Molly Maid or Super Wife???

My family, prompted by one of the sisters, has been trying to come up with hubby-proof arguments on why we wives should hire "molly maid" to come clean rather than having to do it ourselves. It was pretty funny so I'd thought I'd post the weigh-ins. Only the names have been omitted to save face. Enjoy the laughs.

Reason Reply #1:

Let's see... To keep your kid from getting sick more often, to keep your allergies in better shape, to keep company from coming over and being aghast at the condition of your bathroom, to KEEP YOU SANE and therefore prevent you from driving your hubby mad and having your child end up in juvi, it will save your marriage (a last resort), or, you can always pull a fast one and tell him, "It's in the contract. Don't you remember how amazing and sweet you were in telling me when we got married that you wanted to make things easier on me and take care of me? I loved that you were so considerate and thoughtful."

"Wow! I need to try that contract angle. :D"

Reason Reply #2 (supplied by BIL):

Because I think it is a great idea....okay...maybe not the best argument for your hubby. Happy wife, happy life? Leaves more time for going to the movies, taking walks...things other than picking up the underwear at the bottom of the stairs. We've definitely considered it. I think it's a great idea.

Reason Reply #3:

You get Money Savings, time savings, Health Savings, fight savings, allergy savings:

Because they can do the same work in half the time. really. they don't have a hubby and child in the house which automatically means half your brain is keeping tabs on them. And they do the same thing every day, they don't look at the mineral build up on the toilet and first try a normal scrub and clean only to find that wasn't sufficient and then try a softscrub type cleanser and find it wasn't enough either and then finally remember a pumice stone will work but oh, i have to let it soak in water for 15 min first - by this time you (okay I) have spent 45 min on the freaking TOILET BOWL! the inside of the toilet bowl, that leaves the outside, the lid, the floor, the walls, the window, the sink, the bath, the shower walls , the towels still to go - I give up, dirty toilet is fine and I'll get to the rest some-other day. And if by some miracle you actually do get JUST the bathroom finished, then you have to clean up/wash the rags you used and put away all your cleaning supplies, but you're tired and someone wants your attention, this is how the cleaning stuff gets left in the hall for a week and eventually turns into a fight about how your hubby should have put it away, couldn't he see it sitting there! men can't "see" the mess even if they say they will help. whatever!

And if you have someone else clean the house and they use their own cleaners then you don't have to store things you don't want little people drinking.

And sex. the less tired you are, the greater likelihood of man's most beloved and motivating event.

More time for you to plan meals and lunches (if you prefer that to cleaning) which means less money spent on eating out ridiculously high priced meals with way too many calories! (oh my gosh, my hubby and I actually walked out of Red Robin when we looked at the menu/cal and the only thing i could find under 600 cals was the ice-cream sundae!!!) This all equates to Money Savings, which should cover the cost, and health improvements.

And if they are doing the normal and occasional deep cleaning stuff then you can up the overall cleanliness of your house, cuz if they already dusted/mopped/etc. then you can do the things like wash the curtains (which harbor LOTS of dust/allergens) clean out the fridge/freezer, rotate the mattress pads, and all those other every-few-months type cleaning chores that NEVER get done when you have to start with "the-kitchen-is-dirty"....That's it, honey, I'm getting a housekeeper.

Counter Reason Reply #1:

Sigh. So, apparently he is just too weirded out about having someone else in the house cleaning our stuff. don't think there is a good argument against that one. To the buckets we go again! Any other way to make life easier?! 'Cause I think I am going to lose it if not. No one told me you don't get a vacation from being wife/mom/homemaker/chef/interior decorator/grocery shopper/bill payer/disaster worrier over-er and preventer/retirement planner/etc. EVER. I probably just need to drop a few balls. heh heh What's that? Girls weekend? out of cell phone range?

Reason Reply #4:

Wow, that was a really fun conversation!!! I have two comments to add:

1. The last person I know who was weirded out by someone in her house was my grandma. Every time my parents would hire someone to go clean the house she would kick them out. It just made her nervous. So when we cleaned out their home after they went into a 'home' there were peach cans that had swelled. I knew it could happen - I never thought I'd see it.

2. If mothers ever told us daughters what a full-time job being a woman is, we'd never be born!!! (Just kidding - but I did try to bite my elbow as a kid so I could turn into a boy.) Never-the-less I wouldn't have missed being a mom/wife for the world!

PS dropping a few balls is often necessary.

Counter Reason Reply #2 (man view):

...But dropping a ball doesn't work. My wife tried that once with Taxes....I didn't exactly take over. What we found works (in that case at least) is doing it together.

Reason Reply #5 (man view):

I agree with my wife, you could get someone you know. Or play the guilt trip about the allergens and your kid. You could even schedule the cleaner for when you are home...I suppose that defeats part of the purpose, but maybe not.

Maybe you could creep him out about all the nastiness in hotel rooms and point out that this is better than when he stays at a Holiday Inn.

Final Reply/Decision:

you guys crack me up. :) we just decided to go to the park and leave the messy house! problem temporarily solved.

Recently amended final reply: after a fairly horrendous experience of cleaning while Cason stood in his playpen crying angrily for 2 hours because he was being ignored (he slept for the first 2 but then woke up) JR said we could try a cleaning service. Anything is worth avoiding the Jenny/Cason stand-off apparently. (I refuse to be bossed around by a 10 month old, seriously!)