For goodness sakes, our two-story house is only 2400 sf with only two adults living here (plus six indoor cats as well but they are the joy of our lives so they are worth every bit of effort it takes to pick up after them) but I think I am losing the race, contest or whatever it is...

Tonight was the final straw. It was 108 degrees here today so the AC was running all day - I'm just so grateful to have it since I lived in a very old farmhouse for 28 years without it BUT, when I turned off the AC after dark, opened the windows (with screens on them) for just a bit of fresh air, I turned around to find hundreds of little blacks bugs flying around...

All apparently attracted to the lamp by my computer. At least I was smart enough to turn off all the other lights in the house so they didn't spread out and I have managed to "smash" most of them.... think I will be washing walls, woodwork and window sills for several hours tomarrow.

As if I didn't have enough to do with keeping up with the refrigerator, stove, counters, kitchen, floors, stairway, carpets, bedrooms, closets, clothes, linens and laundry? Anyone else get frustrated with trying to keep your house clean? I think I am losing the battle.

Oh dear that happened to me once in my last home. Don't know WHAT they were but there were hundreds of them. They looked like gnats with round wings! They were all clustered on a windowsill and it really freaked me out. I sprayed them with some bug spray and killed them all.

Living in the woods we always get something weird in the house, from lizards, snakes and frogs to even someone's pet pig. LOL!

I've started having a service come in once a month specifically to wipe down every thing, vacuum the furniture and mop the floors. Having the house deep cleaned once a month helps me stay on track to keep it tidy and makes the interim vacuuming, dusting and mopping not so onerous because I can concentrate on areas that are important to me like the kitchens and bathrooms.

I've never had much problem with laundry. However, it took me a while to get accustomed to the longer cycles on my front load washer.

My biggest problem (other than someone not taking muddy boots off at the door) is getting the other occupant to keep the door closed to the walk-in master bedroom closet. It's off the master bath and gets fuzzy, dusty, filthy. He - er - the other occupant was gone for the weekend so I gave the closet a thorough cleaning and taped a nice note on the door "Please keep this door closed" with a . When I got home yesterday after work, the not was gone...and not mentioned. LOL Hope he got the message.

I find it open 1-3 times a week and sometimes more. I really think it stays open most of the day and he only thinks about closing it just before I get home.

!2 years ago I had a very neat, clean and organized house. Then, my other 1/2 moved in, then my now 87 year old mother moved in, then we got 1 dog, then a 2nd. On top of that gary's mother died, my great aunt died and all their stuff ended up in my house. Oh then we sold the cottage and most of that furniture came back to roost. i am always picking up after the pups and gary. Not that there is anywhere to put something away. I used to always stress over it when the doorbell rang, until my neighbor said, in my response to apologizing about the mess, "I don't care, I don't live her" Could have taken it as an insult, but instead thought, that's right , she is here to see me not my house. The only way I clean these days is to take stuff to the Washington Humane Society's thrift shop. A lot easier to get rid of stuff when It will go to a good cause.

Hi IR,

I hear you. Is there a echo in the house? Same way here too;it's a challenge to keep up with everything. The A/C runs year round here so no opening/closing the windows.

I am constantly sweeping and mopping the white tile floors. Then it's keeping the counters cleaned off and neat. Lucky for me that the other members do their own laundry each week. We have decided to get a lawn service for our yard as DH can no longer keep up with this 1/2 acre property. So next will be someone to help me clean too. Nice even trade.

Good Luck!

Sherry, You need one of those auto door closers like the commercial places have on their doors. LOL. It's our pantry bi-fold doors here that are never closed.

LOL Remember the old screen doors with the spring closer?

Sherry, I have just that sort of screen door on my front door. It took me forever to find it!

Thanks to all who posted and those who just lurked and thought the same! I'm over it now but so appreciate having a place to post feelings every once in a while when trying to keep a home the way I think we all would like to have it be - and we know that it is never going to happen - but we still try!

Seriously? There are so many more serious things happening in the world and I know it BUT, sometimes, it's just nice to be able to say what's bothering you and know there are others out there who are feeling the same!

To all who clean the house and all the rest of it too, LET LOOSE, SCREAM and then do a little dance, because we are all pretty lucky!

AND - without being judgemental about it!

Sherry, am I too good looking for my height?

