Would you take a week's vacation....to spring clean your house?

[cabanafrau]

Would I take a weeks vacation to spring clean? No. But I do pretty much what the OP describes every spring. I just spread it out over weekends when I was working. Now, I'm retired, so vacation doesn't play into it. We used to take a few days of vacation time each year to do any major projects with the house or yard. I had no idea that this could make someone an object of criticism. Did someone actually call this a sickness?

What a person chooses to do with their "vacation time" is a personal choice. I dont know why it would be fodder for office gossip or controversy if she prefers to do this rather than lie by a pool or travel.

I'm the one who referred to a sickness, which it is per the very friend I'm referring to. I did not criticize the situation outlined in the OP.

I do have two friends who struggle with the compulsion to keep their homes spotless, beyond meticulously so, literally every moment of every day. Creates family problems. One of my friends carries that over to her landscaping. The commercial with the real estate agent who frames up to take a photo, pauses to cut the stray blade of grass, my friend keeps gloves & tools in her car and will stop when pulling out of her driveway to do the same thing daily. It is a sickness.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I love a clean house and I would consider doing what she is doing. However, I'd spread it out over time and do one room each weekend or something like that. I have never used my vacation time other then physically going on vacation.

 

[SallySkelington]

Personally? No. Not a whole week. I would straighten up a skee-dattle. My time is best spent by a pool with a book in hand.

 

[OhMari]

2 years ago, we started using our vacation to do improvements on our home so we could sell it. I hated every minute of it. So glad we can put it behind us. But, our contractor only allowed us one color in our new house. Guess what we are going to be doing, but not on our vacation time.

 

[bebelle]

I have taken vacation time to spring clean. I took a long weekend...Friday-Monday.

 

[lakelandgal70]

No I wouldn't. When we go on vacation we go away lol. But I do go all out and clean before we leave for vacation. I mean can't have the pet sitter living in filth lol

 

[JanaDee]

2 years ago, we started using our vacation to do improvements on our home so we could sell it. I hated every minute of it. So glad we can put it behind us. But, our contractor only allowed us one color in our new house. Guess what we are going to be doing, but not on our vacation time.

Your contractor apparently forgot he works for *you*. If we ever build, the colors we pick will go on the walls, not what the contractor says will go on the walls.

 

[OhMari]

Sure for a price-an extra $100 a room. Which wasn't bad, we put a different color in our living room and kitchen/dining room.

 

[LilyWDW]

I will be taking a week off in May once one of the theatres I will at goes dark but before I start another seasonal job. I will be doing some major cleaning and will finish some minor projects, opening the last few boxes I have from my move, do some minor painting, do some planting, and stuff like that. Currently I am working 4 jobs so finding the extra time to do more then the basics right now just has not been happening. So knowing I will have a week where I can just focus on these projects will be very helpful.

 

[Minnesota!]

I take a day every 6 weeks or so to deep clean. Gives me such satisfaction to get closets purged, laundry completely caught up, baseboards scrubbed, etc. I don't have time on a weekly/daily basis to clean every inch. So, things pile up.

So, over the course of a year, I take more than a week off just to clean. It's very cathartic for me.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I'm the one who referred to a sickness, which it is per the very friend I'm referring to. I did not criticize the situation outlined in the OP.

I do have two friends who struggle with the compulsion to keep their homes spotless, beyond meticulously so, literally every moment of every day. Creates family problems. One of my friends carries that over to her landscaping. The commercial with the real estate agent who frames up to take a photo, pauses to cut the stray blade of grass, my friend keeps gloves & tools in her car and will stop when pulling out of her driveway to do the same thing daily. It is a sickness.

I knew a woman who couldn't sleep at night if she had so much as a Q-tip in one of her wastebaskets. That's a bit too compulsive for me.

 

[Meriweather]

yep....I would.
I do deep spring cleaning. If I was working, I would take time off to do it.
I don't work, so I do it slower over about a month. Just finished a week ago. Feels so good!

 

[scrapquitler]

This is causing a whirlwind of controversy here at work for some reason (we must be bored ...)

A coworker, married, in her 60s, absolutely lovely woman, is taking off all of next week to clean her house. She does it the way my grandma used to, taking everything out of a room, wiping down every single surface, wiping everything off before it goes back in the room, moving all the heavy furniture, etc. Her house is only 1500 sq ft, but she said it will take her every waking minute of those seven days to do the job "properly".

I love her dearly as a friend and coworker, but now I realize that I can never invite her to MY house

I did ask her, if I volunteered a week of MY vacation time, if she would go to MY house and spring clean it, but she declined.

So, how important is spring cleaning to you?

Terri

It's not my place to determine if someones reason for taking time off of work is a good one or not. (For example, I would think that I'd rather be at work than spend a week at a beach).
Maybe your co-worker is a little OCD about the status of her house, and that's okay. I don't know that I would want to work in an environment where everyone was judging me by how I spent my personal time off.

I'm pretty lax about my house cleaning, but when I decide to do it, I get a little bit crazed and ridiculous, and it would take me the entire week.

 

[Miskey]

Would you take a week's vacation....to spring clean your house?

Kind of.... I've hired a family member to come in and deeply clean my house while I've been away on vacation. Win/Win!

When I was first married, in my early 20's, I kept an immaculate, well organized house. It wasn't something I really worked at, it just pretty much came naturally. As the years have gone by, between work, kids, and a bigger house, it has become cluttered and trying to keep it clean is an unpleasant chore. Next week will be my last week of work, and the thing I'm most looking forward to is getting my house back to like it was 25 years ago! Everything has a place, and everything is in it's place!!

 

[kandb]

Two Words. Hell No!!!!!!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Yes, I would take off a week in the spring........and pay someone else to clean while I vacation!!!

 

[Pixiedustaway]

No. I'd rather use my vacation for trips and just days off here and there.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

Yes, not a whole week yet (but I'd I like to) - I take off days to clean before any 'party' at our house. I also use a few days for getting the yard/gardens ready and actual planting.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My husband took a week off last spring and we did a massive decluttering exercise. It was worth the time off. But not something we would do on an annual basis. He's the kind who would rather just knock out a project rather than spread it over several weekends.

I don't think he would do it just to "clean". And I would not expect that.

 

[maslex]

I have taken a day off to clean the house. Never a whole week. I've also taken like a Friday off if I have a party or picnic planned for that Saturday. (might be doing it in April as I'm hosting a small baby shower for my sister's son & his girlfriend....can't wait to meet my new baby grand nephew)!!!!

And I'd like to take the day before spring break off just to have that Friday and the weekend to get the house nice and clean. That way I won't be spending my whole spring break week off cleaning. I'll actually be able to enjoy it!!!