I have been sewing or on this computer all week long and this place looks like it.
You would think with just the two of us living here it would stay pretty neat.
Not so, my floor is covered in thread, scraps of material and glitter from a side project on a Halloween outfit.
Although to be truthful, it wouldn’t have been all that busy if I hadn’t ‘saved’ another story over my feature article and had to rewrite nearly the whole thing. Plus, house-husband Jack has been pretty busy too, so that vacuum has not made it out of the office/catch all room at all, and I’m beginning to think I will soon need a rake in here!
Come to think of it, I don’t think I did much around here last week either.
Jack is my helper and handyman and has taken over most of my chores, especially in the kitchen when the dishes start piling up. He even chips in and sometimes cooks “breakfast for lunch” or homemade soup on cool days, and especially on my busiest day, Wednesday.
That doesn’t keep me from feeling a bit guilty when I look around and see 13 things just in this room that I really should clean up…
Guess I really should get the vacuum out and plug it in, even if I don’t actually have time to use it. I will just pray that we don’t get any company too soon.
My sister-in-law Marlene always left her vacuum sitting in the living room.
I asked her about it one time and she said, “It’s in case someone comes over. I’ll tell them “I was just cleaning.”
Maybe it’s because I grew up in the happy homemaker era of the 50s and 60s, but I understand her reasoning completely.
Remember “Leave it to Beaver” or “Father Knows Best?” If you do, you are probably older than 55 and you know exactly what I mean. Not only was that house “open house clean,” but Mom (June) did it all in a dress and high heels and she still had dinner ready at 6 p.m. I shouldn’t tell you this but last night I had cereal for supper and today I didn’t take off my pj’s all day. And, Jack made me an egg and toast for supper so I could get these articles finished…
Back in those “good old days”(that is a big fat lie) most Moms didn’t work outside the home. Mine did, but then that is another story. Somehow she still managed to keep our place looking fairly neat – but then we had lots of junk drawers. Mom was a genius.
I am a firm believer in junk drawers. We have always had four or five in the house – usually the top drawer of desks and dressers – and they certainly are handy. If someone calls to say they are on their way over, you just open the drawer and sweep everything off into there – instant neatness.
Since this is the method to my madness, of course you know the catch-all table in the living room has always had a drawer. Just don’t open it.
Another “must have” cleaning tool is the laundry basket. Carry it through each room and throw everything in there that doesn’t belong. Then hide the basket.
And of course, drag the vacuum out into the living room, unwrap the cord and plug it in. Now you are ready for company.
All of this comes up because fall is about over, winter is just a week or so away, my house is a mess and my windows still need a fall wash job. Since the thermometer is supposed to get up into the 70s again tomorrow and maybe on Friday. I guess that could be possible. Of course, the 30-40 mile per hour winds that are forecast might change things.
So at least the yard looks pretty neat since Jack just mowed again and we don’t have enough trees in this yard to make a mess. But, can you believe he was mowing grass just a couple of days before Halloween?
I guess the house should be first. We really do need to clean up, wash windows and air the place out again before the really cold weather comes to stay.
And, I should clean out some of those junk drawers and find the hidden laundry baskets, so I have a place to put stuff when company is actually on the way.
