The 5 Stages of Mopping

Disclaimer: So yesterday I had to do one of my most hated household chores. And in trying to avoid it I was procrastinating on facebook and writing posts in my head. Hopped up on too much coffee I started writing a ridiculous, totally tongue-in-cheek post about this chore. By some miracle I actually remembered most of what I'd mentally written. So here it is. Enjoy!
i hate house work
Yep, that must be the reason!

When it comes to household chores there is one that reigns supreme in terms of my loathing and hatred of it. Let's be honest here, I hate all household chores. I avoid them like the plague, until there is a chance we all may catch the actual plague because of my prolonged chore avoidance. But when it comes to mopping? There is nothing, NOTHING I wouldn't do to avoid mopping.

I hate it with a passion so fierce that it's energy would burn up the sun. If I could buy a giant roll of plastic and have my floors covered with a drop sheet daily, I would do it. If only that wouldn't take as much effort as the actual mopping.

When Dave and I were the only inhabitants of this house I could get away with mopping less frequently. We knew how to eat without dropping food on the floor (most of the time), and we were capable of picking up, wiping or cleaning any mess that we did make on the floor as soon as it occurred (most of the time). We could also be relied upon to not pick up shit from the floor and put it in our bloody mouths! (Most of the time.)

However since tiny terrorists entered this house, and insist on dropping, spilling and weeing all over my floors, the need for mopping has increased. And so has my blood pressure I'm sure. It wouldn't be so bad if said tiny terrorists didn't insist on leaving their toys on the filthy floors, and then picking up those toys and depositing them straight in to their mouths. Or worse, picking up pieces of previously dropped food, that has escaped my attention with the broom or vacuum earlier, and then commence eating the manky food.

i hate mopping
Getting ready to mop, against my better judgement. After this shot was taken I made myself a strong coffee and procrastinated a little more on facebook. That is of course what facebook is for!

I generally judge the dire-ness of floor cleanliness by the colour on the bottom of Punky's feet come bath time. Anything darker than light grey and I start to feel a sick churning in my stomach. I know what's coming. I know what has to be done. But that doesn't mean I have to surrender to it like Hot Pie surrenders to a lion (obscure Game of Thrones reference there folks.)

I spent the day sweeping, shifting furniture, drinking coffee and generally doing anything else I could to avoid the task at hand. It's the only time I actually want the baby to wake up early! I finally gave in around 1pm and accepted that I had to get the mopping done. So I did. But it occurred to me while doing the mopping, that the lead-up to this most hated of household chores follows 5 stages. I'm sure I've heard of these 5 stages before but I can't be sure. And without further ado, I now present to you... drum roll please...

Kylie's 5 Stages of Mopping

Stage 1 - Denial

You sweep the floors and generally do a half-job and convince yourself that it is totally sufficient, there is no need to mop, you've cleaned up the dropped food and spot-cleaned the spills, surely that's clean enough, right. Right? But then it's evening, and the first cockroach emerges. Which leads to...

Stage 2 - Anger

F*%K You, F*%king cockroaches, F*%K YOU! Damn you stupid floors, why do you have to be so dirty! Damn you stupid science people, why have you not invented self-cleaning floors yet, WHY! If we can have self-cleaning ovens, surely we can have self-cleaning floors! What is this, the dark ages? It's not faaaaaiiiirrrrr!!!
keeping it real
Mopping the floor took so much strength and will power that there was none left at the end of the day to clan this mess. Oh well. Maybe I can convince Dave to do it?!

Stage 3 - Bargaining

Please God/Cleaning Fairy/ Insert Deity and/or Magical beings name here, please clean my floors for me overnight while I sleep. I promise, if you do that, I will never let them get so filthy again.
Pleeeease Dave, can you please do it just this once, I promise I won't let them get so bad again, just do them for me this one time. I'll make it worth your while, wink wink, nudge nudge ;-)

Stage 4 - Depression

FML**! It's so unfair, all this cleaning. It's never going to end, I'm going to be mopping floors for the rest of my life at this rate. I might as well not even bother ever making plans to do anything ever again. This is the worst day ever. I bet everyone else has the cleanest floors and a husband that does the mopping for them.

Stage 5 - Acceptance

*sigh* *Sigh* *SIGH*. I suppose I better do it. Let's get this over and done with. If I get it done now then at least it's done and I don't have to do it for at least another week, right. Right? *sigh*. Better make a big, strong coffee, don't think I can get through it without one. And I'll just have a quick look on the net, make sure nothing interesting is happening. Facebook. Email. Twitter. Check. Check. Check.
*Siiiiiggggggghhhhhhh*
Ok, let's do this.
i hate cockroaches
My clean(er) floor. This cockroach was so shocked and disappointed he just keeled over and died on the spot
(Ok, I may have used a little bug spray on him. If Dave asks, it was less than half the can!)

