Cleaning House: Nobody Can Do Everything

Love this picture, but my dirty TV screen in the background drives me bonkers! 

There's a Mr. Rogers episode where he tells the kids, "Nobody can do everything". For example, he doesn't know how to whistle. However, his friends are really good at it and this delights him. By the end of the show, Mr. Rogers explains that while he can't whistle, he's good at cleaning up. He then tidies up his kitchen.

I just watched the episode with my kids last night before bed. It got me thinking.

Turns out, I'm not good at whistling or cleaning. That's ok. Whistling and cleaning aren't part of my job requirements as a stay-at-home mom.  Oh wait. Half of that is true. Cleaning is sort-of my job. 

Since my husband Rob works really long hours, most of the house keeping chores get put on me. Problem is, I think making beds is a complete bore.  Dusting is the last thing on my (fictional) to-do list. My dishes are cleaned as needed. As a result, most of the time my house is a mess. 

That is, until we have friends coming over. You should see Rob and me scrabble to get to house in order. When the pressure is on, we work as a great team! But it takes all day long to get our apartment looking good. Remember the time I had an impromtu playdate? Yikes. 

Rob has been asking me for years to get a cleaning service. The problem is, he always asked on the days when our apartment was the messiest.  I would get so defensive! Do you know what I've done today?! I'm exhausted! I don't need a cleaning service! I can do everything!  The house is fine anyway. 

So last Saturday when someone from My Clean came over to my house (for my review), I was excited, but didn't think I would use their services again after my comp'd cleaning. I thought it would be a nice one time thing. Ha! I get it now. 

As I was getting ready for the cleaning person to come, I purged a lot of my junk that was filling my house and making it so messy.  I organized all the toys in correct bins. I cleaned out from under my bed. I did not sweep and mop the floors. I didn't dust and scrub the counters. I didn't vacuum. I knew that all that (and more!) was going to be done for me. 

And it was! The woman who cleaned my house was amazing. My house has never looked better. Making the appointment was super easy online, rescheduling was super easy, and now that my credit credit card is on file, it was simple to set up future appointments. They also have a rewards system in place, so eventually I'll get a free cleaning. Yay! I called costumer service twice and each time an actual person picked up the phone and answered my questions without putting me on hold. Got to love that these days.   

I realized now I was in complete denial all these years when I told my husband I didn't need help around the house.  I thought that as a SAHM, signing up for a cleaning service meant I'm wasn't doing my job well. Turns out, in that aspect, I wasn't! I'm good at making my kids an awesome breakfast, taking them out on adventures, and reading them stories. Cleaning? No.

Do you like to clean? Do you have a cleaning service? Has it changed your life?


I liked my experience with My Clean so much, I've already scheduled future appointments.  If you live within Manhattan, Brooklyn or the Bronx and would like to give My Clean a try, use coupon code SqueakyClean to receive 30% off your first cleaning service.  I recommend it. 


Photo By Keith Pitts