Mom, this is gross!
The post title was from my daughter, not when she was young. It came when she came back home from her 'newer' home, New Zealand, last month.
It is amazing to watch her make her rounds when she is here. And it's frightening to watch her when she's under this roof. I think I'm a clean person but I'm having my doubts now.
As we were settling down watching TV (she was excited to see the current Modern Family TV series because it runs almost three months later in NZ), she picked up the remote and said it was gross. Well, it's my grossness she's complaining about and I'm kind of used to it. The device has my finger prints on it, my food marks on it, and my hand prints all over it.
"Go get me the Simple Green." Yes, ma'am. I don't argue with her. "Go get me a clean rag." Yes, ma'am. "This is disgusting." She told me to work on the leather love seat that is made up of twin recliners. "It's gross." I did that today....with the current house cleaners.
Back in the olden days, when I started real estate I guess I let things go at our small house. My husband said something that I had a hard time comprehending. "Do we need to get some help around here?" What was he talking about? "I mean do we need to get a house cleaner?" Gosh, it never occurred to me...and why did I not see him picking things up, putting things away, doing more. I decided not to fight it. "Yes, I think we do."
After a move to a different home, I fired the house cleaner, who came with us from the other place. Actually, I let my house cleaner quit. I decided he (yes, he) was kind of borrowing things (like toilet paper, paper towels, tissues). I made up a list of things to do every other week, every month, every six months. That didn't last too long....like never. He decided he was going to clean offices at night and go to school during the day. YAY!
And thus Sunday Night Family Cleaning was born. I felt I wasn't doing my kids, (and my husband), any good by not 'letting' them clean. IF they were going to hire someone to clean for them, they had to know what it took and what they would expect. I made up buckets of brushes and dusters and sprays and cleansers. And we chose rooms. Ideally, they would rotate rooms, but they decided their routines were fixed. No matter.
Things got clean. And things stayed clean because they were going to have to take the time to make it better on Sunday. YAY!
Sutter left for college the next year, I think. Evan was left behind. Too bad for him. Sunday Night Family Cleaning remained. But when he graduated from college, he was asked by family friends what he wanted for a graduation gift. He lived with a bunch of friends in a house. They are still friends. But his answer was priceless. "I want some cleaning materials." Seriously. Too good.
Live richly, marilyn
It is amazing to watch her make her rounds when she is here. And it's frightening to watch her when she's under this roof. I think I'm a clean person but I'm having my doubts now.
As we were settling down watching TV (she was excited to see the current Modern Family TV series because it runs almost three months later in NZ), she picked up the remote and said it was gross. Well, it's my grossness she's complaining about and I'm kind of used to it. The device has my finger prints on it, my food marks on it, and my hand prints all over it.
"Go get me the Simple Green." Yes, ma'am. I don't argue with her. "Go get me a clean rag." Yes, ma'am. "This is disgusting." She told me to work on the leather love seat that is made up of twin recliners. "It's gross." I did that today....with the current house cleaners.
Back in the olden days, when I started real estate I guess I let things go at our small house. My husband said something that I had a hard time comprehending. "Do we need to get some help around here?" What was he talking about? "I mean do we need to get a house cleaner?" Gosh, it never occurred to me...and why did I not see him picking things up, putting things away, doing more. I decided not to fight it. "Yes, I think we do."
After a move to a different home, I fired the house cleaner, who came with us from the other place. Actually, I let my house cleaner quit. I decided he (yes, he) was kind of borrowing things (like toilet paper, paper towels, tissues). I made up a list of things to do every other week, every month, every six months. That didn't last too long....like never. He decided he was going to clean offices at night and go to school during the day. YAY!
And thus Sunday Night Family Cleaning was born. I felt I wasn't doing my kids, (and my husband), any good by not 'letting' them clean. IF they were going to hire someone to clean for them, they had to know what it took and what they would expect. I made up buckets of brushes and dusters and sprays and cleansers. And we chose rooms. Ideally, they would rotate rooms, but they decided their routines were fixed. No matter.
Things got clean. And things stayed clean because they were going to have to take the time to make it better on Sunday. YAY!
Sutter left for college the next year, I think. Evan was left behind. Too bad for him. Sunday Night Family Cleaning remained. But when he graduated from college, he was asked by family friends what he wanted for a graduation gift. He lived with a bunch of friends in a house. They are still friends. But his answer was priceless. "I want some cleaning materials." Seriously. Too good.
Live richly, marilyn
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