My garden is therapy. My house is work. - I need way too much therapy just to keep normal to be able to do the housework too. :o)

I go out to check the mail, and the next thing I know I'm working in the garden, My husband and I call it "joyful work". Much rather be out working in the garden than cleaning house. I love what Phyllis Diller said about housework - she said "cleaning house is like shaving your legs - you do it one day, and six months later you have it all to do over again". I love it !!!

Quote veilchen: "I also live with slobs. Both my husband and my daughter have the gene that gives them the trait to never put anything away. "

Ya got that right about mine, too, except I have a husband and two teen boys! No, my house is frequently very untidy. Occasionally downright dirty. But no one does anything here unless I specifically direct them, and there is only one me. I do all the outside and all the inside. Summer should be better since the boys are home to help, and they do, but they are also HERE a lot more often. I have about given up caring. I prefer outside to inside, so outside I am, as long as the weather is good. I do my housework when it is raining or too hot/cold. Or when I can'r bend from the waist any longer from too much weeding!

lol on the phyllis diller quote. I keep house like i garden. when it gets so messy i can't stand it anymore i go through and do a thorough cleaning. I guess the phyllis diller method more closely resembles my style.

I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incrimanate me...

"Tidy" is a 4-letter word.

Yes, now that the heat is here, I'm not outside constantly but still a lot. But the only reason my house is cleaner is because my DH came to my rescue and bought 2 Roombas that are on timers. They run 3 times a week, and he cleans them out! I work full time and in the past year and a half have basically done nothing else but convert the whole yard into a rose garden. I'm in the homestretch now plus summer is here so my house should start looking much better, ya think? I wish! Housework is SO unappealing. I know I should do it, but... Come to think of it, maybe I need to check my leg hair. Oh, yeah, I did that a week ago. (I'm blessed with fine, sparse, blonde leg hair! On that one I got a break!)

Is this just too much dirty laundry to be airing? (BTW, my laundry is done and put away!!!)

Very fun thread. I've been wondering about this for some time. You all have made me feel MUCH better.

Sherry

Anyone going to join me in knitting spare cats from the shedded cat hair?

In Houston I had a once a week maid. 'Twas wonderful. I no longer felt guilt for not doing housework and my time after work could be spent the way I wanted to.

Gardening is so much more rewarding than housework. I can fall asleep at night wandering through the flowers. Maybe there's someone out there who can remember washing windows well and get the same pleasure...

"Gardening is so much more rewarding than housework. I can fall asleep at night wandering through the flowers."

Oh my God, I do the same thing...fall asleep thinking about my garden! Gardening is truly chicken soup for the soul.

The housework will be there year-round...the garden is only around for a short time. No contest!! :)

I am single with no children or pets, and I bet my house looks worse than those of you who do. When it gets really bad, I invite company over because then I HAVE to clean.

Count me in. My house is clean but not nearly as "picked up" as it is in the winter.

I am a single mom with a two year old, a dog, a cat and a full time job. People often ask me why I bought a house instead of a townhome when we moved last year because of the extra work which clearly I have no time for.

I tell them, "After my daughter, I love my garden most."

And really, who needs sleep?

The garden is immaculate.

I love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anntn6b, I had a good laugh at your question about anyone wanting to join you knitting spare cats from the shedded cat hair! I often wondered what to do with all that hair - now I know.

Sandy

P.S. My house needs a major cleaning right now, but I'm still pine barking. Too tired. And I have 6 blueberry bushes to plant yet. The rest of the roses will be potted until fall because I can't make up my mind where to put them. I do keep the dishes cleaned up and the laundry done when we run out of clothes. The peanut gallery knows better than to complain, because you can only guess what my answer would be.

Luckily, my wife does not expect or ask for any help cleaning the house during any month where a rose might be growing. I did hire a cleaning company so she would not be burdened with all the cleaning, but she did not like spending the money.

Niecey - Could I borrow the kids for a long weekend? I need them to show my kids what cleaning means.

*I also live with slobs. Both my husband and my daughter have the gene that gives them the trait to never put anything away.

*In our zone, we only have a few good months of gardening,

*There is nothing much more annoying than cleaning only to have the other residents not keep up.

*My garden is therapy. My house is work. - I need way too much therapy just to keep normal to be able to do the housework too. :o)

* No, my house is frequently very untidy. Occasionally downright dirty. But no one does anything here unless I specifically direct them, and there is only one me. I do all the outside and all the inside. Summer should be better since the boys are home to help,

*When it gets really bad, I invite company over because then I HAVE to clean.

