If you're a control freak how do you handle cleaners, etc. in your house?

[Anonymous]

OP, I am not sure why you are posting on DCUM. Most moms have chilled out over dirt and not being able to control every single thing that happens. Everything can be fixed _ walls can be painted, furniture can be repaired. Scotchguard your fabrics, fix yourself a gin and tonic and put your shoes up.

[Anonymous]

OP, please don't have kids! We moved into a new house about 6 months ago (and bought lot of new furniture at the time). The walls are pretty much all scratched and marked, the hardwood floors have several scratches, just about every piece of upholstered furniture we have is stained- as is the carpet in the basement, the kitchen counters are chipped, and I could go on and on. 90% of this damage is from our kids. Our house looked new for about 2 days. Yes, if I think about it, it kind of disappoints me that our "perfect" house isn't pefect. But really, if this is my biggest concern, then I'm extremely lucky.

We teach our kids to be careful and respectful of our house and furniture, however, we also realize that kids are kids. We want them to have playdates at our house and don't want anyone walking around on eggshells. What kind of life is that? I really think the fact that you're upset about cleaning people marking up your wall several months ago, you have an issue you need to deal with. Is it really worth that much anguish? Move on, it's just a wall that can be painted!

[Anonymous]

Mmmmm...gin and tonic. I'd kill for one right now!

[Anonymous]

I'm convinced OP is Jeff Lewis from Flipping Out. Zoila must have escaped!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't you paint over the stain on your master bedroom wall?

The reason is that we had painters paint this room because it has cathedral ceilings. The wall with the hand print is one of those tall walls that DH wouldn't be able to do because of that. Because of the type of paint I think just painting over a small area to disguise the print would look more noticeable than the print itself. Plus I shouldn't have to paint over it, the cleaning lady should have listened to my request when she came in to not touch the walls and not touched the walls. So irritating.

Your DH couldn't be able to reach the hand print because of the cathedral ceilings? How tall is he and was the cleaning person a giraffe? I'm calling troll.

[Anonymous]

OP. I'm a control freak and I'd NEVER allow anybody in the house until the fresh paint was completely dry. It's not a control issue. It's about being smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. I'm a control freak and I'd NEVER allow anybody in the house until the fresh paint was completely dry. It's not a control issue. It's about being smart.

The paint was not wet when the cleaners came, not sure how that impression came about. The cleaning person must have had a solvent on her hands or something to leave the stained hand print. Maybe her hands were wet with a cleaning chemical and she leaned against the wall and that's how we got the hand print. Regardless, my DH is not willing to get up on a ladder to re-paint the entire wall, as it's a cathedral ceiling. We could try covering up the print with touch up paint without repainting the whole wall, it's worth a try but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Anonymous]

OP. I'm a control freak and I'd NEVER allow anybody in the house until the fresh paint was completely dry. It's not a control issue. It's about being smart.

[Anonymous]

I'm slightly OCD with my house, but because of my DC, have chilled, considerably. We NEVER wear shoes in our house, but when someone comes over, they either take the hint, i.e, shoes at the door, or they play dumb and keep them on. I finally gave up - and wipe the hardware floors when they leave. In our home, we only have area rugs, not room size, so they tend to stay clean. I wipe our dog's feet when they come inside from the outdoors.

Children are destructive, even the well mannered ones, so my suggestion is - get a dog! To prepare yourself for children, of course. I have a son, and I can't tell you how many times I have to tell him to keep his dirty hands off the walls, especially after he eats!

[Anonymous]

OP, it sounds like you've had a handful of frustrating experiences with workmen, and one bad experience with a cleaning person. While annoying, I do think this is the risk you take when you hire someone. Yes, they should treat your home with respect, and most do, but some will overlook something, make an error, or just be sloppy. It happens.

What you do about this is up to you. If you can't handle, EVER, having something like this happen in your home, then you just can't have anyone in there other than you and your DH, because the risk of damage will always be there. I guess it's a question of what X service is worth to you. We've had cleaning people for years and have not once had a problem, but I do recognize that something could happen, they could break an item, etc. I'm willing to take that risk because the value of not having to clean my own home is worth it to me. If it's not worth it to you, then don't take the risk.

