Re: Are you concerned about getting too old to kno... - Page 5

NickNack · ‎03-10-2010

I have a disc problem with my back, and it was getting to the point that it was very hard for me to vacuum my house. It was hard to do other things, too. I would be in bed the rest of the day and part of the next day after I did it. I dreaded doing it and would go too long between times. I like a clean, neat house. I finally ended up getting a housekeeper. It was the best thing I ever did. I think they charge too much, but they clean other people's houses that I know and are very trustworthy. That's important to me. It's money well spent.

The Bluebird Carries The Sky On His Back"
-Henry David Thoreau

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

@house_cat wrote:

Compared to my mom's standards, I'm a slob. She was one of the most fastidious people I've ever known. Then, when she was in her 80s I was living 3,000 miles away from her. I'd visit several times a year and eventually would spend the three or four days cleaning her house - because I knew that if she was aware of how dirty it was getting she would be horrified. My brother and I offered to get her a cleaning service once a month, but she made it clear that she would have no part of it. When I moved her to live near me, I paid for a cleaning service for her and my dad, against their wishes, even though I couldn't afford it at my own house - the reason being that she could no longer see the mess and I couldn't possilby clean both of our homes. Before you think I'm exaggerating the issue, and without getting too graphic, let me just say that my dad had a number of health issues and wasn't capable of cleaning up after himself. Mom had dementia the last few years and simply didn't understand the situation.

I'm almost 59 years old and cleaning my house has become a challenge. I can no longer clean it in one day, and it's not a large house. As a result, I think I'm lowering my standards a bit. Sometimes I find a mess somewhere that stuns me - I can't believe I hadn't noticed it. I'm really concerned that I'm going to be living in a filthy house and won't even know it.

I get it... this sounds crazy. Am I the only one whose ever worried about this?

@house_cat I see it, but just ignore it, lol, and do whatever absolutely has to be done on a given day, and eventually it all gets done, but I am more lax than I was when I was younger. I think I finally decided that I had spent my youth cleaning to perfection, and didn't want to spend my later years doing that, I wanted to do what made me happy and gave me personal satisfaction, first, and I do.

There will always be something to clean in a house, over and over. I am heavy duty cleaning now for the holidays and that will be it until after the holidays, may pass a duster around from time to time, lol.

Regal Bee · ‎07-20-2017

No, I'm not worried about it. Not yet, anyway.

goldensrbest · ‎03-10-2010

I tend to worry about things,but i actually had never thought of this,until now.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

@house_cat wrote:
I appreciate all your responses. I enjoyed reading each one. I'm thinking, though, that I may not have made myself clear. What I witnessed with my mom was that she never stopped caring that her house was clean - it remained a high priority for her until the end. She broke her arm at 91 years old and when the doctor told her to take it slow, the first thing she told him was, "Are you saying I can't make the beds in the morning? I have to make the beds in the morning." She was obsessed with cleanliness and order until the very end, but the irony was that she couldn't see or understand that the beds were made, the living room tidied up, but the house smelled because the bathrooms were filthy and you could stick to the kitchen floor. If she had realized it, she would have been mortified.

I know exactly what you are saying. I take care of a family member who broke her hip. She stayed with me for months after being in rehab for about 6 months. She is in her own home now. I do her grocery shopping and take her to doctor appointments. She was always over the top about keeping everything clean and even color coded... really into clean crazy activities.

When I am at her house, I always clean the bathroom and kitchen. She thinks it is clean, but IMO it’s gross. I don’t mention anything to her because I don’t want to embarrass her. She is now 80 and in addition to her physical problems, she has severe sight loss.

My father used to just rinse dirty dishes and put them back into the cupboard. They were never clean, especially his drinking glasses. I used to have to rewash everything in his cupboards at least once a week. I even bought him paper plates and cups , but he wouldn’t use them.

Life just goes on.....

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

No. My house could use a good cleaning right now, but my only focus is healing my mind and body after my recent surgery.

I am so over that stage of my life where my house needed to be clean enough to pass an inspection. The biggest cleaning challenge for me now is ceiling fans and shower walls. It is easy to dust bare walls and clutter free surfaces, and easy to swiffer/damp mop bare floors. I keep sending far more stuff out the door than I’m bringing in, so I’m not too concerned with my ability down the road.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

My mother used to be such a clean freak. Then when she got older I started noticing things around her house weren't cleaned the way I was used to seeing. Over the years It kept getting worse so I would come to her house and clean. When she became ill with cancer I moved in with her. We had a conversation about cleaning and she mentioned that she had a lot of pain in her shoulders and could not lift her arms comfortably. I asked her if that was the reason for not running the vacuum or mopping the floor and she said "Yes". Poor thing...I didn't even know.

fluffysmom · ‎03-09-2010

My hubs and I are in our late 60's. We came upon a village of cob webs recently that would scare the begesus out of you. It must be the drooping eye lids.

qvcaddition · ‎03-10-2010

I am 81 and still clean my house and do my own yard work. My house has four bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, living room. I also do my own Windows. I have always been fussy. Once a week I dust ceiling or top of shutters and corner of walls. I dust baseboard, furniture, etc. I just finished Painting a bedroom. Now on to a few closet doors. I recently power washed the bricks around the front and back of house.

The only thing I don,t do is get on a ladder anymore. I am obsessed about a clean house, but that is me. Whatever a person does or not do in their house is their choice. When I visit someone, I don,t care what their house looks like, I don,t live there.

My 91 year old friend and her husband still clean their pool, do yard work and her house cleaning. Growing up we always did our own work, never had Gardner's or house cleaners. The kids had their chores.

I know if my house is dirty, which so far so good, no known sickness or dementia.

I realize, some can,f or don,t care anymore or never did, not important to them. Their choice, but as long as I can I will. I also don,t buy so much food that it sits old in the frig. Old people are assumed to do that and some do, but so does my son and his wife.

I feel sorry for those that don,t have the ability any longer, but maybe they don,t care. My home is my haven from the world and I want to feel good and happy in it.

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

I don't worry about it. I just don't like having people in my house. Only close friends.

My daughters keep saying, "You have the money. Why don't you hire a company to come in and keep it clean?" I have papers, numbers, etc laying around. Honestly, I just don't trust people. I've seen and heard too often where things have been stolen. ID's have been stolen and on and on. At my age (soon 71) I don't worry about me, just how difficult it would be for my girls to get things straightened out should that happen.

Many of the the people I know have had their credit card numbers stolen. I'll be talking to strangers and they'll say, "My credit card numbers have been stolen X amount of times". Good grief!

I've had my credit card numbers stolen. Someone broke into the gas pump and stole the magnetic tape that has the credit card numbers and pass word, etc in it. They withdrew $483 in cash from a mom & pop teller machine. Why that amount? Because I was informed by the Wellsfargo investigator because if it was over $500 it would be a felony! I said, "How many people used that pump even within 1 hour? Just think how much money these people got!" He said, "We don't pursue it because it's not worth it to us". Of course not! They pass the cost on to others.

Sorry to go on, it was in December of last year, so I've been thinking about it quite a bit this time of year.

Anyway, that's one of the main reasons I don't hire someone to come in and clean it.