Hands up who likes housework! … anybody? …
I once read that doing housework can actually give you the blues. I’ve found a solution. It’s the old “exam cram” type approach. Step 1: Don’t do any until you have to. Step 2: Prioritise for OPTIMUM RESULTS! None of this whole-house nonsense, there’s never time.
The babysitter was coming on Saturday. An unusual event in itself, that we were going out. Spider webs hung in every corner of the house. You may find that hard to believe if you’re at all house-proud, yet it is no exaggeration. In my defence, may I note that we live in an old house with an established spider population, so they’re quick off the mark with the webs. Plus it’s baby-spider season so they’re in a population boom.
I thought I’d have all of Saturday to dust, scrub and polish. Instead, I had to take my children to their riding lesson. That was the morning gone. Luckily I’ve established a bit of a cleaning routine with the children: every Saturday the older ones alternate between vacuum their room and cleaning the bathroom. 2 rooms down, 4 to go.
I had to prioritise and work fast. Kitchen and dining room were a must, because dear babysitter likes to sit near the stove and read with a cup of tea after the children are gone to bed. A lot of odds seem to collect in our kitchen, from bills waiting to be filed to empty jars waiting to be recycled. Cobwebs were brushed upstairs and down, then kitchen scrubbed, then dining room stove scrubbed, then the hoover came out. Downstairs bathroom was done last (nothing like a fresh white towel to say “I just cleaned the bathroom!) In 3 hours I’d made 4 rooms + stairwell look cared for.
Now it was time for the fairy godmother to work her magic (that was as daunting as the cleaning itself, but eventually I ended up with a bit of gloss and polish about me, presentable for a big bash of a birthday party!) In a Beckam-esque coincidence (I swear!) my husband and I happened to dress in navy and pink.
Of course, this still leaves the entire upstairs in dire need of a clean, and the sitting room needs to be done for Wednesday, when I have a yoga friend coming over. But as I sit in the dining room typing away now, the sunbeams haven’t any dust sparkling and dancing in them. I’m sorted for… well, at least six months: as Joan Rivers said, “I hate housework. You make the beds, you do the dishes, and six months later you have to do it all again.” Hear hear.
