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Title: Ep 20: Let's Keep it Clean
Hot Topic: Finstagram Accounts
Show Notes: In this episode we talk about our front porch area and how it's driving us a bit crazy this week. We also discuss having house keepers or hiring other help for your home, and share some thoughts on why there might be negative stigma around that, and figuring out if it makes sense for you.
CLJ Posts Mentioned:
How I Gained 50K Instagram Followers Rapidly & Organically
Other Posts Mentioned:
Making it Lovely - Honor Roll
New York Times - On Fake Instagram - A Chance to Be Real
Emily A. Clark - Do You Have a Housekeeper
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Theme song Headphones by Preston Pugmire
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Listening to your podcast right now... regarding porch furniture, I was in the same predicament when we moved a couple of years ago. After scouring stores and coming up empty, we found EXACTLY what I wanted on Craigslist. Best of luck! Love your blog; this is my first time listening to the podcast, but not the last!
I just listened to this podcast and I hear you on feeling like you had to clean before the housekeeper comes over. I have my lady do minimal amounts (bathrooms and floors) but I feel like she would look down on me in some way. She ended up being awesome (found her through someone else that uses her, no website :) ) and she brings treats for my kids and encourages me to play with my 2 year old while she is there.
I no longer clean before she comes and am sometimes still in my pajamas (depending on the day). And I'm in Southeast Idaho as well and it's HARD to find anything. Seriously.
I struggled in my own mind with hiring a housekeeper for several years. It's not so much that I felt it was something I SHOULD do on my own, but as the "accountant" of our family affairs I knew it was a place in our budget where we could save money. However, with two young kids at the time (now we have four!) and working full time, I found that I was often feeling stressed, irritated, and mildly depressed that the house was never cleaned all at once. Bathrooms might be scrubbed, but the floors in the main areas were filthy. Countertops might be nice and tidy and floors mopped, but I didn't get the stairs vacuumed or the bedrooms dusted before something else came up. And just forget about doing baseboards once a month (or year) or dusting the fans. I just wanted my whole house to feel and SMELL clean all at once if even for only five minutes! My husband actually encouraged me for the longest time to hire someone, but I kept saying, "No, I can do it. I don't want to spend money on that." But then a few years ago the stress of it finally became too much and I called in help. I do not exaggerate when I say that it changed my life! Now, even though our lives are still chaotic much of the time chasing around four kids and just doing life in general, I know that once a week (started out as once every two weeks) I can come home from work and take in the deep breath of a clean house. All of it. CLEAN! It's the best money I've ever spent, and I will continue to carve out space in our budget for this service because the impact on me personally is so deep. Loving the podcast guys! I listen on my commute to work in Dallas every Monday and find myself laughing out loud often. A real bright spot on a Monday - thank you!!
On the hiring help for your home. I've had someone come to our house for almost 15 years (saying that just feels horrible) but we didn't rush into it. Sounds like we're lazy but we are not, I actually love to clean and find it very therapeutic. It was just a time management issue and my OCD with keeping a clean home. Both my husband and I live 30 mins outside NYC and with time our jobs got more demanding. We realized we were spending 50 hrs working and 10 hours commuting. Our weekend time was spent cleaning, running errands and off to soccer/softball games/practice, recitals, all which left little room for down time. So we had someone come to the house 1x a month then over time it grew to 2x a month and for the last 5 years, she comes on a weekly basis. As our careers grew so did the help around the house. After a long hard day, its the most amazing feeling in the whole world. Clean bedding, floors scrubbed (even under the bed) Yes, somethings are moved around, but nothing I can't put back. If you can do it, I highly recommend it.
Sounds amazing.
I have a question I was hoping you might be able to address on the podcast at some point. We have been in our first home for a few years now but most of the stuff in it we bought because it was affordable or we were given by family members. None of it was actually my style or even the same style. As I am switching things out to reflect what I like, some items I bring in and love really clash with the items I already have. So my question is, as I am buying new things for my home, do I buy things I love love love even if they look kind of weird with everything else right now (but will look cohesive when I'm finished) or do I buy things that look good with what I already have so my home feels cohesive right now even if I don't love them as much? I don't want my home to feel even more incongruous than it already does but if I love the new stuff and I'm getting rid of the old stuff, does it matter?
I love hearing other people's opinions on cleaning companies. For the longest time after we had our daughter, we couldn't keep up with housework and I was always stressed about it (hello, DIY projects AND we both have full time jobs!). Finally I hired a company to come once a month to see how it went. I do have to clean before they get there, but that is stuff that should be done anyway like picking up clutter and making sure all the dishes are done. They can focus on deep cleaning without the clutter being in the way and they change the bedding!! It's fantastic, it's so nice to come home to a clean house. It's definitely worth it.
LMAO about cleaning before the cleaning person gets there! Brought back memories of my dad full on vacuuming the house and forcing my sister and I to clean our rooms from top to bottom the night before our cleaning lady came over when I was a kid. I'd come home for lunch and find her doing all these crazy once-a-year kind of chores every week because there was no other cleaning for her to do! I think she actually quit out of boredom! Anyway, thanks! I love your podcast and the blog. Keep up the great work!
Interesting episode! I have a cleaning company coming to my house every other week. At first I used to think that my place has to be clutter free before then come. But then I talked to the owner and she assured me that it doesn't. As long as there's not toys everywhere, they take café of the rest. In Sweden it's kind of unusual to be middle class and have Andy sort of domestic help. However, it's changing since they've changed the tax regulation making it more affordable. I'm so happy with my help, it gives me the opportunity to work full time and be a dedicated mom, not needing to worry about cleaning.
Stupid autocorrect, then don't take "café" of it, they take CARE of it. Of course!
I'd love a link to the rocking chairs you bought. Please... pretty please.....
Excited to hear your thoughts on hiring help! Sadly, Episode 19 is still missing from Stitcher :(
Nevermind: found ep.19 on google play. Not sure why I missed seeing the link for google play before :)