We are SISTERS I tell ya, If not genetically then kindred spirits at least. I have heard the clean gene skips a generation. My mother was apparently fussy ( I was adopted) and my eldest likes to keep her room 'pretty'. Never mind the rest of the house though.
My parents just chafe when they drop by and the house is a bomb. I tell them if you want to see it clean, make an appointment.
True friends tell me "I came to see you, not your house" and then we continue on to look at the garden.

I guess we do what we enjoy and I enjoy growing roses! I'm not an indoor cleaning person. I even cook less during this time.

I love this post---HA HA-----what house ?????

I've been recovering for over 8 months from hip surgery----I'm not permitted to vacuum-----food shop (bags are too heavy)---dust---( you all know how heavy a feather duster can be)----can't do dishes---it hurts to stand in one place---

My mommie never taught me how to clean---LOL

much easier to prune roses---ha ha--

Florence

Well, for 10 straight months I kept my house AND garden in perfect order. We had the house on the market and had constant showings and it about drove me nuts. Finally the house sold and we just moved into the house we bought 2 years ago! I've been gardening at the new house, and we just threw all our clutter in this house so the other one would look "spacious" haha, but now I can't even get motivated to unpack boxes. You would never guess the same person owned both these houses. True Gemini here. I'm in the garden every minute possible. I finally unpacked the boxes of food over the weekend because we hosted a picnic, but I figure if I keep up on laundry, I don't have to unpack any more clothes boxes until the weather changes! I know where my gardening tools are, and that's all that really matters to me. No, the garden's not neat enough because I'm still shopping clearance sales and adding beds. It will never be tidy by some standards because I like the jungle look. I do love having a spotless house, but I only have so much energy and choose to expend that energy outdoors. How's that for an excuse?

I agree with most of what everyone here is saying. I get so exhausted dusting, vacuuming, mopping just to have to do it all over a few days or week later...esp. with a full time job, 3 cats who shed, and little help with the housework.

I've gotten the same way with cooking. I hate the clean-up, which takes 3x the time it takes to eat it. Now that it's just Gary and me, we do simple food.
And yes, the garden is such a source of joy, such a stress-reliever to me!
:0) Phyl

cindi_in_ks, you said a mouthful of truth.

*** I do love having a spotless house, but I only have so much energy and choose to expend that energy outdoors.

And triple_b said more truth.

*** We are SISTERS!

I feel the guilt oozing away.

Sherry

I'm a person who doesn't like a disorganized mess. For instance 99% of the time I make the bed. HOWEVER, the dusting, vacumming and scrubbing part bores me to absolute tears. I do it once a week, but I hate it. HATE IT! So this year I thought about this when the gardening season arrived and housework days conflicted with the few really nice spring weather gardening days: when I'm laying on my death bed will I say "Thank God I spent all those weeks, months, years dusting furniture instead of tending to my roses". I've now changed my ways. The bed will still be made at my house but the dust and grime can accumulate for a few weeks during the spring. I want to enjoy God's good earth while I still can.

Aha! I don't need to add anything because you all have already said it for me. Excuse me now while I leave the dishes in the sink and go out to weed my back rose bed. LOL

Kate

I love interior decorating and having a beautiful house that's tidy. BUT, I don't like to clean. I've found that if it's tidy and the major surfaces are dusted and the dishes washed people think it's clean. Gosh, I hope that's not being deceptive. Oh well, who cares, we don't get much company anyway and prefer it that way. Fortunately, I haven't had many people get on their hands and knees to look under the couch. (Although it would have given them a chance to study the local wildlife.) My mother and grandmother were paragons of cleanliness and I vowed I'd never work as hard as they did. To this day I've kept that vow. The words spring cleaning have never passed my lips.

Ingrid

A little something someone emailed to me:

House Cleaning
I don't do windows because.....
I love birds and don't want one
to fly into a clean window and get hurt

I don't wax floors because....
I am terrified a guest will slip and get hurt
then I'll feel terrible (plus they'll probably sue me)
I don't mind the dust bunnies because.....
They are very good company, I have named
most of them and they agree with everything I say

I don't disturb cobwebs because.....
I want every creature to have a home of their own.

I don't Spring Clean because.....
I love all the seasons and don't want
the others to get jealous.

I don't pull weeds in the garden because....
I don't want to get in God's way, He is an
excellent designer.

I don't put things away because....
My husband will never be able to find them again.

I don't do gourmet meals when I entertain because.....
I don't want my guests to stress out over what to
make when they invite me over for dinner.

I don't iron because....
I choose to believe them when they say:
"Permanent Press"

REMEMBER: A CLEAN HOUSE IS THE SIGN OF
A BROKEN COMPUTER!!!

