I have been spending the month of January ruthlessly going through our house and getting rid of all the accumulated crap. So far I’ve organized Jonathan’s shelves in his bedroom, gone through every single toy in the house and disposed of each accordingly (kept out, stored, given away, thrown away), done the hallway linen closet, Kayleigh’s shelves, the hall bathroom drawers and cabinets, our master closet, the utility room, cleaned the refrigerator and freezer, reorganized the pantry. There’s probably more, but that’s all I can remember right now. I feel I have to get these things done before I get my craft stuff set back up, because once that comes out then I will not be engaging in these other kinds of activities. Probably not again until next January.
Which makes me very happy I live in the here-and-now without the expectations that my mom was handed by Foley’s department store when she registered there upon the occasion of her wedding to my esteemed father. Compliments of the store, she received Happy Living! A Guidebook for Brides, by Evelyn Enright and Ann Seranne. It has some pretty good advice in it on some subjects, but one page in particular horrified me so much that I borrowed the book from Mom to see if the words really remained the same on the page from one week to another. Sure enough, they’ve never changed. Let me share with you what the authors advised in the “How to Keep House” chapter:
They opened by instructing the new bride in “How to Draw Up a Work Chart”, and then they provide the following suggestions to use as a basis in setting up one’s own schedule:
“Daily Routine
Swab the kitchen floor with a mop wrung out of hot soap or detergent suds. Wipe the range burners and refrigerators with a sudsy sponge. Empty trash baskets and replace paper liners.
Dust and tidy rooms. Vacuum or carpet sweep. Use a dry mop on uncovered floors.
Wash the bathtub, basin, and toilet with hot suds. Wipe the bathroom floor with a mop wrung out of suds.
These tasks, of course, are in addition to the essentials—dishwashing, bedmaking, marketing [grocery shopping], and cooking.
Once-A-Week Tasks
Scrub the kitchen floor with warm suds, rinse, and mop up excess moisture. Clean the range thoroughly, inside and out. Defrost the refrigerator, remove contents, and wash with suds inside and out. Wash trash and garbage containers with hot suds and scalding rinses.
Vacuum upholstery, draperies, blinds, window and door frames, rugs, floors and baseboards. Vacuum or brush fabric lamp shades. Swab plastic shades with a sudsy sponge.
Clean the bathroom, scrubbing or mopping the floor thoroughly and swabbing down tile walls.
Do the laundry and ironing. If this requires multiple loads, space them over two or three days.
Polish silver and decorative metals. Swab railings and doorknobs with a sudsy sponge. Wash mirrors and glass table tops. Rub up wood furniture.
Occasional Chores
Remove contents of closets. Wash floor, walls and fittings with a sudsy sponge. Empty drawers, wipe clean and reorganize contents.
Shampoo upholstery and rugs. Launder washable curtains, draperies and slipcovers.
Vacuum the walls. Wash the kitchen walls with soap or detergent suds.
Wash wood floors, woodwork, blinds and furniture. Wax or polish those surfaces which require it.
Empty, wash, and rearrange cabinets, medicine chests, cupboards and shelves.
Wash light bulbs, window shades and fabric lamp shades with warm suds.
Suds-sponge flower pots and the leaves of houseplants.
Wash the windows.”
The authors then return to the subject of setting up one’s own work chart with this helpful advice:
“Now you are ready to draw up a chart on a large sheet of paper, indicating hours of the week and hours in the day. When you have decided on your schedule, list each task and the estimated time allotted in its proper place.
Just how you arrange this chart is your own personal decision. When you are tempted to stray too often from your arbitrary format, remind yourself that housework will never become a problem if you don’t let things go.”
Frankly, words fail me.
Posted by elizabeth at January 28, 2008 10:18 PMI think you have read a lot more of that book than I every did; it does boggle the mind - washing the walls and the leaves! Congratulations on your energetic cleaning - shall I inspect when I come visit :-).
Posted by: Cynthia on January 29, 2008 06:14 PMYes, I really can't imagine it. No wonder men thought women didn't need a college education if this was what they were supposed to be doing all day. Talk about a deal on the cheap--a maid who also provides sex!
You may inspect--and you'd better express great adm*ration! Jennifer & Dale have been good audiences, but there's nothing like the approval of a Mom. xox
Posted by: Me on January 29, 2008 11:05 PM