Domesticated Goddess or Free Maid?

I don’t want to be rich and famous. I just want to be rich enough to afford a regular cleaning service.

I don’t know if I am neurodivergent, but perhaps this is a tedium that many people relate to, not only neurodivergents.

The monotony of house chores. The struggle to find the joy in confronting the mess.

Yes, there is a sense of satisfaction when the area is finally cleaned - but stubborn stains and awkward positions really make me wish I had a cleaner.

“Can’t somebody else do it?!” As Homer Simpson once moaned…

I feel like the biggest novelty with hotel stays is just that - somebody else has cleaned up for you. The biggest pet peeve with AirBnb’s is also this issue - a cleaning fee or a checklist of things to be cleaned before vacating?!

Nobody likes living in mess or squalor, but life gets busy, things pile up. We only have so much energy and stamina - and most of the time, we are giving that away to a paid, full or part-time job.

So why are we slaving away in our free time to clean and maintain a level of hygiene?

Of course, hygiene and health is the key here - once you start seeing any potential signs of mould, that’s when things have really gone south.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but working from home full time does blur the lines between time dedicated to sitting in front of a screen, typing away, and time allocated to shut off the screens and do some manual labour like house cleaning.

Sometimes it is a good break, but other times it can feel so depressing.

I’m in one of those whingey moods today and I really wish I had someone else to do it for me - no room in my current budget for such a luxury.

I aspire towards that lifestyle. I will feel as if I’ve “made it” one day when I can comfortably say, “Yes, I have a cleaner. Regular cleaning, every two weeks. Four to five hours.” Etc, etc.

It’s certainly something I’d love to set for myself as a New Year’s Resolution. Let’s get there with our success. Let’s build towards that luxury.

So much energetic baggage with “facing your shit” - quite literally. And today perhaps I am still processing… what had I left to fester for months on end… it’s not a nice feeling. I’m having bathroom clean up PTSD.

Even buying a motorised scrubbing brush didn’t help that much. It was some assistance, but I feel that as I’ve gotten older (and weaker), the brush is giving me enough assistance that I am still at the same level of resistance - it’s still a challenge, even with the brush.

Maybe I need to check my bloods, see if I am deficient in anything. But wow. I am tired today. Maybe I’m still drained from the “high” of Boxing Day sales shopping. Or maybe it was from the recent workout I did with virtual rock climbing in my Oculus Quest (perhap's another day's story!).

Still looking around at the rest of the house - can we get all this cleaned before New Year’s Eve?! I don’t know yet. I don’t dare to set that goal. I don't know why I'm also the only one stressing myself out with this burden. Nobody else cares right now. It's just my Virgo neurotic- thing.

Self-soothing now, if it doesn’t happen, it’s okay - we will celebrate Chinese/Lunar New Year instead. And that event, superstitiously, is the one that matters to me and my family.

You gottta have your house cleaned before the Lunar New Year for good Feng Shui! (Yes, I will definitely write another story on here about that another day!)

The point is, today, if you haven't got the energy to clean - don't beat yourself up about it. As long as the house is hygienic, rather than tidy. Mess and clutter can stay, as long as it's not getting mouldy.