Well my house is a disaster... and with 3 boys, all of their friends... 4 cats, a hubby and my mother, there's no way it isn't going to look like a hurricane just flew through...

However... my garden is ALSO a major disaster... so I have no excuses...

I need 40 hours a day...

HA HA HA HA HAH!!!!!!

(I think Decobug and I must be twins.) I don't even do housework in the wintertime! We're ALL slobs. Actually, my son's friends are neater than the rest of us. I'm surprised they aren't embarassed to come over!

I bet I haven't mopped my kitchen since Xmas! That's the annual floor mopping time. Luckily I have darkish blue and brown marbled-looking tile... the spills look like part of the floor design. Every once in awhile somebody has to actually use some water to wipe the spilled stuff if it's sticky. But other than that, it can wait til next Xmas. maybe...

I keep meaning to clean the livingroom ceiling fan, but it's too much hassle to get the step ladder out. I guess that must be why my allergies are bad when the fan's running....

And the bathroom??... oh... we won't even go there! I better quit while I'm ahead.

You guys are great!!!! I thought I was the only one who couldn't/wouldn't keep up with the housework. Here I've been feeling guilty all these years absolutely needlessly. Thank you so much for this thread. LOL!!

"I need 40 hours a day..." Decobug is so right! If I were to do all the things I should, take care of all the things, people, pets and plants that depend on me, that's what I would need. Since I can't stretch out the hours in the day any further, I've just decided to LIVE. That means to me enjoying what I enjoy and patting myself on the back whenever I get any chore accomplished, no matter how small. It's all progress, right? And as I've learned well, if I don't get to it, whateveritis will still be there waiting for me when I get around to it.

(Isn't it funny how dust blows in, but never seems to blow away?)

Anne

I try to clean on days that it is storming. If it is just rain I'm outside. I figure a little rain never hurt anyone besides, I won't melt. But, if there is Lightning.... it's time to clean the house. Someone is trying to tell me my house needs a severe cleaning cause we have had a lot of storms with lightening lately.

My mother kept her house spotless her whole life. And she would never go anywhere as she was afraid "something" might happen to the house while she was gone. When she died we found a basement full of unused suitcases -- bought, I suppose, "in case" she did decide to go somewhere. The message in this -- a wasted life keeping a little house spotless & never having any fun.
Do what makes you feel warm & happy inside -- & for me that means being "outside". How awful to be remembered for keeping a house spotless.

If you'd like some dog fur to add to your cat fur - I've got plenty! My house is an absolutely mess - if a tornado hit it might actually clean things up a little, but I've decided I'm tired of battling the three teenagers, three cats, 8 year old, and two house dogs trying to keep the house clean when I have some time off from my two jobs and being a mother - I'll wait until the teenagers grow up to clean my house - thank you very much! The kids are all major couch potatoes so the odds of them going outside and "wrecking" my gardens are next to none, so most of my energy outside of work goes into keeping the flower beds weeded, watered, etc. Last night my 8 year old had a ball game and one of the kids slid into home base. When he got up, he wiped off the base. I asked DH if we could trade him in for one of our other kids who don't clean.

I read this quote in Architectual Digest years ago and have never forgotten it. Its by Mario Buatto, a famous decorator. He said: "Dust is a protective coating for fine furniture".
Judith

MG-when do you need them.lol.
Don't get me wrong is not like enjoy cleaning,
I actually hate it cuz I'm always tired.
Thank god for my kids.(Its too bad that they hate outdoors, cuz I would have them also doing the garden.)

Niecey

THANK GOD I finally found people that are like me!!! I'm of the saying "hey, house work won't kill you, but why take the chance???" maybe a Phyllis Diller line too? I'd rather be peaceful and work outside and see my efforts last more than 5 minutes than run around cleaning when the other occupants mess it up. I'm just not anal that way. And I know why. My mom was so interested in having the pattern in the carpet the vacuum cleaner made that she did it and other things EVERYDAY!! Mind you, inside a cabinet could be a wreck, but it had to "look good". That is not my thing. I do the general things when needed and when I go on a tear I really clean and that over comes me every so often or if I have a party. I guess that stress is why I don't really like to entertain. Right now I'm supposed to be finishing up packing for our trip to Hawaii tomorrow but I'd rather check in here and then look at my pretties outside. I'll fit the packing in somewhere....

Aha! Not been cleaning your ovens often enough, eh? Tch tch.
I used to be in a garden club. We hosted a huge district meeting at a huge church. They were kind enough to let us use their kitchen. I didn't notice big problems in their kitchen but many of the other ladies got very high and mighty about how " filthy" the kitchen was and let the church know in no uncertain terms that we would not want to use their kitchens again. What a load of shame they dumped on those church ladies. (ladies? why is it the ladies' fault?)
Garden club people visiting my garden said, " I don't know how you can have time to clean your house." I said, "Ahhh.. I'm not that in to cleaning."

