All Spick and Span

I read a tweet on Twitter yesterday that said "I do more cleaning 10 minutes before people come round than I do all week." It made me chuckle as it conjured the image of a lady dashing madly round the house flinging things into the nearest drawer or cupboard. Wiping the sides down with an odd sock and sweeping various wrappers and bits of food under a strategically placed shaggy rug.

My husband is arranging a barbque for tomorrow afternoon. I have left it pretty much up to him what food there is, who is invited and who brings what. I'm not massively keen on burnt food that tastes of charcoal but he loves them. I love the company and conversation while he likes doing the cooking and tasting, so it works perfectly.
He has popped out to borrow the barbque so I thought I would have a quick wipe round in the bathroom before making a cup of tea. I ended up with several bottles of gloop, sponges and cloths. Nearly an hour later and smelling of bleach, I emerged from the bathroom satisfied that tomorrows guests will not judge us on the state of the bathroom. I then set to work on the kitchen sink and draining board that are tea stained and dulled with limescale. A further quarter of an hour and they are sparkling again. I thought at this point I should put the kettle on and write something while I have the chance. 

Why is it we get the urge to turn our houses into a show home just because someone is coming round? If cleaning is the first thing to get dropped when life gets hectic, is a clean home a sign that we are coping with all life throws at us? Are we really that concerned with how other people view our homes? Does our house reflect more about us than we really think? I have no idea. I read somewhere that a tidy house means a tidy mind, or if your house is cluttered you can't think straight. (From that guess what our house is like ha ha!!) I think there may be more than a grain of truth in that. 
Things would be a LOT easier here if things were put back in the same place rather than just put down when they are finished with! It would completely eliminate the need for endless searching for things. It would also be great if things could be cleaned when they are finished with as I get thoroughly fed up with having to clean things before I can use them, like the grill, saucepans and the toilet!! 

I am fed up of being the only one who cleans in a house of an ever increasing number of males. I decided to do something about it! I have made a chart of the main jobs than need doing every week and how often they need doing. It is covered in stick backed plastic (Blue Peter eat your heart out!) so you can wipe it clean every week if you use a white board pen. Once a job is done just tick the box for that job under the right day. 

We are at the end of week one and so far so good. Some of the jobs have been missed or not done yet but the principle of it works.

My brother in law is staying with us for a while as of next week and he has been warned about the new job schedule. He will be expected to partake in some Marigold action along with the rest of us (and with some yet unmentioned babysitting mwahahahahaaaaa!!)
I shall update you on the success of the chart. With Chaos ripping off old wallpaper and pulling up floor tiles, I feel we could be a long way off show home standards for quite some time or until he leaves home!!