House Cleaning of the Casual Kind.
Hello Dears, and welcome back to another fine episode of thoughts and ideas of the cleaning kind. Where we, the “casual housekeepers,” begin to feel overwhelmed by all the wonderful advice from housekeepers that seem to have it all together. Don’t get me wrong, they are wonderful people in their own right, but for the life of me I just can’t understand why they get so excited? It’s not that house work is a complete drudgery, but there is always something more exciting to do. You glance at your hands and hair in the mirror and it’s time for a little pampering. You check your accounts and see, you can afford a trim, a style and some new nail polish. Out the door you dash, a smile on your face. When you come home though, that mess you tried to avoid is waiting for you. You need get it done. Then when you remember you really wanted to buy a few sets of those latex gloves and you have a coupon for them. So, once again out the door you dash to pick up those gloves in an attempt to save your manicure, and maybe you even grab some of those new candle fragrances, then get ready to head home and….OH LOOK FLAMINGOS! And you must look at those nice seasonal picnic items to include flamingo vinyl tablecloths. You start thinking about a tropical themed summer get together with the family. You see what has happened here? You’ve spent hours avoiding the work that needs to get done, because like me you are one of those casual housekeepers.
You’re not bad, in fact you’re not the image some people have of a lazy housewife. The casual housekeeper is one who gets distracted by ANYTHING. Maybe it’s sewing, crochet, gardening, reading, playing with the kids, cooking (although i don’t know why), shopping, exercising, scrapbooking, the list of possibilities is endless! Being a homeschooler or mom of infants and toddlers is it’s own distraction. Maybe you are not a mom but you live with roommates and you think “They are perfectly capable to pick up their own smelly socks.” The casual housekeeper doesn’t mind cleaning, they don’t like to remove clutter all over.
“Oft expectation fails, and most oft there
Where most it promises; and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest, and despair most fits.””
Now let's talk about expectations. Expectations lead to bitterness, which leads to frustrations, which leads to resentment and can often lead us to a path of perpetual grumpiness and NO ONE likes a grouch all the time, but we are oft times guilty of placing too many expectations upon ourselves. We do need to remember, we housekeep to help our minds remain clutter free not to meet someone else's idea of what a housekeeper should be doing. Keeping our creative minds free of being concerned with the chores throughout the day is healthy for all of us so we do have to do them for the sake of our sanity. Like those nasty little-canned peas on the plate; eat them first in order to enjoy the rest of the meal. We just need to find those tips and tricks and that groove that helps us along the way. Peg Bracken developed a 5 point system for maintaining the home, cleaning up the clutter, and keeping your mind at ease and I will share them here:
1. Unless it is really necessary, do not cover up things with other things.
If you really have to cover up that old sofa do so, just remember that the slipcover will have to be cleaned as well on a regular basis. If you have to cover the sofa there are some cool ideas on using sheet sets as these are easier to clean and cheaper to replace and change out a theme. If it’s in the budget see if you can have it reupholstered. It also might seem outdated, but placing neutral-colored cloth napkins on the backs and arms of chairs and couches are also a simple cover to help keep the armrests clean and they just get tossed in the wash when too dirty. And unless you don’t use it a lot, there is no reason to cover small appliances. If you have appliances that show fingerprint smudges the question is why? You are adding more cleaning work for you. If you must have those smudged items then I guess you have to keep those covers around. Remember this when the appliance breaks down and you have to get a new one. If you are new to setting up housekeeping let people know you do not want shiny chrome appliances you HAVE to maintain. Unless of course, you like polishing off smudged fingerprints. Even the casual housekeeper has her quirks. If you hate the smudges, but already have the shiny ones, then you might have to buy covers, wouldn’t you rather spend your money on something else. Always wipe down appliances after use, and shake out the toaster after use.
2. Keep pots and pans you cook with out of sight.
Really the last thing you want to do is to be polishing all of those pots and pans to display them. Some people use copper pots and pans for decor. For me, this idea went out of style as housekeepers advanced through the ages and had cupboard spaces to put things. Before having them hanging overhead was a matter of convenience, it is not needed anymore. There are those that love to display their pots and pans, it becomes a matter of pride and style; to that I say “pride goes before the fall,” Style is all up to you, and if you do not want to polish and scrub the bottoms of all those pots and pans...don’t. Clean them and put them away. It is ok.
3. Each time you want to give the house a good going over start in a different room.
Often the casual housekeeper starts in the same room when giving the house a thorough cleaning. Eventually, as she starts getting tired the last room is often neglected. It begins to show its sorrow at not being the favorite and starts looking droopy and out of sorts. This is a terrible state for a room. You do not want to show favorites, it is important that you pick a different starting room. This is where a simple notebook will help you to keep track of the rooms you started with last time. Each gets attention as each deserves in its turn and eventually they look cheery and spunky.
4. Establish “Zones of Clutter”
Now some people say do not do this, but this is very important. When clutter is not in its proper home it needs a holding point until you can get to it later. Laundry baskets or little baskets work well for this as do a few junk drawers and a closet. Again, so many books tell you not to do this, but in the realms of housekeeping, the casual housekeeper does not want to be running up and down the stairs putting people’s things away. Place one upstairs and one downstairs. When picking up the clutter put everything into the baskets. Then, place that basket in the closet. When the basket is full clean it out. If one of your kids says “MOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where’s my favorite pair of shoes??!!! I can’t find them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Ask him or her to check the basket? NOW, whoever has to look in the basket gets to clean out the entire basket and put everything away. Same rule with the junk drawer.
5. Whenever the cleaning bug hits you ACT ON IT.
There are those that say to schedule the day you do laundry and so on but after a dreadful Monday (all Mondays being dreadful) who can go to sleep KNOWING that Tuesday is the day you have to scrub the toilet. It makes Monday more dreadful with Tuesday looming overhead with visions of toilet bowl scrubbers dancing in our heads. For some, this is great fun and Toilet Bowl Tuesday is something they look forward to all week. Some people tell you to write out a “things to do list,” but the casual housekeeper only schedules those things that are important like dentist appointments or yard sale weekend. When a friend calls they want to be available for them. Especially when said friend or parent says “Wow there are some fantastic yard sales in the area” or “Hey let's hit the Lake for some fishing.” We do NOT want to look at our schedule and say “Sorry today is Toilet Bowl Tuesday.” Eventually, our friends do not invite us along, because they know it is Toilet Bowl Tuesday and they don’t want to bother us.
And there you have it some ideas from Peg Bracken’s beloved bestseller “I Hate to Housekeep Book.” published 1962. As Peg Bracken says “If it’s loose, pick it up; if it isn’t, dust it; if it moves feed it.” If you are a casual housekeeper you are not alone, and you needn’t get discouraged by those who have figured it out. At one time we were all reluctant or casual housekeepers and homemakers, we have all tried to find ways to make our own groove. The Groove is yours to make. Do not let the expectations inside you hold you back from finding creative shortcuts to helping you out in the day to day and often mundane. As you develop your own groove you’ll find that the journey is a lot more rewarding and maybe at some point soon or later you’ll be the one people look to as the perfect housekeeper. The journey is yours, just make sure you do the journey. You’ll get there in the end. And remember there have been very few eulogies where you’ve heard “Aunt Mabel was the most perfect housekeeper.” The first thing you’ll hear “Aunt Mabel knew how to make people comfortable and welcome.” At that point, isn’t that really what’s important?
Until next time have fun and stay Flamboyant my Flamingo friends.