From what I can see - you are absolutely perfect!! As we all are.

[QUOTE]I used to always stress over it when the doorbell rang....QUOTE]
I have a similar situation, four households of goods moved into my house on top of D?H's treasures. Deceased best friend's daughter left her husband and asked to stay with us. PANIC, where to put her, junk everywhere. How will she feel living in this quagmire? She didn't care, just needed a place to live with people who loved her. Thankfully found her a room with one of our rentals, but she has been over for dinner on a number of occasions and doesn't seem to mind the clutter (I do, but what's a girl to do when DH gets emotional about his junk). She even asked me to invite her son over for the 4th and he readily accepted and asked if he could come back. Who would have thunk it.

A couple of years ago, in May, I had these little bugs with white wings all over the place. Only in the front room. I would kill them all, and the next day, more would be there. I'd get them, and day after day, for about a week, the same thing would happen. They'd be all over the window sills, all over the floor, and all over the furniture. If I sprayed them, there'd be a dark stain on the wall or window sill. That happened for about 3 years, and the last 2 years, I haven't seen them. Maybe I got them all. But there were hundreds of thousands of them. They drove me crazy. I don't know what kind of bugs they were, but they'd only come in May. So I can sympathize about your bugs all over the place.
Hope they don't come back.
P.S. What's Haystack up to these days?

Ants. We have ants. The ants have invaded these past couple of days. They are everywhere inside the house and the most maddening part? Tonight they got into the cabinet where I keep my chocolate. Ugh! I had to throw everything that was open in that cabinet away--cereal boxes, crackers, etc.

Ohhh, CM. Who cares about the cereal and crackers..... Did you lose much chocolate?

Yes, Met, YES! I had a large, open bar of Hershey's milk chocolate and two unopened bars. They were all in a plastic bag but I hadn't zipped it quite all the way closed. I threw out the open one and then opened one of the new ones, put it on a paper towel on the counter after breaking off a chunk to eat (stress eating, you know, ants everywhere) and I turn around to find an ant on that one, too. Tears, I tell you.

charcoalsmom, That is the saddest story I have ever read. Ants in your chocolate. Nothing is sacred anymore! LOL! I hear you.

Charcoalmom, the chocolate was still safe to eat if the ants didn't walk through any pesticide. You can buy chocolate covered ants on Amazon. I have a neighbor and ants got inside her freezer. I don't understand how they managed to get inside there.

Still, YUK! That thought totally grosses me out. I don't want to eat anything that has been walked on by ants.

And they persist, at least in the kitchen. Cannot figure out where they're coming in but they are everywhere, all over the countertops, sink, coffee maker, fridge, garbage container... I have battled them all day and they are winning.

I have been battling all summer and I am convinced that the new windows that were installed are the problem here. We never saw a bug until those windows went in. Falls on deaf ears with DH though!Good luck!

Charcoalsmom, I didn't realize your infestation was that bad. Ants prefer to travel along easy routes into the house along wires and pipes. They also like potting soil for their nest sites. If you have any potted plants with ants submerge the pot for 20 minutes in water.

The ants may be entering through a small hole inside a cupboard floor or wall. You need to seal any cracks and small entrances in your house. Plus seal any seal cracks in your foundation, around pipes and wires leading into your house. Builder often leave small gaps in houses where the boards didn't meet because they cut incorrectly.

The ants follow trails that the scouts have passed over because they leave a scent. Wash everything they have traveled over with soapy water or use Windex if possible. You can also vacuum them up but you still need to clean the trail scent off where they traveled. I have a link from the UC of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program for ants that has a l minute video for dealing with ants in an emergency like yours.
http://stream.ucanr.org/statew...temergency/index.htm

Here is a link to main page on ants that will provide more information and help you determine which type of ant you are dealing with. It's from the same source. - http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7411.html

My DB lived in Simi Valley and constantly battled ants. He said that Simi Valley was one giant ant hill. I don't know if that is accurate but he sure was good at following the trail outdoors and finding the nest.

Another tip is if you can't place all your food items in containers then use the black binder clips from a office supply store to seal the bags. Fold over the bag opening edge at least once and clip.


Good luck cleaning it all up and yes I wouldn't have eaten that chocolate either. "Hey ants thanks for traveling through the garbage and onto my chocolate."