SAHMs: Anyone else do the 30 minute clean?

KateAggie

Since we're slightly confessing today...

On days like today, when I've done lots of napping/nesting, I'll go into super mode for like 30 minutes before DH gets home (putting Marisa in front of Noggin) and clean all the noticeable things so it looks like I've done a ton.  Am I alone in this?

brideonjuly8

No. 

Kristen0709

This made me giggle.  I will most definitely be doing this, I'm sure of it!

SaraLouiseBride08

I don't have any kids and I don't SAH, but I totally do this!

DH travels and so on the days when he comes back into town, I work from home and do a "power clean" on my lunch break so it appears that I've been super tidy and working hard on the house all week

MrsChristmas

DH would be so happy if I did this, but I don't. I don't bother to hide the fact that I hate to clean. I did promise that I would clean up around the house before my MIL gets here on Friday, so it will probably happen on Thursday.

KateAggie

Gotta go...se y'all in 30.

m_and_m

Lol, I call it "The SAHM Shuffle".

In all honesty though, if I clean the house spotless first thing (like DH wants me to do) then it will be a mess by the time he gets home anyway. Might as well save my energy for something more productive than cleaning up after a toddler and two dogs all day!

flymansWife

i used to do this! hubby used to work tues - sat. i spent most of my sat sitting on the couch but would get up and hurry and clean before DH got home so it wouldn't look like i had been sitting on the couch *all* day...

CollieJade

Nope, not alone!  I also try to make myself look really tired and pathetic so he thinks it was a huge effort, and also preemptively complain about some random made-up "fire" I had to put out at like, 4:00 or something.  That way he thinks that I had every intention of going to the store, putting away the laundry, etc etc, but then got sidetracked by this minor emergency that I had to take care of and that is why dinner is late or the laundry didn't get put away, or whatever the task of the day is.

Incedentally, this strategy also works really well when I want to go out to eat for dinner but know that he wouldn't totally be into it if there's food in the house.  It's like, "But Babe, I totally had to take care of this client at like 4:00 who was freaking out about her timeline - so I didn't go to the store and we have no food in the house.  Let's just eat out, mmmkay?"

Kristen0709 and BeckO, please don't tell on me.

Kristen0709

CollieJade:

Nope, not alone!  I also try to make myself look really tired and pathetic so he thinks it was a huge effort, and also preemptively complain about some random made-up "fire" I had to put out at like, 4:00 or something.  That way he thinks that I had every intention of going to the store, putting away the laundry, etc etc, but then got sidetracked by this minor emergency that I had to take care of and that is why dinner is late or the laundry didn't get put away, or whatever the task of the day is.

Incedentally, this strategy also works really well when I want to go out to eat for dinner but know that he wouldn't totally be into it if there's food in the house.  It's like, "But Babe, I totally had to take care of this client at like 4:00 who was freaking out about her timeline - so I didn't go to the store and we have no food in the house.  Let's just eat out, mmmkay?"

Kristen0709 and BeckO, please don't tell on me.

Now I have something for a rainy day.

ebat

CollieJade:

Nope, not alone!  I also try to make myself look really tired and pathetic so he thinks it was a huge effort, and also preemptively complain about some random made-up "fire" I had to put out at like, 4:00 or something.  That way he thinks that I had every intention of going to the store, putting away the laundry, etc etc, but then got sidetracked by this minor emergency that I had to take care of and that is why dinner is late or the laundry didn't get put away, or whatever the task of the day is.

Incedentally, this strategy also works really well when I want to go out to eat for dinner but know that he wouldn't totally be into it if there's food in the house.  It's like, "But Babe, I totally had to take care of this client at like 4:00 who was freaking out about her timeline - so I didn't go to the store and we have no food in the house.  Let's just eat out, mmmkay?"

Kristen0709 and BeckO, please don't tell on me.

I can ditto doing this,  I sometimes act like I got home minutes before him so I don't have to mention that I've been reading a book or on the computer instead of starting dinner,  or the laundry or something productive. 

MrsBeckO

ebat:

I can ditto doing this,? I sometimes act like I got home minutes before him so I don't have to mention that I've been reading a book or on the computer instead of starting dinner,? or the laundry or something productive.?

When I worked out of the house, I totally pulled the "but babe, I've been home maybe 5 minutes" card even if I got off work at lunch. ?

And CJ - we've already discussed how terrible of a wife I am.. why would I tattle on something so minor? ?

