My husband and I are both afflicted with Do-It-All-itis. I think the dictionary defines this syndrome as: “An inability to turn down new opportunities. See also: Losing our minds.” Between the two of us, I think we have seven jobs. SEVEN. Why?! To make matters worse, my husband is a do-it-yourselfer which translates into his trying to fix things before calling on a professional. We will not discuss the disasters and small fortunes invested in his…projects.
All I’m saying is: call a Pittsburgh plumber. Immediately. Like, yesterday. Messing with toilets? NO.
Moving on.
It goes without saying that we feel overwhelmed most days. I’m sure you can relate. Naturally, other things fall by the wayside. Like personal hygiene. I’m not even going to pretend I shave my legs as much as I should. And our house? Two words: hot mess. Take a look at the evidence:
- Here’s our Hurricane Katrina rescue, Hurricane. The husband named her don’t start with me. Anyway, she’s hairy and we have beige carpet, so there’s that…
2. Here we have the Leaning Tower of Clean Dishes That No One Puts Away. We all ignore this tower until it collapses, then the unlucky soul who’s in the kitchen when it happens has to put everything away. Because we’re mature like that. #AdultingLikeABoss
3. This is not a crime scene; it’s evidence a 3-year-old lives here.
4. Finally, this is my office. Where I’m supposed to work. It has morphed into the husband’s storage space and the place where all the kids dump all the things. Also photographed is half of Bella, our 14-year-old Black Lab/Shepherd mix. She follows me everywhere, which I love. She leaves huge black hairballs that fly around the house like tumbleweed, which I do not love.
Now that I’ve shared our mess, let me tell you what I’ve been doing about it: stressing. My chest actually tightens when I walk into a dirty, cluttered room. Laundry is piled high, crumbs are on the counter, the floors need scrubbed the good old fashioned way: on hands and knees. As much as I’ve tried, I just can’t keep up. So I took the advice of a few friends and asked for help.
What a novel idea, eh?
I’ve been embarrassed to admit I can’t maintain the very house I’m in EVERY day ALL day as a work-from-home gal. I’ve tried making and following various cleaning schedules only to have them invariably interrupted by work or life. I’ve tried the “load of laundry a day keeps the I’M OUT OF UNDERWEAR panic away,” but then I forget. I tried, I really did. But there’s only one of me and five other mess-making entities constantly working against my efforts, so it was time to admit defeat. I asked for help not because I’m lazy. Not because I physically can’t do the work. I asked for help in the name of self-care.
Can I just say: GLORIOUS!!!!!!
<insert angels singing here>
Keystone Cleaning Services has given me hours of my life back. My first appointment, a mother/daughter team showed up and I was all “awwwwww–it’s a family!” They showed up a few minutes early because they wanted to talk to me before getting started at 9am sharp. I cannot tell you how happy that made my OCD heart. The first question they asked: “What rooms and stuff should we stay away from?” In case you don’t recognize it, that’s respect for another person’s time and space–it’s rare these days.
After I took them on a quick walk-through of the house, pointing out things that needed more attention than others, they got down to business. And I do mean got down–scrubbing on their hands and knees. In less than two hours, my bathrooms were sparkling, my floors were clean enough to eat off of, and the little nooks and crannies that stressed me out had been taken care of.
I exhaled for the first time in months and it felt goooooood.
It may sound silly or simplistic to say having help like this is a game-changer, but for this season of my life, it truly is. When I’m done with my work, I’m done. I don’t have to sweep or scrub or wipe. Unless we’re talking butts, then I’m still wiping my 3-year-old’s, but I digress.
People of the world, listen to me: self-care means something different to all of us. If you, like me, need a clean house in order to function like a normal human being, ask for help. NOW.
If you book Keystone Cleaning Services now through the end of October, mention my blog for $20 off your first appointment.
Snag a free estimate via phone, text, or email, and check out everything the company has to offer. Businesses, residential, moving–they offer errrything. I customized my cleaning to meet my personal messy needs, and you can do the same. Find Keystone Cleaning Services on social media, and check out their rave reviews. You will not be sorry you handed this chore over to someone else. Game-changed, time-saved, floor-cleaned. Amen.
Full disclosure: this is a sponsored post, but I’m happy to help a local business, especially when it cleans my toilets. CALL THEM NOW!
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