A royal pig sty:
Being a confirmed bachelor and living in a very tiny, studio apartment in West LA, I am just a regular guy. I’m not metro-sexual; I wear a lot of the same things, I don’t care too much to impress people, and I can be a bit messy. OK, a lot messy.
I’m not sure where it all began. My mom and my grandma are both neat freaks. I used to come home periodically to my stuff being all thrown out or moved, because I never cleaned my room. I swore that when I got older I would never clean. Sadly, that is exactly what happened, for a while.
When you’re in college; rushing back and forth to class; you don’t care if you clean your room, or bathe (gross I know); you are only focused on studying hard, and partying hard.
Fast forward to a decade later; you ain’t gonna impress a chick with a messy apartment! So what do you do?
Being a confirmed bachelor and living in a very tiny, studio apartment in West LA, I am just a regular guy. I’m not metro-sexual; I wear a lot of the same things, I don’t care too much to impress people, and I can be a bit messy. OK, a lot messy.
I’m not sure where it all began. My mom and my grandma are both neat freaks. I used to come home periodically to my stuff being all thrown out or moved, because I never cleaned my room. I swore that when I got older I would never clean. Sadly, that is exactly what happened, for a while.
When you’re in college; rushing back and forth to class; you don’t care if you clean your room, or bathe (gross I know); you are only focused on studying hard, and partying hard.
Fast forward to a decade later; you ain’t gonna impress a chick with a messy apartment! So what do you do?
1.) “Know Thyself”- I HATE to clean:
This will never change. The serenity prayer says to accept what I cannot change. I am hard wired to hate to clean. I do not know why, nor do I care to know why. It does not make me a bad person, or a dirty person. I just find it to be a chore I’d rather not do. Obviously, having a service that does this for you, means that I am not the only person that feels this way. In fact, I know many people have machines in their houses that clean for them like: dishwashers, self-cleaning ovens, and washer/dryers. Should YOU be cleaning your dishes by hand; on your hands and knees scrubbing the oven; or washing your clothes in a wash basin and hanging them out on a line? No?! Then STOP “shoulding” on me. If I have the money to spend on a maid and that is what I chose to do, I am well within my right. So what if I am lazy, what’s it to ya?
2.) Time management- It’s a time-saver:
Brian Tracy in his one of his motivational programs, paraphrased says, “Shift your non-money making activities to someone else, if you can afford it, so that you can use all your time and energy on more productive tasks.” It makes no sense to waste time out of my evenings and weekends, slaving to clean, when I could be making money doing other activities, or enjoying my free time more. When I let the maid in, I can leave the house while it’s being cleaned and get other things done like: teaching, grocery shopping, visiting church, exercising, or eating-out. The point is, I am given back those two hours. People always complain how there is never enough time in the day. I argue there is plenty of time; there are twenty-four hours in the day, for everyone; it’s just that many of us have not learned the secret of letting others do lower priority tasks for you, so that YOU can do higher priority tasks.
3.) Dedication- It’s HER business:
Maria does a better job than me; cleaning is her business and she has the experience (and cleaning supplies) that I don't have; and a willingness to WANT to do it. MY business is music. I can focus on music and work on writing songs, practicing, producing, or recording for hours, but put a mop or broom in my hand and I instantly want it to be immediately over. Now, if someone was paying me to clean, I might be more inclined to put my best foot forward. In fact, I have had many odd jobs, which required some organization and cleaning, and I was much better in that situation that I am in my own home. I am much more motivated when there is a paycheck on the line. I have always been more organized at work than at my apartment, because I do not own my work space; I am permitted to use it, and must keep it orderly. I am happy to support Maria’s small business. She saves me a lot of headaches, by providing this much needed service to me, at an affordable price.
So, getting a maid may not be for you. Maybe you like to clean. Maybe you cannot afford a decent maid in your area, or would like to spend your money on something else. All I ask is that you don’t give me “the stank eye” for doing so. Thank you.
What task would you shift to someone else, if you had the money to pay someone to do it right now, so that you could free up time to do something else you wanted to do instead? Please comment below.
