MY CLEANING DREAM // a helping hand around the house

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I’ve made no secret about how much I hate cleaning (as in: with a burning passion that knows no boundaries), but here’s the kicker; I love a clean house. Dilemma. 

But it’s not just an inherent and deep-rooted hatred for all domestic chores, it’s a time factor too. I work (more than) full-time hours, and I’m also sole carer for the girls during the week, as OH heads to work before they wake, and arrives home after they’re in bed.

I used to beat myself up about not having the perfect show home. But then I realised – as I stumbled into bed at 1.30am AGAIN – that it was something that was out of my control; it didn’t matter how much I longed for that picture-perfect, gleaming house, it just wasn’t going to happen. Because there would only ever be 24 hours in each day, and I was already using up 18 of them with work, children, meals, laundry and essential household duties. Unless I wanted to cut even deeper into my six measly hours of sleep a night, something had to give.

In my case, it was that ‘deeper’ cleaning. I did the basics, and we had a lady come once a week for two hours to give the house the once over, and ever so often I’d book someone for one of those bigger spring cleaning jobs, like carpet cleaning from Keen Clean.

But those smaller non-essential jobs always fell off the bottom of the To-Do list. You know the ones I mean – wiping and tidying all the cupboards, washing the interior windows, dusting all those ‘out of sight, out of mind’ places.

I accepted the compromise, but I didn’t like it. Because I wanted a spotless place and because, even in this day and age, it’s still the woman who is held accountable (judged?) by the state of the family home. Yes, it’s unfair. No, it doesn’t give us credit for the fact many of us also juggle families and full-time jobs, but it is what it is.

When I was offered the chance to get a little cleaning help for the home from Fantastic Services, I saw it as the perfect chance to get on top of all those jobs that were overwhelming me. I decided to get all the kitchen cupboards emptied out, cleaned, and reorganised, as they were absolute shambles.

My first impression was how professional the company was; a representative called me beforehand to set up the appointment and to talk over exactly what I wanted. It turned out they didn’t just provide cleaning, in fact they offered a huge range of services – from gardening, carpet cleaning and building work, to rubbish removal, local handyman services (or handy woman, of course), and dog walking. Everything you could possibly need, basically.

On the day on my appointment I arrived home from the school run to find two smartly dressed, smiling women waiting for me. They’d brought all their own equipment and cleaning products with them, and as soon as they got inside they got straight to work. I didn’t know whether to feel impressed and embarrassed as they attacked the cupboards, pulling out a tangled mess of jugs, containers and mismatched glassware, and carefully cleaning out every square inch.

Three hours later my cupboards were gleaming. The plates were neatly stacked, the glasses carefully laid out in rows, and all my random plastic containers neatly tucked inside each other. It had never been so tidy (and probably never would be again).

I think what I loved most was the fact one of those niggly little jobs that’d been hanging over my head for so long was GONE! That peace of mind alone was worth the cost, so much so my devilish plan is to book a team of deep cleaners a couple of times a year, just go get that extra cleaning help for the home.

I might not have much chance to getting ahead with the housework at the moment, but at least they can help me from sliding backwards even further. Sounds like a fantastic compromise!

Next read: Are Dyson vacuum cleaners worth the price tag? Here are my thoughts after buying one.

• our cleaning help for the home was provided by the purpose of review; cleaning photo courtesy of  Shutterstock