CollieJade

MrsBeckO:

ebat:

I can ditto doing this,  I sometimes act like I got home minutes before him so I don't have to mention that I've been reading a book or on the computer instead of starting dinner,  or the laundry or something productive. 

When I worked out of the house, I totally pulled the "but babe, I've been home maybe 5 minutes" card even if I got off work at lunch.  

And CJ - we've already discussed how terrible of a wife I am.. why would I tattle on something so minor?  

LADY!  You are currently scrubbing the walls of your house.  Even I, the Donna Reed wanna be, don't scrub walls.  Puuhleeze.  You are not a bad wife.

rssnlvr

Y'all all put in a lot more effort than I do.

If I manage to get home before DH, I sit my arse on the couch, close my eyes, and put my feet up. Or I get on the computer and check the boards. If he were to ever say something about it, he would get the pg-hormones-death-ray look.

He knows better.  

ETA: or, he says, "what have you been doing?" and I say "building your daughter. You?" 

MrsBeckO

CollieJade:

MrsBeckO:

??

And CJ - we've already discussed how terrible of a wife I am.. why would I tattle on something so minor? ?

LADY!? You are currently scrubbing the walls of your house.? Even I, the Donna Reed wanna be, don't scrub walls.? Puuhleeze.? You are not a bad wife.

Actually, it was the cabinets I was scrubbing. Sheesh. Haven't started the walls yet. Had to take a break because my back was hurting. Walls and baseboards in the dining room are next on my list. ?

And seriously, you're "about to go into labor?" comment is totally freaking me out. Still.

CollieJade

rssnlvr:

Y'all all put in a lot more effort than I do.

If I manage to get home before DH, I sit my arse on the couch, close my eyes, and put my feet up. Or I get on the computer and check the boards. If he were to ever say something about it, he would get the pg-hormones-death-ray look.

He knows better.  

ETA: or, he says, "what have you been doing?" and I say "building your daughter. You?" 

Yes, but the pg-look-of-death, when used at opportune moments, works so much better if he thinks you've been working SO HARD on something.

MrsBeckO

rssnlvr:

ETA: or, he says, "what have you been doing?" and I say "building your daughter. You?"?

::writing that one down::?

CollieJade

MrsBeckO:

CollieJade:

MrsBeckO:

  

And CJ - we've already discussed how terrible of a wife I am.. why would I tattle on something so minor?  

LADY!  You are currently scrubbing the walls of your house.  Even I, the Donna Reed wanna be, don't scrub walls.  Puuhleeze.  You are not a bad wife.

Actually, it was the cabinets I was scrubbing. Sheesh. Haven't started the walls yet. Had to take a break because my back was hurting. Walls and baseboards in the dining room are next on my list.  

And seriously, you're "about to go into labor?" comment is totally freaking me out. Still.

Didn't mean to freak you out!  But, wasn't it MMT who got all nesty-like (albeit not with cabinets and walls) right before she went?  I'm just sayin'.

borah22

I so do that all the time. In fact today I even sent the girls to the nanny for the day to clean out closets etc and I did not finish all the stuff on my list so I am quickly trying to make it look like I did more than I did.

 

grrrrrr....

KateAggie

MrsBeckO:

rssnlvr:

ETA: or, he says, "what have you been doing?" and I say "building your daughter. You?" 

::writing that one down:: 

Ditto.  Hilarious and highly usable.  It will be a great one when/if I get PG again, and really, could work now, in the form of "I've been preparing your daughter for the future."

borah22

Not to freak you out MrsBecko but two days before I had dd#2 I scrubbed the cabinets in the kitchen.

 

 

m_and_m

Oh yes, I used to look up what exactly was happening with baby development that day and say "I made lungs" or "Baby now has fingers!".

That doesn't work anymore though. 

ebat

rssnlvr:

ETA: or, he says, "what have you been doing?" and I say "building your daughter. You?" 

I tried this once, although a just said "growing a human."  My DH was laughing to hard at me though for me to get anything out of it

MrsAJL

I totally do this! I'm not ashamed. I'm proud of my slacking and then my ability to look like I had been busy for hours. It's the hallmark of a procrastinator.

JessHeath

You are definitely not alone.  I try to do the 30 min clean every day sometimes it works sometimes the house is still a disaster, but at least I know I've done something!

 

PS:  I LOVE this post, I honestly thought I was the only one who was a "bad wifey" because I HATE cleaning!

The "building your daughter thing" is hysterical, thanks Rssn!