I'll do it my way
Now we get down to real life in Mazatlan.
One of the realities of life is cleaning the house. We had a couple of ladies help us with the initial mopping and scrubbing, and aside from the walls really needing paint it is clean enough.
The typical way people clean floors here is to sweep and mop, pretty much every day. I have to admit I just don't like that system.
The main area of our house is open to the outside. The breeze whips through - and that is a good thing as it keeps us cool. We have ceiling fans in every room. So sweeping is pretty much a matter of turning off the fans and trying to keep the sweepings from taking off across the room before you get them in the dustpan. It can be pretty frustrating, and with the fans off - hot.
We have two dogs....Henry is a schnauzer/poodle mix and doesn't shed much, but Lucy, the lab mix, sheds constantly. So there is dog fur drifting here and there as I try to sweep.
Anyone who knows me will now chuckle when I say I want a vacuum! And they are difficult to find around here. I did see one that I really considered but it was a little pull around thing that didn't have beaters for the floor.
Today I really intend to find a vacuum. There is a commercial cleaning store with a yellow pages ad that I want to visit, and if necessary I will go back and get the pull around one I already located.
How do other people with dogs handle the housecleaning? Do you have help that comes in? I am reluctant to get a maid at least for now until we really see how much effort it is to keep clean ourselves.
11 comments:
We brought down a Dysan vacuum and also a ShopVac this time - it is great to have both down here as we had a larger DustDevil that was not competent for the work load.
I have been sucking up dirt and cobwebs every since I got the ShopVac unpacked. I think you can get decent vacuums at Home Depot. I am assuming you have one there.
It is great to have a good vacuum or two ;-)
We don't have any dogs and have not yet found a reason to have a maid really. We have hired people on a job basis.
I see people really getting involved with having maids and gardeners - not our style really.
Juan
We spent a year sweeping, mopping, and dusting our 1000 sqft apt with 2 dogs... not fun. We would have to sweep daily and dust and mop at least a couple of times a week. I've got more pressing things to do than dust.
Having everything open means more dust can get in, and the more furniture you get, the more dusting you will need to do (almost daily). Also, the hotter weather means dogs shed a lot more.
For us, now that we have help, we just have to keep things tidy. 2 days a week, 4 hours each time, $200 pesos each visit. Worth it in my book. We still do our laundry, make the bed, etc. But not having to do the heavy work is nice.
Adam
I don't know about shipping (it should be easy to check), but what about amazon? I bought a vacuum from there after reading reviews on a bunch of vacuums.
I really don't know what the deal is with vacuums down there. My Suegra (Mexico City) owns one, and has owned it for about 25 years, but I am not sure that she has used it beyond the first time she bought it. I tried to show her but she was completely resistant. They have all tile, of course, but the oriental carpet they have is literally getting cut and ground down from the dirt that won't "sweep" off.
(said in sports team cheering chant)
ROOM-BA! ROOM-BA! ROOM-BA! ROOM-BA!
Not that I own one, but I think they're cool, and I'd love to hear you guys telling the Roomba in Mexico story.
Don't be too discouraged, hiring a maid is definitely cheaper in Latina America, but it brings its own set of problems. Just keep an open mind, try different ideas and adapt!
you might want to check out a friend of mine's blog, "La Gringa's Blogicito".
We had much the same dilemma and the only vacuum we could find was a shop vac type. We bought it and other than the loud noise it works good; but we have no carpet. Works much better than sweeping.
We have Terrazo floors and I swear by our Roomba. We've had it for 3 years and I just replaced the battery 2 weeks ago.
When you take the dogs for a walk, turn it on and when you get home, everything is vacuumed and the Roomba is on it's docking station recharging. I swear by it. One thing- like any vacuum with a rotating brush, throw rugs with tassels have to be picked up.
The Roomba goes under furniture and into corners. You'll love it.
Thanks, everyone! Now I know I'm not crazy!
I left our Dyson back i the US since it wouldn't fit in the van, and I sure regret it now.
I may try to muddle through until I go to San Francisco to pick up our bird - and bring one down with me then.
The roomba is a great idea but I think we have too many levels here and it would hurt itself!
Nancy, when we moved to Mexico I wasn't going to get a maid but after two months, I did. I can clean but keeping the grit off the floors in a house that is open means cleaning the floors at least 3 days a week. And vacuuming or sweeping and/or mopping the whole house just took a lot of time. Also, I found that because we shop for groceries almost everyday and have errands to run that either I was out after it got hot or back home and cleaning after it got hot. Finally I gave in and got a maid 3 days a week. She is such a wonderful person and it does make my life easier. But I think you are on the right track. Wait and see how it goes for a while. You'll know if you want help.
Get a shop vac. They are much more resistant to the salt you are going to get living by the ocean and you can also pick up water with them. We have a "cleaning lady" who comes in once a week. It is well worth the money spent to have a sparkling clean house....if even for just one day! LOL!
Gotta go with Wayne on the ShopVac. Maybe it is a guy thing - but Anita loves her yellow Dyson - so with his and hers we suck away ;-)
Juan Calypso
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