Mary Ann Hayes

There must be a way to clean the house and keep it clean. I mean, after all, there are only two of us living here; well, four counting the dogs and they do contribute to the dirty floor what with eight paws traipsing in and out of the house all day long. But still, you would think it would be a lot cleaner than when the kids lived at home.

And what about all the dishes? One would think doing dishes for two would be a snap, yet there are just as many pots and pans to wash when you make a stew for two as there would be if making stew for six. And suddenly, I am unable to locate my coffee cup from one moment to the next which is why I end up with two or three cups going before I’ve even had breakfast. And water glasses; fresh water glasses all day long. I used to keep one water glass going all day long. Now I keep all the water glasses in the house going every day, all day long. It adds up to a lot of dishes. There are times when we finish with dinner and  the kitchen looks as though we’ve thrown a dinner party! How can two people make such a mess?

And another thing; the laundry.  Just about the time I get caught up and have everything folded and put away, another load of laundry is overflowing the basket. How do two people go through so much laundry? Well, I spill and lot. I guess that makes for extra laundry. And, I change a lot. Start out with walking/exercise clothes. Change into clean the house and spend four or five hours writing clothes. Then change into clothes for going to the grocery store or whatever, clothes. Then P.J.’s. How did I ever keep up when there were five of us?

And what’s with the mess in our bedroom? You would think two grown adults would know by now to pick up after themselves. I used to get so annoyed with the kids. I never knew which piles of clothes were their clean clothes and which piles needed to be washed. After all these years, I’m still picking things up and sniffing for the fresh scent of laundry soap as opposed to the….well you get the picture.

Speaking of the laundry room, how is it that one little room such as it is, is impossible to keep clean? Every time I go in there, my feet stick to something on the floor and there is a pile of shirts that need ironing. Boots and shoes full of sand and dirt are all over the place. And there’s always a little puddle of water to step in with my nice warm dry stocking feet. Even the laundry room door is full of smudges I can’t seam to wash off. Permanent evidence of dirty gardening gloves groping for a way to get outside. And lint. Even though the lint goes in the trash can after every load, it mysteriously ends up on the floor and sticking to everything that is supposed to be clean. How does it do that?

Well, I just needed to vent. I’m off to clean up the kitchen. Evidently there was a party in our house after we went to sleep last night. The dogs must have rolled on the couch all night long because it looks as though it’s been reupholstered in dog hair.  I need to go through the bedroom and just pick everything up and haul it to the laundry room so I can get my feet wet and sticky. I haven’t even touched on the bathrooms. Who uses that basement toilet anyway?

Later,

Mary Ann