<p>Until you see a rat… that will get you to take them out weekly! That is what would happen in our area if I left the trash outside for that long…</p>
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<p>You would be surprised how dirty windows get. DH always insists on having our windows professionally cleaned twice a year. I always say “but they don’t look bad to me.” And once the window cleaners are gone, I always say "WOW! I had no idea they were so dirty! Look at all this light coming in! Look how green the trees are outside! "</p>
<p>“I hate doing dishes (wet hands yuck!) and taking out the trash to the bins in the alley.”</p>
<p>I, too, seem to have some hang-up about wet hands. lol If I can figure out a way to not touch certain things I do it. I’m not a neat-freak so I don’t know where the “wet hands” thing comes from. </p>
<p>and, I hate touching trash. That’s why I confess to letting the kitchen bin fill up so H will take it out. I don’t even like touching the trash bags. lol If I have to, I wash and then slather hand sanitizer. </p>
<p>BUT…and I know this is INSANE…I do not mind changing babies’ diapers…and I’ll change any baby’s diaper. I’ve changed tons of other peoples’ babies’ diapers. For some reason that doesn’t gross me out.</p>
<p>I am totally fantasizing about down-sizing to 3 BR and 2 BA condo/townhouse or patio home. I do want a small patio/planter area. I still want my rose bushes and herb garden. </p>
<p>Bookiemom…you live in a rural area, but can you get to a Costco every once in awhile and stock up on some freezer stuff (like lasagne)? Does your H cook? (mine doesn’t 
but since his mom didn’t cook, he’s thrilled with whatever I throw down. 
) You may need to do those Two-Day Meals…where you cook something for one day, and then the leftovers can be used for something totally different the next day. My friend cooks meatloaf one day, and then cuts the leftovers up into smallish squares to be “meatballs” in spaghetti the next day. </p>
<p>We live on a dirt road so unfortunately must do our windows a few times a year. No professional, just us. Yes, they’re really, really dirty.
I don’t much mind them. Most of the time we just kind of hose 'em down and it does the trick. Luckily, tiny house and one story 
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<p>Cleaning the cat box… we have 2 cats.</p>
<p>My window washer retired! Not good. Truly a treat! I can do the windows fine but he did a much better job. simply a matter of lowering standards.
Hate bathroom cleaning but hubbie hates dirty bathrooms more so he gets there first usually. I can always outlast him.
Laundry is easy. If you need it–it’ll be neatly folded in a bag somewhere waiting to be put away…</p>
<p>" As a general rule, I don’t like to pay other people to do things for me that I am capable of doing for myself." - It’s a personal preference thing. No problems here with that idea, when easily affordable. DH and I both work full time (sometime 50 or more hours per week). It’s nice when we can use of some of our earnings to support those who want to work. Win-Win. </p>
<p>Now finding people we trust can be a challenge. We were spoiled by a housekeeper we trusted (she was helping raise a grandson who had been in daycare with DS), but alas she moved away. </p>
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<p>Haha, me too! But then, like atomom, my standards are low. :)</p>
<p>Re dirty/wet hands, in recent years I use rubber gloves A LOT. It makes things more pleasant, and quicker (it’s faster to whip the gloves on and off than it is to wash the hands). Plus my skin doesn’t get so battered.</p>
<p>Ironing. Cleaning baseboards. Sweeping. Putting groceries away. Unloading dishwasher! </p>
<p>So far, unloading the dishwasher and putting laundry away top most everybody’s list. Too bad we can’t figure out a way to make those tasks pleasant. </p>
<p>One thing that I HAVE done for years is separate family member’s laundry before washing it. Everyone has their own hamper, does their own laundry and we don’t combine clothes when washing very often. Yes, this means smaller loads but it also means no mixed up sox, underwear, etc. Well worth it to me.</p>
<p>LasMa, I agree about rubber gloves. I will not do dishes without them, let alone clean a bathroom or do some other unpleasant task.</p>
<p>Another loathsome task I forgot to mention is paying bills and dealing with the paper that results. I have a shredder but it doesn’t do a lot at once and I am not in the habit of shredding as I go. It would help to have a designated office, but I don’t have space for one in my current house. So I have bags of old bills waiting to be shredded and although I keep my eyes open for shredding events around town (where you can bring all your stuff to be safely disposed of) I have never found one.</p>
<p>I have worked for something like 44 years, and during my working life things either didn’t get done at all, or I hired someone to do them. My house was always messy. Now that I’m kinda sorta semi-retired, and the work I do do is from home, I am quite frankly enjoying some housework. I still have someone come in every other week to handle the routine stuff, but last night I was on the floor of my front hall with a damp paper towel, getting mud spots off the baseboards and the lower walls. I love my new house (well, new to us; we’ve been here 17 months now) and really want to keep it nice. </p>
<p>"paying bills "</p>
<p>This is one job that has been made much easier with Auto Pay. Love that. I don’t have to pay bills anymore…every month, bills just get paid. Love paperless billing, too.</p>
<p>Cleaning the fans. </p>
<p>Everything else I can “get in the mood” for, but not cleaning the fans. No. There is nothing satisfactory that arises from the fall of dead cells, danders, and hair onto my face and in the air. </p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>My new Dyson has this odd attachment that when I saw the video, I realized is for cleaning ceiling fans. Amazing. </p>
<p><a href=“Vacuum accessories | Dyson | Dyson”>http://www.dyson.com/tools/u/up-top-tool/uptoptool-iron.aspx</a></p>
<p>Kitty litter boxes- yes, I hate cleaning those too. This week’s icky job was pulling out the stove and cleaning underneath it. Not fun but at least it doesn’t have to be done often. Next should be the fridge but it is a bear to move.</p>
<p>^^Hmmm, I’m going to see if our vacuum has one of those. </p>
<p>My favorite part about cleaning the litter is pouring the new litter and smelling the “fresh kitty litter” smell. #Isthatweird?</p>
<p>About emptying the dishwasher… I disliked it a lot, until I timed how long it took me. Typically, less than three minutes. Now I just do it.</p>
<p>“About emptying the dishwasher… I disliked it a lot, until I timed how long it took me. Typically, less than three minutes. Now I just do it.”</p>
<p>lol…isnt’ that true about a lot of chores? Many people hate to make the bed, but really…how long does it take (I don’t mean perfect, but decent?)</p>
<p>I used to tell my kids…“You spend more time complaining about having to do a chore than it would take to DO the chore!” </p>
<p>I think one of the points of those articles about “keep your home clean spending 15 minutes a day” is that if you do 6-7 of those “couple minute chores” each day, your home will stay much neater. After seven days of doing 40+ of those “couple minute chores” a home should look pretty good. </p>
<p>Emptying the dishwasher is tedious. (Silverware basket is my least favorite part.) But I like that it is easy/quick, with defined completion. </p>