I parted ways with the club for several reasons, but one reason was because I like to garden more than clean.

I do think housework is honorable and that cleaning is a way of caring, but not if it's driven by fear of the dustball police.
Linda

I do think housework is honorable and that cleaning is a way of caring, but not if it's driven by fear of the dustball police.
Linda amen to that.

Whatever you do, do it verily as unto the Lord.

PeggyOregon, I have a mother that actually gets satisfaction out of cleaning. How I feel is it's great to have things clean but it doesn't give me a "special" feeling about clean rooms,lol.
It is sad.
KATE, I'll bet you are tidy!

Carla

Back when I worked in Houston, there was a period where I traveled more than I wanted to. (And my checked luggage met me about once a month.)
On the plane from Denver to somewhere east, two ladies were sitting next to me and one was telling the other how she washed all the windows in her house EVERY WEEK.
OK, you know I just had to butt in.
And I did it as nicely as I could. I explained I was a scientist and did she know that glass wasn't really a solid, but a liquid that wasn't quite solid. And that that much action on a glass surface wasn't really good for the glass. And that she shouldn't wash the windows that often, but only when they needed it.
You should have seen the grin on her face (and the smile on her friend's.)

We have a big house and no furniture. We've spent lots of $$$ on our garden, lawn furniture, outdoor decoration, and of course roses. But we don't have furniture inside our house. No dining set, no sofa. We've been in our house for 5 years. We hired a cleaning crew so I could spend more time with the children on the weekends. But with no furniture to dust, they actually have it easier, right?

I'm glad I'm not the only one that concentrates on the garden more.

Guess I'm kind of the opposite -- I have to have the house clean cause the garden is a pit. Between the containers (used and unused), the pot ghetto, the materials in various stages of use (anyone need lattice?), all the bamboo sticks of various sizes, the little buckets of weeds and deadheaded or clipped material that I collect from here and there as I'm going along my tasks, the tools scattered everywhere, old newspapers for layering, bags of compost and peat moss and top soil, pages of plans, bags of fertilizer and amendments and bottles of all-seasons oil, and the patio furniture, of course... it's a hot and holy mess.

Having both the garden and the house a mess would drive me out of my mind. Honestly don't think I could deal with all the chaos. You'd probably find me over in a corner rocking and hugging a rose bush...

I need the clean house to help me clear my mind from all that's swirling around in it from working on the garden...

You'd probably find me over in a corner rocking and hugging a rose bush...
* * *
Hopefully a thornless one, and not Mermaid or something like that.

The outside is mine and the house is my wife's That's what she said, not me.
I also take care of my computer/bedroom but that suffers during gardening season and the rest of the year, too. The area around my computer is filled with stacks of reference books and papers, to be sorted and put away when it rains or in winter.

Triple b,I agree about the skipping a generation thing. My grandmother was cleaning-obsessed but my mother couldn've cared less. I like things very clean and hate clutter. My 14 year old daughter is the messiest person I've ever encountered.

My husband and I have been married 17 years and it has taken all I have to train him to pick up certain things once in a while. Now I am starting all over with our daughter.

I have gone through 3 Roombas, loved them when they worked but they kept breaking down.

Maybe now that it is Fall, we can get back to this again. I am glad I am not the only one!

I have major medical issues (that involve flare-up & times that are fairly OK), but I was messy before that. The thing about the garden is that when I am feeling pretty good, I just do the garden. That way, it can grow on its own while I am down. One year, I tried to do both, and when "down" came along, the house got messier anyway, and there wasn't much food because I split my time trying to do both.

I have kids that do what I ask pretty much (great kids!), but I have to do more fussing with my son to get there. However, he is mildly autistic--Asperger's--so just the transition of going from what he is doing to doing something else is where the struggle lies. Once his mind is on track, he gets the job done.

I threatened to buy a roto-tiller, so my husband said he would dig. It took a bit to get him to dig before, but I guess he doesn't want to deal with a machine not used that often. I have always hand-dug--myself, my whole life--but with the med issues, I am not always able.

