Thursday, August 7, 2008

Our house is my pride and joy........

the way it looks reflects on me. I was made to clean house from an early age. I had two younger brothers and my mam always worked part time here and there, so I had to help out. Plus I went to stay at my nana's a lot, and she made me do jobs, as she had a part time job, plus she ran a Bed and Breakfast.

I have to admit, I have let my cleaning standards slip over the years, but growing up and when we lived in England we did certain jobs on certain days. I always remember Tuesdays being the day when you cleaned upstairs. When I say cleaned upstairs I mean change the beds, hoover and dust right through. That included taking a small hand brush and brushing down all the skirting boards/base boards. I don't think we cleaned the windows every week, but every other week.

We all did a spring and back end cleaning, where in the Spring we put up the Summer curtains, and then in the Fall we put up the winter curtains. All the walls were washed down, as was all the woodwork, the baseboards and the doors etc.

I'll tell you now I don't remember the last time I did a Spring clean. I wash the drapes when they need washing. I don't have summer and winter drapes, mine are year round ones. I do still use a duster and pledge furniture polish, but use those swiffer dusters as well.

I have not been as thorough with my window cleaning as I was, especially on the outside windows, as we have had so much rain this past month, so I know I was wasting my time. Cleaning the outside windows is such a pain, as I can't reach them other than using a huge ladder. I do have that outside Windex, that you attach to the hose, but find that it leaves the windows spotty.

We never had big gardens when we were growing up, so I never really got into gardening until we had our own house. We do though like a nicely cut lawn, so I guess that is the British in us. We have a lot of problems with our lawn, but slowly and surely we are tackling each problem.

Dh was saying the other day, our house is our biggest investment, and if we don't look after it, we may as well be throwing money down the drain.

Our house is also my oasis. Its where I relax, where I feel safe, where I feel warm.

So the house may not be perfect but its comfortable and its ours...........

9 comments:

Ginnie said...

I know what you mean about your house, I battle one untidy husband and 2 daughters, they don't see that when the house is nice and tidy I am relaxed and happy!

DeniseinVA said...

I grew up in police houses. My mother always lived in fear of those 'pop-in' inspections. She always had to keep the house tidy because the 'white-glove brigade' might turn up without warning. I don't know if that still goes on today. I hope not. Anyhow when Dad retired and we moved down to Devon into our own house, my mum relaxed a little more nit she still kept her house tidy because it was her house. When we lived in navy housing after each move we had the 'white-glove' man come in to inspect the house. It was like a blast from the past. Now we are in our own home and dh has been out of the navy for almost 20 years, I can relax a little more too like my mother before me. Our house gets a little untidy at times but I get a certain satisfaction to see it picked up when I have the time to go through. And I have company this weekend so my day on Friday will be spent doing housework.

Lib said...

I'm not spotless but I do like neat and in order! The bathrooms and kitchen must be cleaned at all times!
Hope you have a great day!
Blessins',Lib

raining sheep said...

I am so with you on the house thing. I love my home and my garden. Those are the two locales that always make me feel safe and comfortable. It's funny, because we are from Europe and we also had these cleaning rituals of cleaning certain things at a certain time. I have to confess that now with working full-time and finishing my degree, I have a cleaning lady. The few moments I have at home I like to spend just enjoying it.

cheshire wife said...

Everybody seems to be writing posts about cleaning. I gave our shower cubicle a good clean yesterday but I don't think that I could get a post out of it.

Evelyn said...

I would love to have those cleanin g standards and if I was at home full time I would. I have winters off unfortunately but not the best time to do thorough cleanings. My key to having things manageable is to cut down on the clutter. now if only the rest of the family agreed

Kelly Casanova said...

Gee I'd love to have a cleaning system like that, I'm a bit hit and miss with our place (and it shows!)

CannedAm said...

Some people are natural cleanies and some people are natural messies. I'm a natural messy. I fight it, though. Sadly, I've passed this on to all of my offspring. Oh my house. . .

I understand the big cleans though -- we used to do them. I still do spring cleaning. It's time to clear stuff out for me. I'm still working on this one. LOL. It's still spring somewhere, isn't it?

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

Hi TBW - my mother always had a rigid routine and now at 86 is a little more relaxed about it. I like everything to be clean and tidy but it doesn't get done on a regular basis. And I used to love gardening but now unfortunately find it rather tiring so only do a little at a time and in fair weather! I do love the pond though and try to keep it from getting too overgrown at this time of year. A.

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