Wish I Had Done This Sooner...Follow

Now that I'm in bachelor mode again, I've come to realize that I'm shite when it comes to housecleaning. Sure, I can vacuum, mop (hate mopping - it's a navy thang), clean the showers/tubs, clean the toilets and sinks, wipe down the kitchen counters and stove top, and even some dusting. I can do it all - except on a regular schedule. So I hired a cleaning service to come in and get the place looking spiffy. Not only will I have properly cleaned home on a scheduled basis, it also allows me better use of my free time.

I usually let the dogs come through this doggy-door contraption that sits inside the sliding glass door frame in the kitchen. But they bring in dirt, mud (when it rains/snows) right into the kitchen floor and the place quickly gets filthy. So I'm going to get this doggy door installed into my basement door. The basement door is usually covered by storm doors which I'll leave open - hopefully, the drain at the bottom of the stairs will keep the basement from flooding. That way, any dirt, etc. that they drag in will be left on cheap, old carpeting in the unfinished basement and by the time the pooches get upstairs, most of the dirt will be off their paws.

Aside from acts of violence or neglect, how do you keep your pets from dirtying up your home?

No pets, but with the kids, all their sports gear, balls, bats, sticks, mitts, etc were left on the porch along with shoes. Can you train your dogs to use a whisk broom?

Good idea about the cleaning person. We've never used one as I'm pretty apathetic about a clean house, but I know at least a couple 'couples' who's relationships were saved by hiring out the weekly cleaning chores.

We just keep a bunch of old towels by the door. We wipe their feet off when they come in.

If your pets are indoor / outdoor then they're going to bring in whatever dirt was outside. The only way you can keep the house clean is to limit the animals to the basement until you get home to clean them or else remove all the dirt from your yard.

Astroturf. Cement over it. Put a roof over it.

Well, my brother talked me out of doing the basement door thing for a couple of reasons:


1. If it rains all day, the bottom of the stairs will flood into the basement.

2. Leaving the Storm Door (Bilco doors) open invites thieves to hop the fence, walk down the basement stairs and bash open my basement door (even if bolted) with nobody to see them. So that's out. Of course, if they really want to mess with my 85 lbs. American Staffordshire Terrier mix beastie, Dashiell, my 74 lbs. basset hound of fury, and to be pummeled by my 55 lbs.-allergy-inducing labradoodle, then they would do so at their own risk!

So the house is looking awesome and I let the dogs back up from the basement. Not 5 minutes go by when Snorre Jr. tracks in mud all around my newly mopped floor. I wiped it up and grabbed a carpet remnant in the basement and stuck it by the doggy door. I quickly mopped up the floor - so I think I can manage this even if it requires a little mopping each day.



Well, I just had my **** collection out on display so they wouldn't feel the need to snoop. I'm lucky that I'm off work every Friday so I can be around to keep tabs on the cleaning crew. They were very professional and did a fantastic job. They're on a "every other week" schedule and I'm going to see how that goes. If the place doesn't get dirtied up too fast, I may scale it back to a "once a month" schedule. Overall, I'm a happy camper.

Cats smell bad. (at least to non cat people) plus scooping crap outta a bin is not my idea of laughs.

Shows how well I have been paying attention...I had no clue you were now single.

Hey bud - yup, back on the east coast again, too. I'm thinking a tour of the Carolinas is on my agenda this summer for a boozefest meet up.

You still playing EQ or are you playing something else now?

On both sides of your pet flap I'd have some welcome mats, and inside the house a large square of ok looking but stiff/rough/deep carpet, or a big rug. Make sure it's got a pattern that dirt will get lost in.

We have two standard poodles, who, while they are non-shedding, still track in all manner of things from the outside. We've found that simply picking up after them (and ourselves) as they mess up the house is the easiest way to keep the ol' homestead clean. That being said, while our children were still at home there was no way to truly keep the place tidy. Kids, unless they are obsessively neat like my college roommate, are just plain chaotically filthy creatures, thus ensuring that any cleaning will be undone in a matter of minutes.

My advice is to just let your house be semi-messy, knowing that in a few short years they'll (the dogs and children) be gone, leaving you wishing they were around to dirty the house up again just so you have somebody to look after.

Totem

Lol, love the bassett hound. I always liked that breed.

totem