jellyflake
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Get it for DH's birthday. Or christmas.
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Question: Frequent skiers, how do you do it?
- Thread starter segacs
- Start date
Get it for DH's birthday. Or christmas.
It's different for different people. Why is skiing so darn important??? It's not your livelihood after all!
For some people (not me, but my former partner), having a clean house is infiinitely more enjoyable than sliding on snow!
Now that I'm on my own, I let it slide. But I totally understand either side of the arguement. In fact, I have a minimum of what my house should look like, beyond which I would stop skiing. Or for that matter, stop BIKING to clean it!
You're only in a hurry to go skiing because the season is short. And yes, I would drop EVERYTHING if it's a rare powder day. But just another skiing day of so-so condition? Nah.
artistinsuburbia
Angel Diva
I thought DH lost his mind...who buys their wife a vacuum for Christmas?? within 24 hours it proved that man a genius. BEST present I ever got...It actually vacuums. See that furry beast in my avatar pic? no more furbunnies which were a daily battle, and way less dirt on the mudroom floor. I'm hoping to get the one that scrubs floors for Mothers day! LOL
It is totally about your priorities. I can't let work fall apart in order to ski (or bike or do yoga), but housecleaning? We hired a housekeeper after enough arguments about it. I'm NOT giving up my athletic pursuits to clean the house. It's just not happening. I'll stay home and clean the house when the weather isn't great (for skiing or biking) and I'm done with yoga. But a messy house bothers DH a lot more than it bothers me, so he was the one who actually suggested the housekeeper and it's worked out well. Haha, for me mostly because I don't have to listen to him complain that the floor needs to be swept or things need dusting, etc.
jellyflake
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Shouldn't your DH does (some of) the cleaning if he's the one who "needs" a clean house?
That being the case with my former partner, who gladly stayed home to clean and scrub while I went out on my bike. That said, it didn't work too well if we were supposed to go do something together and one of us absolutely insist on spending the additional 2 hrs cleaning rather than hitting the road as planned! I had no choice but to help so it gets done sooner. Standing there fuming wouldn't work, nor could I stand a very grumpy, complaining companion during the drive.
(believe it or not, some people actually ENJOY the cleaning! Quite an eye-openner for me! I guess they can envision the result as they labor along, much the same way we do anticipating our powder turns as we drive through the blizzard!)
I do get it.we are in a ski forum. I think that is why skiing might be thought of as important here
But that WAS the question the OP asked at the beginning the thread. How do you balance your other aspect of life while skiing so much?
Granted, after 10 pages (albeit with a good 5 page detour into the cost of skiing), it's now pretty obvious that many are simply giving up other, non-skiing aspect of life in order to ski more.
There's also a big yawning gulf between people who have summer hobby vs. those without. Letting the house get messy/disrepaired in the winter only works if you have more time in the summer to catch up on it. But if you have a big summer hobby like sailing or cycling, you won't have any more time to work on your house in the summer any more than in the winter! So you do have to NOT go skiing to attend to other things in the winter, because you KNOW from years past there's no "better" time to do them than...NOW, in the middle of ski season :(
climbingbetty
Angel Diva
This is how I roll. Before Skiing, there was climbing, the only thing I am more passionate about then skiing. I've been climbing for 16 years now...since I was 19, so my adult life has really evolved and revolved around climbing. Almost all of my friends are climbers. My husband is a guide. We eek out a meager living to be able to be closer to the climbing, mountains, etc. That's what happens to work for us.
We lived in NYC for a year. Never. Again. We were miserable. We just aren't city people. I have no judgements for those that are. Diversity- it's a beautiful thing. I'm also a confirmed introvert who would rather spend a snowy evening inside with a good book over just about anything else. So I prefer the quiet pace of mountain living and would be a hermit if I could.
So I'm lucky in some ways, I don't have to give up seeing my friends to go out and play and by this point, I have 'trained' my family not to have certain expectations of when I will be around & to expect me to flake on holidays if the weather is good for climbing/skiing, etc. They still love me :-)
The house cleaning is a still a little bit of bone of contention with DH. I think he still sort of expects me to be a better housekeeper, but I personally think that is a load of BS. What? Because I'm the girl, I'm responsible for the cleanliness of our house by default???? I don't think so, Bud. I ain't no June Cleaver. He knew WELL before he married me that climbing (didn't ski then, but the same principle applies) comes first. Cleaning is for rain/rest days, if that. Besides that little fact, is the bigger one and that is that he is a bigger slob that I am! You can't navigate our living room because it has become his 'gear staging area.' 90% of the stuff strewn about is HIS ice climbing gear. Which I lovingly (*snerk*) point out when he gets frustrated with the disorder in our house (not a recommended tactic, by the way.)
