Ways in which you aren’t a domestic goddess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only iron on demand. Years ago I wasted hours washing and ironing everyone's clothes but many were never even worn.

Yeah, if something needs to be ironed we usually take it to the cleaner’s. I grew up in a house with a built-in ironing board, which made the process much less onerous.

Guys, get a garment steamer. Handheld is good. Tuck it in the closet. Problem solved.

Agree. I worked at banana republic all through college and as soon as I got a real job, I bought a jiffy garment steamer, one step down from the industrial ones we used at BR. I still have it and keep it in my closet, rolling it in and out as needed. It’s one of my favorite things.

[Anonymous]

I still can’t figure out how to put 3 meals on the table consistently. I thought feeding myself would get easier as I grew up. But it is so onerous to cook and wash dishes and clean the kitchen all day. I’m good at cooking, I just find the routine 3 times a day such a burden that I just don’t want to get out of bed sometimes! (Most days we only eat 2 meals a day. Most days we order food or get takeout.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cannot fold a fitted shot, and really, I have no desire to learn. I wash the sheets and put them straight back on the bed.

I've looked at the youtube videos for that, but those involved fitted sheets that have elastic on the ends only, not the sides. Mine all have elastic all the way around. I actually hang my sheets to dry, and I line up the seam corners, but there is no way to "fold" the suckers.

I veer between washing all the dishes, sweeping, mopping kitchen (microfiber pad type mop), etc etc daily and ignoring it altogether.

You just need to tuck one corner into the other and then follow the elastic all the way around and tuck the other two corners. So you can see all the elastic in a big C. That’s the key. Also there are a zillion videos of this.

I fold my fitted sheets as best as I can, and I stuff it, along with the flat sheet, inside the matching pillowcase and put the whole “sack” in the linen closet. Makes finding sheet sets easier, and masks my poor folding skills!

[Anonymous]

I don’t take out the trash or recycling. Ever.

I rarely do laundry (DH does it, and teen does their own).

I rarely cook, though I like to. I just work outside the home while DH works from home, so he does it most of the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still can’t figure out how to put 3 meals on the table consistently. I thought feeding myself would get easier as I grew up. But it is so onerous to cook and wash dishes and clean the kitchen all day. I’m good at cooking, I just find the routine 3 times a day such a burden that I just don’t want to get out of bed sometimes! (Most days we only eat 2 meals a day. Most days we order food or get takeout.)

After nearly two years of pandemic, I feel this SO MUCH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still can’t figure out how to put 3 meals on the table consistently. I thought feeding myself would get easier as I grew up. But it is so onerous to cook and wash dishes and clean the kitchen all day. I’m good at cooking, I just find the routine 3 times a day such a burden that I just don’t want to get out of bed sometimes! (Most days we only eat 2 meals a day. Most days we order food or get takeout.)

I SO agree. It helps me to only have 3 breakfasts and the same snacks all the time. But I still struggle with dinner.

[Anonymous]

When I was married before having a kid, I used to make the bed every day. No more.

[Anonymous]

I don't WANT to be a domestic goddess, but I have become one. I have a well-paying career, work more than 40 hours a week, but I still do 95% of the domestic chores myself. I used to have housecleaners, but none of the ones I have hired over the years do a particularly good job. Clutter and messiness make me angry, I keep on top of keeping things tidy. I love to eat home-cooked meals, so I make them. I have skinny kids, so I take in the waists of their pants. I get annoyed with high estimates for house repairs in the DC metro area, so I watch Youtube videos and figure it out. I was given a 5-figure estimate from some landscaping work, so I spent ~$1000 and two weekends and did it myself. I think that DC is a really strange market in which domestic service and repair work costs 2-3 times what it does in other cities. If it weren't for the high cost, I would outsource most of this stuff in an instant.

[Anonymous]

I have two dogs who are obsessed with chewing up cardboard. So I have bits of cardboard everywhere, including buried in the rya rug. I only clean it up to pile it by their toy basket so that I can have the fun of watching them choose just the right piece of cardboard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have two dogs who are obsessed with chewing up cardboard. So I have bits of cardboard everywhere, including buried in the rya rug. I only clean it up to pile it by their toy basket so that I can have the fun of watching them choose just the right piece of cardboard.

This sounds like something I’d do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still can’t figure out how to put 3 meals on the table consistently. I thought feeding myself would get easier as I grew up. But it is so onerous to cook and wash dishes and clean the kitchen all day. I’m good at cooking, I just find the routine 3 times a day such a burden that I just don’t want to get out of bed sometimes! (Most days we only eat 2 meals a day. Most days we order food or get takeout.)

I SO agree. It helps me to only have 3 breakfasts and the same snacks all the time. But I still struggle with dinner.

I just created a monthly meal plan. Theres a list of ingredients for each week that I can crosscheck in my pantry. It will soon be printed and in a 3-ring binder with recipes behind each week. I dont care if it is old school I dont care if it is Type A. I got tired of being the only one thinking about dinner before 5pm. Its accessible and I can point to it when I get asked- whats for dinner. Whats the recipe--> point.
I based it off of KidsEatinColor menus but they are too basic and not allergy friendly (enough).

Lunch is leftovers. We dont need to discuss what is getting backed for our kids lunch- it is right there.

As far as domestic goddess, my house is a mess. The kitchen, our clothes, and our sheets are the only things that are tidy/clean. All I want to to do is veg at the end of the night and drink hot chocolate. I dont want to vacuum or clean the bathrooms. We are hiring a cleaning service next month to do a deep all day clean and then my hope is that if we can just vacuum 2x week and clean 2 rooms a week we can keep it clean until summer. And then other deep clean.

[Anonymous]

cooking three meals a day is too much
idk anyone who does that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:cooking three meals a day is too much
idk anyone who does that

Well, it depends on what you mean by "cooking" but just for me and my toddler I have to have three meals and two snacks for both of us. Frankly just stocking the prepared food is work I resent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t take out the trash or recycling. Ever.

I rarely do laundry (DH does it, and teen does their own).

I rarely cook, though I like to. I just work outside the home while DH works from home, so he does it most of the time.

I do cook. But husband washes our clothes, and empties dishwasher. We both take out trash/recycling, but he does it more often. He never uses a napkin, can’t see messes, and leaves a trail of mugs, glasses, and assorted debris in his wake tho

[Anonymous]

We moved into our new house a 15 months ago, and we haven't hung anything on the walls except in the kids' rooms. There is art in the basement and leaning against some walls on the first floor, we just haven't decided/haven't bothered to put it up.