I too have relaxed a lot about this kind of stuff since having kids. In particular I used to get upset about stains on rugs and furniture, and now I really don't care. That said, it wasn't until I had kids that my mindset shifted so I appreciate that (assuming you don't have kids right now) you can't automatically change how you think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, please don't have kids! We moved into a new house about 6 months ago (and bought lot of new furniture at the time). The walls are pretty much all scratched and marked, the hardwood floors have several scratches, just about every piece of upholstered furniture we have is stained- as is the carpet in the basement, the kitchen counters are chipped, and I could go on and on. 90% of this damage is from our kids. Our house looked new for about 2 days. Yes, if I think about it, it kind of disappoints me that our "perfect" house isn't pefect. But really, if this is my biggest concern, then I'm extremely lucky.

We teach our kids to be careful and respectful of our house and furniture, however, we also realize that kids are kids. We want them to have playdates at our house and don't want anyone walking around on eggshells. What kind of life is that? I really think the fact that you're upset about cleaning people marking up your wall several months ago, you have an issue you need to deal with. Is it really worth that much anguish? Move on, it's just a wall that can be painted!

I'm sorry I have kids too, but to tear apart a house in 6 months or after 2 days is a bit concerning. Chipped kitchen counters? All walls scratched and marked???
I also have playdates and everyone has fun, but seriously. What in the world do you all do in your house? It sounds like a zoo.
I hope to never rent to folks like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm slightly OCD with my house, but because of my DC, have chilled, considerably. We NEVER wear shoes in our house, but when someone comes over, they either take the hint, i.e, shoes at the door, or they play dumb and keep them on. I finally gave up - and wipe the hardware floors when they leave. In our home, we only have area rugs, not room size, so they tend to stay clean. I wipe our dog's feet when they come inside from the outdoors.

Children are destructive, even the well mannered ones, so my suggestion is - get a dog! To prepare yourself for children, of course. I have a son, and I can't tell you how many times I have to tell him to keep his dirty hands off the walls, especially after he eats!

OP, I advise you against a dog. If you are a neat/clean freak the dog hair alone will make you crazy! Then the smell, urine and poo if there is an accident.........unsanitary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't you paint over the stain on your master bedroom wall?

The reason is that we had painters paint this room because it has cathedral ceilings. The wall with the hand print is one of those tall walls that DH wouldn't be able to do because of that. Because of the type of paint I think just painting over a small area to disguise the print would look more noticeable than the print itself. Plus I shouldn't have to paint over it, the cleaning lady should have listened to my request when she came in to not touch the walls and not touched the walls. So irritating.

Oh BS, just paint over it and stop having a fit about it. If the paint is flat there is no way you will see the touch up. BTW, flat paint is an interesting choice for an anal retentive neat freak as it shows every mark, can't be cleaned off, and doesn't look as nice.

Finally, don't have kids, it will kill you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a bit of a control freak. I'd love to have a cleaning lady twice a month but I think I'm too much of a control freak for that. When we first moved into our house (1.5 years ago) we had a cleaning service come and they ignored certain of my instructions which really irritated me. For instance, I told them please do not touch the walls, the house was just freshly painted. And they touched the walls and now I have a stain on my master bedroom wall which irritates me. If we had a cleaning lady I'd want her to take off her shoes when she came in, only use our cleaning products and vacuum, not touch the walls, make sure not to stain our sofas, etc. with windex, cleaning products used on nearby things, etc. I feel like it would be more stressful to have a cleaning lady than not have one in some ways. On the other hand, I clean two hours a day and I feel like it is too much.

I also find that contractors often aren't respectful of one's house when they're there. A few months ago we had blinds installed, and we set up plastic tarps in the family room so the installer would stay on them (we don't wear shoes in the house). Well for some reason he goes and walks in another room with his filthy shoes, and on our new rug, to point out something. That is another example of something that really irritated me. We specifically told him to stay on the tarps.

Just wondered how others who are control freaks handle these kinds of stresses/annoyances.

jesus, you sound like a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Look, if you have some type of OCD or psychological disorder, you are no different from most of the people on earth. You are the same as everybody who lives HERE. Point is, don't inflict it on others. Clean your house yourself. Ever hear the saying "to get a job done right, do it yourself"? (I'm paraphrasing here). This is why I never got married-it wouldn't have been fair to the other person. Amazon sells wholesale Clorox wipes, latex gloves and vibrators. I'm not lonely.