*sigh* One day when I'm making more money, I'll go altagirl's route and just hire a housekeeper. DH and I have already talked about it and decided that's what we'll do when we can afford it. Though at some point, I'm going to have to break it to him, that he's still going to have to pick up his toys before the housekeeper can vacuum under them :-)
Edited to say that this also why I personally hope to NEVER own a house… Houses take upkeep. I don't want to waste a perfect good Saturday mowing the lawn when I could be climbing. Or fixing something on the house or some other DIY project when there is climbing or skiing to be done. Maybe one day I'll grow up/grow out of that, but for now, my biggest aspiration in life is to be a ski/climbing bum. :-)
That!
I have a house cleaner who initially came every 2 weeks. But I had cancelled it often because the house was not in a state that can be cleaned!
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The other reason for not cleaning every 2 weeks in the winter is I'm out of town in some hotels on many weekend. So literally, I'm not making the house dirty!
I do keep to the schedule as much as possible. The cleaner needs the money as much as I need the cleanliness. And it serves as a motivation for me to tidy up before it all get out of hand.
artistinsuburbia
Angel Diva
same here. when the kids were small and he came home with that what did you do all day attitude...I simply replied, if the choice is between the toddler pulling on my pantleg and doing the dishes, I'm choosing the toddler, otherwise I make a heck of a lot more money at work than I do here...if it's such an issue, it's your issue, so if you want it your way, you can help do the cleaning. he helped for maybe three months. Then he hired a maid to do the bathrooms.He does more cleaning than I do, that's for sure. Though I don't think either of us would claim to enjoy it. It's only that it's more important to him than it is to me, so he pays the housekeeper out of his budget.
segacs
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Same here. I'm very happy renting an apartment and not being responsible for the million-and-ten things that homeowners have to deal with.
I do try to keep up with the cleaning. But it's easy 'cause there's only one of me, my place is pretty small, and I'm practically never home. A quick run of the vacuum cleaner, washing and changing the sheets, dusting and a swipe of cleanser in the bathroom from time to time... no big deal.
But home ownership? No thanks! I don't want to mow lawns or shovel snow or replace roof shingles. If something breaks, I want to just be able to call the landlord and let her deal with it. Not to mention, I don't have any interest in having those expenses.
My life is very busy and I have very little free time. What little time I have, I'd like to spend doing things I enjoy. Renting is freedom.
I like to cook. And make enough of a mess in the kitchen in 2 weeks time (even though I was taught to clean as I cook, AND practice that). That is, if I'm actually home for much of the 2 weeks.
snowski/swimmouse
Angel Diva
I'm a clutter queen and my dining room turns into a ski shop for the season, so 1/2 of why I pay Margaret is to force me to tidy up every two weeks. If I'm traveling, Margaret goes to one of the occasional folks. She *LIKES* a challenge and works for quite a few of us in the ski club, some regularly and some just periodically! The flexibility suits her lifestyle, too.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I am pretty sure Linda, the lady who cleans our house, is a saint.
nopoleskier
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Reading these posts I know that I'm very spoiled.. my other half is retired, he LOVES to cook and take care of me and he does clean the house, does laundry the driveway etc.. and he's happy I ski.. yes I do feel guilty some days because he's home while I ski ski ski.. is a shame his knees are wrecked from Marine Corp but he's thinking of trying skiing next winter. No kids or pets so house doesn't get too wrecked.. yes We'll leave the house dusty etc to go play any day though!
MaineSkiLady
Angel Diva
Well, some of us actually "enjoy" house projects. They are my cross to bear, so to speak, so... I spend the better part of non-ski season doing home fix/improvement stuff. All landscaping and exterior stuff is mine, and I take a certain pride in it, as it's my "job" (w/o pay). I like to think I do as well as anyone who earns $ at it. I paint at least one section of my house exterior every year. Last summer, we dug a 200 foot drainage trench (NO ditch-witch!). Necessity-invention, etc. It works! 
I've had service providers "take the money and run" (and small claims in this state is A Joke). Want something done right? Do it yourself. Don't know how? Figure it out. It's a challenge I took on, somewhat unexpectedly - but...the beat goes on. $1700 to paint one section of the house, really? Gimme the tools and paint, and 2 days.
"It's A Living?"
It's also a major-physical activity guarantee, and super calorie burner. I had never been a "thin" person - until I moved here. I'm now underweight! (really? > yep)
The money saved gets thrown at ski season.
I've had service providers "take the money and run" (and small claims in this state is A Joke). Want something done right? Do it yourself. Don't know how? Figure it out. It's a challenge I took on, somewhat unexpectedly - but...the beat goes on. $1700 to paint one section of the house, really? Gimme the tools and paint, and 2 days.
"It's A Living?"
It's also a major-physical activity guarantee, and super calorie burner. I had never been a "thin" person - until I moved here. I'm now underweight! (really? > yep)
The money saved gets thrown at ski season.
