coupons, wipe down the kitchen cabinets, scrub the sink or stove, or whatever needs doing within the stretch of the cord, I'm not on the phone often, but I do try to do something constructive while on it. Wish you the best, you can do it! Keep in touch!

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), May 14, 2000.

A P.S. to my answer above. No, my dh doesn't complain, he knows I'll give him the vacuum cleaner or cleaning cloths!!!

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), May 14, 2000.

EVERY ABLE BODY pitches in-in my house! The kids could cook, clean and sew by the time they were 6 or 7. "What's for dinner?" ,"What are you cookin'?", Don't use the 'loo', unless you intend to clean it! The washer are dryer were not stolen! The first time they asked to be 'paid' to clean their rooms, I paid up, then I charged them the exact amt for their dinner! What a hoot! You should have seen their faces. To the point, we're a team, and we work and play well together!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), May 14, 2000.


Housework? Oh, you mean that building I go in when I want to sleep! ;-) Seriously though, I try to 'stack' chores so that I can work on more than one thing at once. The kitchen gets cleaned while I am cooking, and I clean at least something in the bathroom whenever I use it. I go barefoot for the most part, so the floor gets a lot of attention. (I hate grit underfoot) I try to have a load of laundry to take out with me in the morning, and it goes back in with me on the way to cook the next meal, with another one to go out for the afternoon. My husband is wonderful about helping out with everything, and gives me a nice meal out occasionally to give me a bit of a break. Rainy days are great for getting caught up on things, too. (I could use a bit of rain right now!)

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), May 15, 2000.

I think I'm doing good when I keep the dishes washed and clean clothes for everybody!!!

My husband and my 19 year old son(the only child still at home) don't mind a messy house so that's good!!! I would like for everything to look perfect all the time but I can't work and do all the homestead stuff and keep a spotless house!!! I have a friend whose wife does keep a spotless house but that means often she's up to 1 or 2 a.m. cleaning and then up at 6 a.m. to do something else!

To me life is too short to spend it all cleaning!!!

My office is at home (I am a newspaper reporter for two papers) and it is almost always a disaster area because I have so many projects going at once.

Right now we're trying to get everything going in the garden and having to water every day because we need rain badly here in north Alabama; my Angora rabbits need lots of attention; we're working hard to get the rabbit and adjoining chicken house finished; and then we need to finish the fencing so I can get my Angora goats and other animals....we could work here 24 hours a day and never get finished!!! And that's why we love it!!!

So I'll go now and hang this load of clothes on the line to dry; then I'll run and check the arrest reports at the sheriff's department and police departments; then I'll come back here and write four articles; then feed rabbits; then hopefully eat a bite!!!

-- Suzy in "Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), May 15, 2000.


I have a little bit different arrangement. I work full time outside the home and am gone for twelve hours a day including the commute. Hubby is home all day. He does all of the housework, grocery shopping, errands, etc. Does he do it as well as I would like? Nope. Do I complain? Nope. He has dinner cooking when I get home so I really don't have to lift a finger. I do wash the dishes and clean up the counters after dinner since he cooks, and I do my laundry. He does his own laundry because when we were first married and we were both working outside the home, he kept leaving his clothes all over our bedroom and I told him if they are not in the hamper, I won't wash them. He never broke the habit so I don't pick up his clothes and he has to wash them himself. I just close the bedroom door when company comes. He uses his own bathroom and is responsible for how often it gets cleaned. I use the guest bathroom and clean it myself. That way when company comes they get to use the one that I keep clean. But the worst problem in our house is keeping the kitchen floor clean. We have eight great danes that live in our house and on a muddy day, which this spring has been almost continuously, we have muddy pawprints across the kitchen floor. He is the one that washes and waxes the floor but the linoleum is so old that it only holds a shine for about a day so we pretty much limit waxing days to the night before we expect company. We have decided that this year we are going to put some new linoleum down so the kitchen will look nicer without always looking like it needs a wax job even though we plan to remodel the whole kitchen in a couple of years.

So, I guess I have just learned to live with his level of cleaning. With our dogs, vacuuming has to be done every other day and sweeping the kitchen floor does too so since I wouldn't want to be doing that myself, and he does it, I'm not going to complain if there are things piled up on the kitchen table. Since I like a clean bathroom and kitchen as far as washing down counters and sinks, etc., I pretty much do those myself so they meet my standards but if the bookcases in the living room need dusting or there are cobwebs on the ceiling corners, I pretty much look the other way. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hubby is also outside a lot taking care of things like mowing lawns, building a greenhouse, plowing and planting a vegetable garden and planting our drying flower beds which is an income producer for us so during the summer I really don't care that much if the house isn't spic and span since other things are happening that are more important to me.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), May 17, 2000.


My favorite housekeeping tip is taking my glasses off when I come in the house...I know my way around, and because I am nearsighted and have astigmatism, too....place looks pretty good, actually! Doesn't work too well for guests. Maybe I could ask them to don old pairs of specs of mine?

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), May 17, 2000.

I also use my mothers philosophy for housework. I won't bother it if it don't bother me. My daughter says if it's not broke, don't fix it!

-- (smjranch@excite.com), May 18, 2000.

sheepish, I really like your housekeeping tip! I too am nearsighted with an astigmatism. From today on, every time I come in the house, I'll take my glasses off, I just know things will be looking better!! LOL!!

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), May 20, 2000.

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