little bitty girl

Last year when I was travelling like a mad woman, I found that Stefan and I were snipping a lot. Many of the arguments had to do with the fact that the apartment was untidy when I got back. Marie thinks that I have OCD when it comes to cleaning and I think I may be a little OCD. Don't get me wrong, I am not the type of person who will follow you around my apartment and put back everything you misplace. I just find that I am so much calmer, especially during busy work periods, when the apartment is clean. This was especially so when I was on the road all the time. I would clean and even stay up if I had to, before leaving the next day. There's something about leaving and coming home to a clean apartment.

Unfortunately, back then it wouldn't happen. Stefan is definitely BY FAR the tidier person between us but like all boys would not do what I consider the "deep clean" stuff like sweeping/moping floors and washrooms. Anyway, we resolved this problem by getting a cleaning lady and, oh, what a world of difference it made. She would clean the most unexpected places, like the oven (which I barely ever used) and tops of cabinets. We were definitely a much happier couple and would eagerly rush home on the days she had come.

The unfortunate thing was, after a while, she really started slacking off. She would leave unfinished projects, mop on the floor, half dusted shelves. It started getting really bad when she started bringing her child to our home. I understood that she was a single mother and could not often find a babysitter. I even told her to feel free to bring her child whenever as it made no difference to me (as I was never home when she was here anyway) as long as the job got done. Except it often wouldn't get done and she still took our money. And so we quietly divorced her and have been cleaning lady-less since.

For the last few months, when everyone in bloggy-verse seemed to be talking about the piles in their homes, I was embarassed to admit that our place was just ONE BIG PILE. It drove me mental. Now we finally have our home to what it used to be and I am SO HAPPY. The question will be, how long can we maintain it?