Chores - 31 Things Day 13

I used to be better about cleaning. 

In our apartment I made sure to deep clean once a week. Of course, that was before kids, and a time when Andrés and I spent more time out of the house than in it.

Seven years later, in a three-story house that isn’t necessarily big, but much bigger than our apartment, I find that once a month is more like my cleaning schedule. I have a hard time keeping up. Most days I feel like I am the only person doing much of any cleaning, and just the daily decluttering is enough to keep me busy. Part of the problem is that houses in Quito are not made for a life of accumulation: we have no garage, no basement, no storage rooms, small closets (and no entry closet) and a small patio. I have a hard time finding places for things, and therefore the things start to get in the way.

Laundry and dishes - these are two things that never seem to be finished. We do not have a dishwasher, but I like that. I actually like doing dishes. I love the hot soapy water washing away all of the dirt and grease. Laundry is done almost on a daily basis. I prefer it this way rather than have to do six or seven loads on the weekend. I don’t mind the folding but I really don’t like the putting away. Both of these are chores Andrés will do without my asking him to.

Andrés does most of the vacuuming as well, although I think it needs to be done on a more regular basis. Who does what and how much they do is a constant source of friction between us that I could really do without.

I have been thinking of getting the kids more involved in the household chores. Agustín is interested in folding and doing laundry, and Nicolás likes to do the sweeping, but I need to get them more in the habit, and to do less messing up so we don’t have to do so much cleaning.

The strange thing is, I like deep cleaning. I love watching things go from dull and dusty to shiny and clean. I love the sense of accomplishment. But as a working mom with two boys in the house and limited sunlight hours after work (every day the sun goes down at 6:30 on the equator, and by 6:40 it is usually pitch black) I have decided to pick my battles. Mostly I try to do things as I see them: wiping down the stove and counters as I cook, cleaning bathrooms a little at a time, sweeping and dusting small areas as I go about my day.