Lordy !! I've got more hangups than a walk-in closet! I find I would love for my house to be squeaky clean, but truth is, *WHO* has the time?? There is just so much to do and the time seems to go by faster and faster! It's really getting to be down right scary!! I know my Mama says the older you get the less you "turn off", but a *Turn Off* to me was always a direction you took or a operation to a faucet.......I know better now !
Organizational skills is not one of my better attributes but I figured a book which would show me how to be better organized was what I needed. There had to be a book out in *Book Land* somewhere that could teach me how to clean quickly. Truth was, "I WAS TOO BUSY TO CLEAN!" Soooo, off I go....after awhile I laid my sticky little paws on just the thing. Honeeeee!! anyone that could teach me 500 tips and techniques to make my housekeeping easier was due my money! ABSOLUTELY!!.
Making my purchase I quickly made an exit home to read and absorb how to do these things. Well !! Let me Tell you, the more I read the more I realized this was "THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I EVER MADE"!! Have you ever wondered where some of these people come from that write these self help books??? Gracious Goodness !! I know one thing for sure this gal didn't have any Grandkids or one of those cute *little Ole* things called a "Better Half" !! Heavens to Betsy! I wouldn't take a million dollars for that darlin' little grandson or my sweet better half...why, "Papa" serenades me every night sprawled out on that couch! Yes Sireee!!
Nevertheless, I had purchased that book and I was going to try it if it killed me.....Soooo, Ladies get that little ole "organized" pail of supplies and you tag along and let's clean a bedroom!! YES SIRRRREEE !! Guaranteed to do so in thirty minutes spare time before running those kids to football practice or music lessons. Sounds pretty good, huh? Well!! Here we go !!
1. First, be sure you don't try to clean with your Sunday Best on....
NOW,I ask you, what "NIPCUMPOOP" would do that? I'm kindly *fond* of a pair of baggy pants and a sweat top when I'm cleaning! LET ME WARN YOU,according to this author, you should "put your makeup on just in case someone decides to drop by for a visit! NOW, I really can't be too concerned if someone drops by while I'm cleaning and I certainly hope they depart quickly!! I'm not unsociable, just not in much of a mood to socialize when I'm scrubbing out the *toilets*!!
NOW, since we have such matters settled, let's grab that little ole organized pail of cleaning supplies and head for the bedroom for a quick cleaning job!!
2. Once in the room take everything out that doesn't belong there...
GOOD IDEA!! Things like a week old sandwich stuck up under the kids bed or a pile of clothes you had to kick to the side to get across the room. I once told our older son that the Health Department would condemn us if they were to check his room....
3. Be sure not to put these things back until the room has been entirely cleaned...
Now, WHY would I put such things back into a cleaned room?
4. PULL the furniture out from the walls, turn back the rugs at the edges (Thank God I have wall to wall carpet), pick up throw rugs, working around the room dust from top down. *Pant-Pant!!* This is getting to be a bigger job all the time.....wipe smudges off doorknobs, light switches and walls. *Hooooeeweeee !!* MY QUESTION IS, How much does your bed weigh.....not to mention a double dresser, an amnoir, let's throw in a couple of high back chairs and a couple of night stands...IT would take a couple of the "GREEN BAY PACKERS" to do this cleaning !! Sounds more like Spring Cleaning to me than cleaning a room. YES SIR!! the more I read the better my house looked. After all, "BETTER A CREATIVE MESS THAN IDLE TIDINESS!!
I think I will just stick to the routine I have....If the phone rings and someone is dropping by I just gather everything that is lying out that doesn't belong out and throw it in an empty basket and put in a closet. There is no ashtrays in my house to wipe out..soooo, if anything is "smoking" in this house you better be on fire and not have a cigarette!
Finally, just give the bathroom a quick going over, stick things under the counter that you don't want seen. For safety precaution just swish some liquid freshner around. Does wonders!
Truth is I hate housework. I don't do windows, despise baseboard and can hardly endure closets, cleaning silver is a crock .....This type cleaning is mostly done twice a year. Ohhh! ME!! If company is coming for a visit I do this stuff, but I still hate it...I simply find life too interesting to clean house. I don't like it, but I do it.
What this means is that a burglar would never break into my house and find unmade beds, unwashed dishes, or papers scattered across the floor. My bathroom WILL be clean and there WOULD NOT Be a pile of unfolded clothes. I do, however, *pity* the poor guy if he decides to ramble or rummage the closets or to make an escape through the windows....I am not *Mr. Spic and Span*.....I DON'T DO WINDOWS!!!
I think the "Clean" house has become an obsession with us today. I never remember a cluttered house, or dirty dishes in the sink, neither did my Mom or Grandma spend every waking minute on the house. I remember hugs and kisses, especially my Grandmas famous sentence of "Oh! I love you so much". That's what we need more of today!!
I have a four year old grandson, Derek, I love his hugs, kisses, and the "I love you to" I get from him. We race cars down in floor, play ball and he loves to be read to, we have picnics on the deck in the summer and in winter we picnic inside on the floor, we snuggle on the big fluffy (featherbed) bed and watch Disney Movies at night. I think these are much more important than a house so clean you could eat off the floor.
It'll be the day when I leave my bed at five o'clock in the morning to clean my house where I can be through by seven o'clock in the morning and spend the day sitting with idle hands. I want my family to be comfortable, loved, and feel free to enjoy our home. I hope they will have as many good memories of the years spent at home with us as I have of the years I have had with my parents and Grandparents.
Memories of Grandparents and Great-Grandparents are a special blessing from God. I have these memories, My Children have these memories, and I pray that our Grandson will have great memories. Yes! he has Great-Grandparents on my side and he begs to go see his Nanny "Do".....my Mom, Dewdrop, and of course, Big Daddy. We need to take time more often to stop and Thank the Lord for our blessings.... Hey!! I am a blessed Woman........I just don't like housework!!