have a cleaner twice a month. Cleans kitchen, bathroom, floors, vacuum, dusts, and straightens. I do pick up before a cleaning so they have time to really do the cleaning because I only pay for 4 hours. I sometimes vacuum in between, but that doesn't always get done. Before the place was for sale, they never touched my room, but now it gets vacuumed also. No laundry or sheet changing. I should ask that windows get washed soon though.

My Ariesness is pretty consistent, which is to say I get fired up about projects and then jump when something shiny and new catches my attention. Makes cleaning thoroughly a hit or miss proposal, since sleeping, petting the cat, and what you have all seem like infinitely better ideas than the one to clean the kitchen or whatever.

That is a cute dress, Perkins! Red is a great color for you.

Okay, I'm a Gemini, so what should I be like? Or what two people should I be like?

I have neither a housecleaner nor any qualities attributable to an astrological sign. I do have an awesome yard guy, which is <3.

I am good at cleaning; I'm a Virgo. That's the problem, though. I start cleaning one little thing, and next thing I know, everything in the fridge is out and I am scrubbing it with a toothbrush, and then, 3 hours later, I'm too tired to wash towels and sweep the bathroom. ten minutes later, when one of the other household inhabitants inevitably spills, tracks across, or otherwise despoils the fruits of my efforts, I go into a blinding HULK! SMASH! RAGE!

So I try to clean as little as humanly possible, even though I am good at keeping things straightened up, so the house doesn't look like a total dump site.

After 9 years of marriage I finally got my DH to cave and agree to the cleaning lady. Life. Saver. I am so much happier.

I finally got a good plan for keeping the place reasonably clean. Keeping in mind it's just an apartment, no kids and two people: I propose a mere 15 or 20 minute block of cleaning to my man, about once a week. Usually no restrictions on what gets cleaned by whom. Put a podcast on the speakers and 20 minutes later everything is decluttered and the surfaces are cleaned. The showers are never sparkling and dusting almost never gets done, but at least things are reasonable.

Perkins, that is a totally cute dress! Is it worth having a tailor/seamstress alter it?

An assisted living facility for people with dementia or Alzheimer's is being planned for a Minneapolis suburb. Some neighbors are protesting because they think that the patients might either harm their children or expose them to "inappropriate" behavior. [link]

Is it worth having a tailor/seamstress alter it?

Oh no. It's a costco dress. Altering it would probably cost more than the dress. I figure I can get away with it for another 5 pounds or so, and then goodwill or play here have a thing.