Yes, but mine only comes home every few weeks, so I have to look like I do something lol.
When he lives here, possibly, but I like everything tidy, and our standards are different, so if that coincides with him arriving home, then that's the only reason.
I don't feel the NEED to but I definitely have the desire to at least try. I think its respectful and is a way to show that I care about him, what he comes home to and what he is able to provide for us because of how hard he works. I am able to stay home because of what he does and neither of us would want to change that as it means I am able to spend my time teaching and nurturing our children and hopefully keeping wherever we happen to be somewhat homely. I like to be in a clean and preferably tidy environment and feel I should endeavor to make it that way for those around me (not just dh!). I attempt to train my children to be self motivated and disciplined so they 'help' with things also, and hopefully as they grow they will be more diligent and capable so that one day when they are grown and living away from home or raising their own families they won't struggle too much or see house 'work' as a deplorable chore but instead an opportunity to show love and hospitality to whoever happens to enter their homes. Don't get me wrong I am FAR from a domestic wonder or perfectionist but if I can keep my mind and heart focused right I can at least keep things fairly tidy and clean- which makes everyone happier :D
ETA dh also does a lot of helping when he is here which I appreciate heaps but as he works very long physically hard hours I don't actually want him to feel he has to do much work when he's home.
Nope. I never have time after I've fetched his slippers and made him a martini . . .
Seriously though, no. He works from home anyway so there's no such thing as him "getting home". Even if he worked out of the house, there is not a snowball's chance that I would have any time to clean/tidy at that time of day - DDs 1 and 2 get picked up from school around 3pm and from then until all the girls go to bed I barely have time to get done what I need to get done - homework, dinner, baths etc - let alone anything else.
TBH I think I have a very different view to a lot of people. I don't see myself being at home as being "off work". I would have maybe 2 hours to myself every day when I don't have a little person who is actually awake. During that time I will do some domestic stuff - dishes, washing, ironing, cleaning etc - but I'm getting seriously crap sleep and have done for months and having had pretty severe PND in the past I am making a really big effort to take some of that two hours for myself, even if that just means sitting down and spending time on BB, watching bad tv or whatever. The rest of the time I'm spending time with my kids. I used to drive myself literally nuts trying to do it all. Now I've changed my thinking and priorities. Left to my DH, I would do a whole lot less than I do which is very sweet of him, but there's only so far I'm prepared to let my standards slip :p
Yep I agree time to yourself is really important lulu, I generally don't 'do' anything when kids are in bed either! Maybe put a load if washing on or a quick sweep of the floor. But I manage to get stuff done with the kids not around them most of the time, or when they are outside playing together nicely works well.
I don't feel the "need" to but I do like to. Not just for him but for visitors as well. It's weird that I have this inner desire to show off my highly-skilled housewifely duties.
No, but we both work so the cleaning is shared. And I usually have to tell him what i need done unless he is tripping over mess or he won't see it. But I like a clean house anyway so it's usually pretty clean.
I don't think he would even notice/care if I stopped cleaning lol
No, but we both work so the cleaning is shared. And I usually have to tell him what i need done unless he is tripping over mess or he won't see it. But I like a clean house anyway so it's usually pretty clean.
I don't think he would even notice/care if I stopped cleaning lol
I do try, but since #3 came along, it has been more miss than hit. Monday DH came home and was tired and grumpy after a stressful day and was greeted with chaos. Toys everywhere in the lounge room, mess at the front door, kids' rooms complete bomb sites. Kids were feral, I was tired and over it and then he said rather rudely "What did you do all day?"
I asked him to repeat it and he wouldn't, and then apologised when he realised I'd heard. He said he knows I do stuff and it was clear we'd all just had a bad day and explained that he gets stressed at work and then comes home to chaos and just gets more stressed.
I reflected on my day and realised that I had a few opportunities during the day to just tidy away some of the stuff and instead I'd sat around doing nothing, in all honesty. I always keep a clean kitchen and get washing done but I could have done more. If this is my job, as a SAHM, I wasn't working the hardest i could. So on Tuesday I made an effort to tidy and it made such a difference. I felt better, DH walked in the door and commented on it immediately and then went and played with the kids, we were all a lot happier.
So, it will help my family if I keep things tidier.
I clean and tidy the kitchen and sweep or vacuum the floor when I can. I don't bother to pick up toys though, I leave that until the end of the day. DH is fairly casual about housework so does t expect anything to be done but I feel better if it is done.