This will never change. The serenity prayer says to accept what I cannot change. I am hard wired to hate to clean. I do not know why, nor do I care to know why. It does not make me a bad person, or a dirty person. I just find it to be a chore I’d rather not do. Obviously, having a service that does this for you, means that I am not the only person that feels this way. In fact, I know many people have machines in their houses that clean for them like: dishwashers, self-cleaning ovens, and washer/dryers. Should YOU be cleaning your dishes by hand; on your hands and knees scrubbing the oven; or washing your clothes in a wash basin and hanging them out on a line? No?! Then STOP “shoulding” on me. If I have the money to spend on a maid and that is what I chose to do, I am well within my right. So what if I am lazy, what’s it to ya?
2.) Time management- It’s a time-saver:
Brian Tracy in his one of his motivational programs, paraphrased says, “Shift your non-money making activities to someone else, if you can afford it, so that you can use all your time and energy on more productive tasks.” It makes no sense to waste time out of my evenings and weekends, slaving to clean, when I could be making money doing other activities, or enjoying my free time more. When I let the maid in, I can leave the house while it’s being cleaned and get other things done like: teaching, grocery shopping, visiting church, exercising, or eating-out. The point is, I am given back those two hours. People always complain how there is never enough time in the day. I argue there is plenty of time; there are twenty-four hours in the day, for everyone; it’s just that many of us have not learned the secret of letting others do lower priority tasks for you, so that YOU can do higher priority tasks.
3.) Dedication- It’s HER business:
Maria does a better job than me; cleaning is her business and she has the experience (and cleaning supplies) that I don't have; and a willingness to WANT to do it. MY business is music. I can focus on music and work on writing songs, practicing, producing, or recording for hours, but put a mop or broom in my hand and I instantly want it to be immediately over. Now, if someone was paying me to clean, I might be more inclined to put my best foot forward. In fact, I have had many odd jobs, which required some organization and cleaning, and I was much better in that situation that I am in my own home. I am much more motivated when there is a paycheck on the line. I have always been more organized at work than at my apartment, because I do not own my work space; I am permitted to use it, and must keep it orderly. I am happy to support Maria’s small business. She saves me a lot of headaches, by providing this much needed service to me, at an affordable price.
So, getting a maid may not be for you. Maybe you like to clean. Maybe you cannot afford a decent maid in your area, or would like to spend your money on something else. All I ask is that you don’t give me “the stank eye” for doing so. Thank you.
What task would you shift to someone else, if you had the money to pay someone to do it right now, so that you could free up time to do something else you wanted to do instead? Please comment below.
It's a dirty job:
For some, one may use it as challenge to become a better person and create good cleaning habits. For me, I decided to get a maid.
I purchased a Groupon for a maid cleaning service and the maid, Maria (I changed her name for confidentiality), who they sent from the agency, was great. She cleaned the place for two hours and I think it cost me $25. She told me that she was an entrepreneur, had her own business, and if I would call her directly she would give me a good rate to become her direct client. (They are not supposed to poach clients from the agency, but I don’t care). I told her that I would call her again, and I did. I have been using the same maid for a few years now, and I love using her.
When I started telling people I had a maid, people thought I had come into money, or was really lazy and should clean for myself, as they do. I wanted to dispel these myths, and explain three good reasons to get a maid, if you desire.
For some, one may use it as challenge to become a better person and create good cleaning habits. For me, I decided to get a maid.
I purchased a Groupon for a maid cleaning service and the maid, Maria (I changed her name for confidentiality), who they sent from the agency, was great. She cleaned the place for two hours and I think it cost me $25. She told me that she was an entrepreneur, had her own business, and if I would call her directly she would give me a good rate to become her direct client. (They are not supposed to poach clients from the agency, but I don’t care). I told her that I would call her again, and I did. I have been using the same maid for a few years now, and I love using her.
When I started telling people I had a maid, people thought I had come into money, or was really lazy and should clean for myself, as they do. I wanted to dispel these myths, and explain three good reasons to get a maid, if you desire.