My husband took our two-year-old out for the afternoon. They will enjoy a picnic lunch at the park and perhaps, feed the ducks. Which means that the house is all mine! Which means I better start cleaning. Whereas I would love to use the time to take a nap, my husband and I have this unwritten agreement: he takes our daughter out and I use the time to clean up a week’s worth of mess.
Don’t get me wrong, we don’t live in squalor for seven days, I merely reserve my heavy-duty cleaning for weekends, when I don’t have a two-year-old trying to “ride” my vacuum. It’s strange because when I was growing up my parents had the same “deal.” My mom stayed at home and raised four children while my dad worked outside the house. Each Sunday, we would go to church, then my dad would drop my mom off at home and take the kids to lunch at Dairy Queen. After lunch we would either go the beach, the park, the arcade, or the zoo. When we returned home the house was spotless (for about an hour) and the next week we’d do it all over again. I have great memories of the times we spent with our dad while my mom cleaned the house and I find it ironic that the pattern continues with my own child.
While my husband and my daughter are gone I scrub the tubs, toilets, and basins. Next, I mop the floors, run the vacuum, and dust. It’s a routine that I have down to a science. Yet, when I shared my “routine” with some playgroup moms, one of them sneered at the idea. She couldn’t believe that I didn’t have a better schedule in place. After all, she had come up with what she considered the “ideal” cleaning routine. She designates one day a week to conquer various cleaning tasks. For example, every Tuesday she cleans the bathrooms. Wednesday she tackles the kitchen. Thursday she vacuums and dusts… you get the picture. I think it’s a great idea, only it wouldn’t work for me because I don’t even know what I am cooking for dinner on Wednesday or Thursday, never mind what I am cleaning.
So what’s your cleaning routine? Do you have one? I put mine on hold so I could write this piece. Guess I better get cleaning before my daughter returns and wants to “help.”