When I was little and shared a room with my sister, I was the neat one. (I still am)
When I was in boarding school, they made my ex-roommate move back in with me after a month across the hall, because she was a giant slob without my neat-freak influence.
But not all household chores are equal.
FLOORS
Floors are my particular bugaboo. During my 12 years on the Delaware shore, I realized that sand gets everywhere. Re-read that. Sand. Gets. Everywhere. I got in the habit of doing the floors at least twice a week, more often if I actually went to the beach, or had a guest. I'm a barefoot girl, and nothing is worse than a gritty floor.
After moving to Beijing, I started sweeping every morning. The entire apartment - city, really - collects this fine, grey dust, and I don't want my yoga mat to pick it up. So I get up, sweep our entire - 400sq. ft.? - and only then will I put down my yoga mat and get some exercise.
DUSTING
Sadly, dusting is my kryptonite. Did I mention the Beijing dust gets everywhere? My TV and furniture remain covered with a thin film of dust. I probably dust about twice a year. (DON'T JUDGE!) Also, I married a man who gets a headache from dusting polish. In the States, I could find fragrance-free dusting polish, and I dusted maybe 3 times a year. Here, I can only dust when he's going to be gone for at least one full day after I whip out the Pledge.
I do dishes and clean the bathroom like a normal person. I mean, Hello! Germs!
~~~
SIDEBAR: Back in the States, in our apartment complex with communal sites for laundry, I made a deal with my husband that, if he would do the laundry, I would clean the bathrooms. In Beijing, it's all me. At least we have our own washer!
~~~
And laundry is put away immediately after it's done. But then we have...
WINDOWS
Seriously? I forget they exist.
They are so hard to reach properly in most places I've lived as an adult, that I can really only do half a job properly. I only do them once a year, if that.
 | |
| Those smudges are apparently from glue or installation spackle or something. The smog is just Beijing. |
I guess my point - my "Life Wisdom" - is to do what you need to, to meet your standards. Make your home as clean as you need it!
My standard: I like to walk on a clean floor.
I mean, I love to look out a clean window, but I can always open the window, too.
What are your cleaning (or other chores) hot buttons?
(If you're visiting from A to Z, please include the name of your blog as it is on the Master List so I can return the favor!)
Cleanliness is big in our house - my husband is a neat freak and has actually gradually taken over most of the housework - after 35 years I'm happy to let him because he does a better job than me (he even shifts the floor rugs to clean under them every time!)
ReplyDeleteLeanne | www.crestingthehill.com.au
C for Consider Every Angle
Haha! Having married as grown adults, we at least don't argue over chores. In the States, things were more evenly divided, but here, he works longer hours than I do, so I just do most of it.
DeleteUgh, I am the world's laziest housekeeper. I wash dishes daily, of course, and try to keep my desk in a state of semi-organized chaos, but the rest is kind of a constant disaster. My husband is in charge of taking out the trash, but the recycling always seems to pile up (there are currently about a million plastic gallon jugs that need to go, but the recycling depot isn't open on Sundays or Mondays, the days my husband could bring them over, grrr!), and don't even get me started on the kitty litter. At least we vacuum once a week, though. And we are supposed to be moving when our lease is up this year, so that means LOTS of stuff is going to be tossed since we won't want to move it all.
ReplyDeleteMoving is the BEST way to clean house! Good luck with that!
DeleteI try to keep things tidy... but I don't like to clean.
ReplyDeleteSo I *cough!* sort of don't. *cough!*
You do you. No judgment.
DeleteI hate cleaning!!! I wish I liked it more, but it's really the worst. My husband grew up in a really clean house though, so he helps me lol. Dishes and laundry are dailies around here, plus I'm really tidy, but idk, I just hate cleaning!
ReplyDeleteI think I have a bit of a blind spot for clutter. I can stack the piles of clutter neatly, though!
DeleteActually, our tiny apartment here helps me keep the clutter down. There just isn't space for it!
Agreed! These Asian apartments are not typically carpeted, and I'm so happy with that!
ReplyDeleteI also, just since posting this, found out that my husband occasionally takes a tissue to dust parts of the room that bug him. It explains the sometimes larger dust bunnies that I sweep up!