I am a proud wife, mother, and God loving woman; although that only partly indicates what I do which doesn’t define who ‘I’ am.
Thinking about it, what I do is a direct reflection of my passion and purpose in life which brings me to this time. I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for 17 years, busy mother of 2 teenage boys and young adult daughter, grammy of 2 (I can’t quite bring myself to use the word grandma at age 37, fortunately the little one decided to call me Happy), business owner, and a woman with a huge passion to diagnose/find treatment for off the wall illnesses; maybe someday I’ll go to medical school. Also, love party planning and decorating. Can’t leave out control freak or perfectionist either.
Mama T with one of her grandbabies
I love to dream big with my kids and help them work towards their goals as anything can be accomplished. I love been seeing them grow into having a passion to dream big, serve others, and sustain strong family values we’ve aimed to instill. Looking back I’ve put a lot of importance to eat dinner together. Almost every night we sit down together with time of the meal being very fluid. This really builds togetherness and bonding.
I currently have one grown child and two at home. Getting away, I love to sneak in a quick shopping trip and meal with my girls. With super busy teenagers our lives are full of rubgy and football practices, games, homework, etc. Any time I have to myself is sacred. With our adult daughter and her little family we love to sit down and play board games. Scrabble and Ticket to Ride have been the faves lately. We also take a yearly week long trip all together every summer to Mount Hermon which is the best place on earth in my mind. Quality family time is always refreshing.
Why I hired a housecleaner~
What led you to this decision?
Easy answer. Staying up past midnight to stay on top of our home was violating a huge moral value…making family time come first. Once realized I wasn’t my best self with all efforts to keep up I just had to let it all go. I can’t do it all! Hiring someone to come in is one of the few things I was able to change. As far as frequency, being quite truthful, it’s sporadic at best. I fall back into the I can do it all mentality quickly realizing I need someone regularly. Every two weeks would be optimum.
For those who wonder about my teenagers, during the school year they literally have no time for extra chores. They attend school nearly an hour from our home. With sports and homework their lives are full, plus the drive to and from school Over the summer all bets are off. Believe me, they do more than their fair share.
We all have the dumping ground space in our home… (before)
Which evolves quickly back to this! (after)
What were some of your worries about making the decision?
My biggest reservation besides adding another expense to our budget was judgment and negativity from others; didn’t want to hear any snide comments since I was feeling pretty insecure about needing help. It almost felt like my little deep dark secret. I got over that pretty quickly! Many of the most successful and happy people I know have someone come in. Besides, I don’t drink, smoke, and rarely grab a foofy coffee drink. A huge bonus was my hubby was totally on board. He trusts me to make whatever decisions necessary to make our home run well.
Do tell, what did you think that first time after your house was cleaned?
Quite honestly, I had a little buyer’s remorse at first. I was walking around the house picking apart what wasn’t done instead of seeing how awesome everything looked. Then I realized if I needed to look so hard to find something not done the house was REALLY clean! It was so nice to sit down that evening and simply relax; kinda a foreign concept. I remember the ahhhh moment so clearly. It was incredible to be able to have the time to enjoy what matters most.
Tandra and her two grandkids
What is your favorite thing about having a little extra help around the house?
Love, love, love going to bed feeling accomplished, relaxed, and effective. I lay in bed at night mentally reviewing my daily to-do list. It was so nice to have all the cleaning checked off! Many things felt chronically out of balance with so much time being spent tidying up and cleaning. I tend to go in cleaning circles noticing every little detail about everything I touched which left me feeling so unaccomplished because more should have been done with the time I spent. Something that should take 15 minutes would take me an hour because of the amount of detail I went into. It was not a smart use of my time but I couldn’t do it any other way.
Do you wish that you would have hired someone sooner?
Absolutely, no question about it! Having a clean home takes such a huge weight off my shoulders. It frees up so much time that is better spent on things that align with my goals in life. Now, my biggest challenge is to keep someone coming on a regular schedule. I’d recommend everyone to try it at least once.
On a side note~ As frustrating as a messy house can be (in between the house cleanings!) with so much craziness, in 15 years, I will cherish these chaotic moments and the stress that comes with it. I love so many people in and out of my house on a daily basis that I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Thank you so much, Tandra for your open interview on asking for help, and the benefits of letting go!