I must apologize, CocoaBeans. When I read that you cleaned for 4 hours, I laughed.

If I spent 4 hours cleaning at my house, it wouldn't make a visible difference. It's that bad.

I was going to say something like, "My house isn't really that bad. I don't have dried pet crap in the carpet."

But I do.

My dog managed to climb through a small spot between the wall and the TV stand, which is angled in a corner, and he has crapped back there. The TV stand is too heavy for me to move, so it's dried up and gross back there.

I don't vacuum my carpets.

The last time I had someone vacuum was back in June. It is now February. I paid a friend to help me clean. She used one of those Shop Vac machines because it's what I had in my garage (borrowed from someone).

The last few times I've tried to use a vacuum, all of the dog hair and filth has clogged the rotar thing on the machine and then the engines have overheated and they quit working. I've made a trip to Walmart or Target five times in a row to buy a vacuum, brought it home, run it on the floor, clogged it up and burned out the engine, and then I gave up until I tried again.

Four hours, huh?

I went to a friend's really nice house at Christmas for the first time and told her, "Your house is so beautiful. It's so BIG!"

She said, "Oh, I know. It's huge. It's takes me four hours to clean it."

I thought, "Do people really time themselves when they clean? Did she really clean the entire house in four hours?"

What does that mean?

I suppose normal people start out with a house that's somewhat clean and their normal cleaning routine is easier. Like just wiping things down, dusting, vacuuming, sweeping.

My house is beyond that. I don't wipe things down, dust, vacuum, or sweep.

Well, I sweep when I change the cat litter box because it makes a mess on the floor. But that's it.

If I have any hope of ever doing the "normal" type cleaning that would take just a few hours, I would have to spend some major time decluttering, throwing away, shredding papers, and finally get down to the surfaces of countertops and vanities.

Meanwhile, I'm sorry your landlord was grumpy.

Hiring someone to help is a great idea, if you have the money.