Sound familiar? What's your most hated household chore?

And because I love to procrastinate I'm linking this post up Jess for IBOT.

**Honestly I have no idea if FML stands for Fuck My Life but it does here. I assume it does coz that's what all the kids use on facebook when something crappy is going on. I am so up with all the internets lingo, yo!

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Comments

Kylie Purtell said…
lol! Great post Kylie! I too must be descending from royalty!
Kylie Purtell said…
lol thanks for laugh and all I can say is "EWWWW!" to the cockroaches. The joy of Sydney living??
Kylie Purtell said…
It's the only explanation really!
Kylie Purtell said…
Oh yes, the "joy"! I hate them so much I can't even say!
Kylie Purtell said…
Mine must also be mopping as I have a cleaner come through fortnightly to do it! Actually I think it is dusting because I have an allergy, then again it would be changing the sheets - I can't lift the bloody mattress. Obviously I cannot narrow this down, so I will continue to have a cleaner and get my husband to dress the beds. Works for me :)
Kylie Purtell said…
You see, I actually don't mind mopping. I love the way the floor looks and smells after it's mopped.
I don't like hanging clothes out though, or putting them away. And I despise vacuuming. Really, really, despise it!
Kylie Purtell said…
My husband is the mopper in our house. I can't remember the last time I did it - SCORE! Dropping by from #IBOT :-)
Kylie Purtell said…
I use at least half a can on Cockroaches! the mopping I don't mind its just the whole family do NOT know how to stay off it while its drying. It's like a challenge to see who I will yell at the loudest for walking on it again.
Kylie Purtell said…
I don't clean 'properly' so my husband does it. I say SCORE!
Kylie Purtell said…
Urgh! I hate mopping, but I think I hate vacuuming more. And changing the beds. And cleaning the toilet. And bathrooms. Yes. Hate it all!
Kylie Purtell said…
Oh god cockroaches I hate them! I still need to get around to mopping mine. Maybe I can convince Trent to do it while I'm out tomorrow.
Kylie Purtell said…
My saving grace for mopping has been a steam mop. It doesn't mean I do it any more..but when I do it, it's a lot easier than it was before. I live on a main road and my floors are yellow lino (seriously who is that stupid..oh the government is) so they are dirty within 10 minutes of me cleaning them because of the road grime.
Kylie Purtell said…
Surely mopping is better than the hanging out of the clothes!!!???!!! :)
Kylie Purtell said…
Oh so familiar! Mopping, sweeping, vacuuming - anything floor related really - feels more pointless than so many other housework tasks. The floor will literally be dirty again within minutes (in my house, anyway). At least the clean clothes will get worn for a whole day! The food will be eaten and enjoyed (except for what ends up on the floor). But the floors? There's just no reward. Like you, I resign myself occasionally to the need for some basic hygiene around the place, but I never, ever enjoy it.
Kylie Purtell said…
Love your picture from "funnytweeter". I use to always tell my Mum I wasn't born to work - to which she scoffed at me.


But seriously I'm with you on those self cleaning floors.
Kylie Purtell said…
Mopping sucks ass, there isn't much else to say really, but so does every chore. I do spot mopping as a technique, use my mop that doubles as a broom thing and when it's messy I pour some boiling water on the spot and whip that sucker! Ha ha cockies dying of shock x
Kylie Purtell said…
I'm quite happy to mop an empty house. It's when the whole bloody family is running around dropping shit everywhere that I loathe it. So that's pretty much all the time! Great post!
Kylie Purtell said…
Ha ha. Yes. Yes Yes. I love this. I avoid it like the plague too...Thanks for reminding me I need to mop ours! x
Kylie Purtell said…
Oh Hell yes - I hate mopping and I totally need self cleaning toilets and a washing machine that washes, dries, folds, irons AND puts all that crap away too x
Kylie Purtell said…
haha! Hate mopping most of all. And very luckily hubby is happy to take this one on board!!
Kylie Purtell said…
This is me, but with folding clothes. It used to be me with ironing, but I just stopped doing that altogether and I have been a much nicer person ever since. x
Kylie Purtell said…
I hate ironing. I started buying clothes that needed ironing when I got married because he used to iron. Now, he doesn't iron. So I bought a steamer. Don't use that either. Well, very often. But it is MAGIC! Just too damned hot to introduce my hot air into my household, especially with my Blokefolk already in there. Just sayin'

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