Monday, March 22, 2021

We are who we are

 

    The wreath I need to drop off at the Salvation Army sits in the hall, where it’s been for the past two days.

It’s perfectly good, but it’s too big for our door since its twigs and leaves whap you in the face each time you try to enter past it. Its continued residence in our front hall set me to thinking again about Covid’s influence on our lives.

     I’ve decided all this time indoors and no visitors has winnowed many of us down to who we really are as housekeepers. Yes, my bathrooms get cleaned, but the newspapers tend to pile up on the coffee table now that there’s no chance anyone can drop by.

     I make the bed every morning, but that’s for me, because an unmade bed drives me nuts, but the clean laundry can hang out on top of the washer all day because I don’t see it. 

     Since Mamie is shaking-in-her-boots terrified of the vacuum, it only appears when the floor grit becomes unbearable, but my kitchen counters are always clean and clear because I can’t think, never mind cook, in a messy kitchen. And not being able to cook is unthinkable.

     This morning I realized my priorities were already pretty much jelled by the time I was in my first year of college.

     I can recall making applesauce on our dorm’s little two-burner stove. (Where did the apples come from? The college dining hall?) However, my sheets rarely got changed by the next turn of the moon.

 

13 comments:

  1. sorry the wreath is a face slapper, it is lovely.
    What is house work? Probably consideration for others and when there are no others, why bother. Clean but horribly cluttered, that is how we roll.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Probably doesn't help that I grew up in a household where "a little dirt never hurt anyone" was a common expression.

      Delete
  2. I think college students are universally terrible about changing their sheets.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am a woeful housekeeper. And both of us are untidy. Kitchen bench tops are clean though. I do love clean sheets and if I knew the clean sheet fairy I would have clean sheets every day. I don't.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like order in things. Never have very orderly thinking so I need some evidence of it. I do have monthly house cleaners, but I never get untidy because it gets me nuts. I do have plenty of tolerance for friends who roll differently, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I remember in high school enjoying a friend's house because it was such a mess.

      Delete
  5. I remember the dorm stove, too. I cooked nothing!
    My housekeeping habits resemble yours. I make the bed and the kitchen must be clean. The vacuum happens once a month, when my granddaghter comes and runs it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ditto with the kitchen having to be clean, but folded laundry gets put away here, I can't stand having it left out. Newspaper goes out to the recycling box every evening.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, visible laundry must be put away immediately. If it's still hiding out in the laundry room, well that's another story.

      Delete
    2. We leave them in the dryer for awhile.

      Delete
  7. I feel very fortunate that my dear partner does most of the housekeeping. I just don't care, and he's very observant when things need to be cleaned. I am not allowed to use the kitchen unless he can clean up after me. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fortunate? You're living in my dream world! He sounds fabulous.

      Delete

Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear what you think.