As far as the house goes, I am merssy, not dirty (usually). I am a bit of a pack-rat, but it is good stuff. In the winter, sitting idle is NOT something I can do. I knit hats for babies in the hospital, pack seeds for the needy, all kinds of things to keep hands busy--even while the TV is going. So, I have bins/totes full of yarn (from hitting the sales when they are there), an entire wall shelf that goes withing a foot of the ceiling full of various beads, lots of gardening books...and here is what makes it all look so bad: we have an 850sq ft 2-bedroom house, and there are 4 of us. My husband is a carpenter, so half the one-car garage is full of extra building materials. Really, who could pass up several sheet of plywood? They were used to block stairways so that prople wouldn't use them during construction, and then unnecessary after (headed for the dumpster). We gat a bay window free and sliding glass doors. You get the picture.

I do not Spring clean. I Fall clean. I makes more sense for me. I host Thanksgiving for my family, and I do a big thing on Christmas Eve. So, I Fall clean & have the holidays. During the winter, in a clean house, I do my charitable activities, read about gardening, peruse the gardening catalogs, and get ready. Then I bring out the dirt for staring seeds. The windows fill up with plants over the next few months. That can get messy. When it is time to harden off. Plants go in and out. That gets messy. Of course, I clean meanwhile. Then the muddy shoes, then the soil amendments (aka manure), then the filthy clothes. Then losing 5 pounds in the tub at night--hey, if you don't you haven't gardened! When the weather warms, I have kids in and out, as well as myself, and I cannot imagine hollering every time a dirty shoe comes inside. So my Fall clean starts the "cleanliness", and it goes downhill form there.

Maybe this is TMI, but it is so great to find others who will focus more on the garden than the house. As long as my health hold up, I garden constantly. I had Lyme Disease in '06 & '08. It is rampant here (doctor's words). I am ready to go to Maine or something. They have a bit of Lyme up there. Well, it may be good for the house too. It would be a longer winter (clean house time) and a shorter summer (poop & dirt time).

I do keep the meals, dishes, laundry, bathroom caught up. After that, DIY, or it will stay there. Poop on that too!

Mom's need to have fun! The food is plentiful, nutricious, and delicious!

Robin

Although I know this thread is old it is timely for me. Once things start to really ebb in the garden I seem to just suddenly notice all the things I have opted not to notice since springtime. And then its a major wake up call! The last three weekends I've started doing major clean up around the house, cleaning out all the kitchen cabinets, the shed, yesterday I cleaned out the laundry room which was a major undertaking. I guess its what a lot of people do during the spring if they either don't like to garden or are WAY more organized than me.

Last night the thoughtful deer trimmed my roses for me also so that's one less thing to worry about:) We had rain all weekend long which in California has become a rare and wonderful thing so I can't blame the deer for being on the move. The precipitation was just so wonderful it was hard not to feel for the deer in what I'm sure has been a very hard year for them.

Kate

Unfortunately with the kind of weather we have in N Georgia you can almost work outside year round. So needless to say my home gets cleaned just enough to get by with. That is unless we have a big get together then the whole family has to get up off their booties and help clean, clean, clean. Accompanied with ALOT of complaining from allllll of them.

Kate my deer decided to trim my roses the last couple of days also. I get so aggravated because I have hardly seen any blooms from my Disneyland which they apparently LOVE!!

Plan to do some closet and cabinet cleaning this next couple of months but when March gets here thats it!!

4 messy kids + 1 messy husband-1 mom trying to keep it clean+1 mom who is a teacher working 70+ hours each week= Messy house!LOL!

I wish my dh was a neat freak...ugh! He thinks his job when he gets home is to eat dinner and play video games.

Sunni

Sunni:

By all means do not feel alone! I'm sure we could start a whole new thread on our spouses:) My husband works hours more like yours and behaves like a teenager when at home. Reads science fiction novels at night until 2 a.m., can barely rise in the morning and when he does gets up, drinks coffee, showers and walks out the door. He can't figure out why I'm five minutes late to our office every days since I'm doing all the morning chores before coming in:)

We've all got our little isms I suppose.

Kate

HA, this is so funny!

My garden reflects my mental state. On a normal day, there's some weeds, but overall things look generally tidy. When I am VERY stressed out or upset, the garden somehow becomes absolutely IMMACULATE. Not a weed to be found, everything deadheaded, perfectly edged, and mowed. I suppose it's a way of exerting control over something.

My house is almost always cluttered somewhat with my daughter's stuff. I now understand why my own mom used to refer to me as Gretel--because I was always leaving a trail. :)

Once a week the house gets picked up, swept and spot cleaned. But, I, like most of the other posters here, would much rather be fussing in the garden then in the sink or bathroom cleaning!

Elaine

I would say that my both my house and garden are presentable most of the time but not perfect. I don't like clutter in the house, but I'm not into cleaning the corners, dusting the cobwebs, washing the floor every week, or pulling every last weed in the garden. Most of my friends don't notice, or at least are kind enough not to say anything :)