I'm not being original when I say that the trouble with housework is that people only ever notice when you don't do it.Every summer, I do a bit of a spring-clean - reaching the parts of the house that I never have time to scrub at other times. For example, the kitchen: I wash the curtains (there are three windows and therefore six curtains, which seems like a good idea apart from when I have to wash them); I climb up and wipe the tops of the kitchen cabinets; I clean the windows and tidy out the cupboards; and that sort of thing.
When I do the tops of the cabinets I always lay newspaper along them. It's not visible from below and means I can remove the paper each year and with it, most of the dust.
Tuesday was the chosen day for attacking the kitchen. It took most of the day and now it looks exactly the same as it did before I started. It's actually cleaner, but only I know this. And now you, of course.
I hope you appreciate it.
Actually, for some reason that I now don't remember, I didn't do the tops of the cupboards last year and have felt vaguely guilty about it ever since, though frankly not a single one of my friends or family has over the last twelve months climbed up to have a look, blenched with horror at the dust and reproached me for my slatternly habits.
But right enough, the date on the paper was 2008.
And I thought: would the world come to an end if I always did this only every two years?
We were at the funeral today of a lovely man who was slightly younger than I am. He's the third acquaintance of our age who's died in the last few months.
Life's so short and I don't really want to be remembered for my cupboards. But still, I'd like you all to know that though I'd rather have wandered round the Botanic Gardens, I spent that time balancing on a ladder. Maybe I'll go to the Botanics tomorrow.
Quite likely most of us do more about the house than we actually need to.
ReplyDeleteLife is indeed too short - have a lovely day in the Gardens!
They never end, those tasks. In my view kitchen cupboards ought to go all the way up to the ceiling, and not have any surfaces open to any kind of kitchen residue. I had a look at my own kitchen tops recently while searching for possible entry points for the dreaded rats, and was abashed and appalled for the surfaces - but without a very long ladder I cannot reach them to clean, so all I have is the memory of that glimpse and the knowledge that all is not as it should be.
ReplyDeletei do ... appreciate it ... i line things with waxed paper - it's a bit pricier than newspaper; but the upside is that it does not have a date printed on it.
ReplyDeletethe (very tall) floor installer told me that the top of my refrigerator was the cleanest he had ever seen ... and the only reason for that was my very tall brother telling me once, long ago, that the top of my refrigerator was the dirtiest he'd ever seen ... that brother has never crossed the threshold to this particular home ... it's been 14 years since i moved here ... and yet i still keep the top of the fridge wiped clean - even though there may be enough crumbs on the floor to feed a small African village.
I definitely appreciate it Isabelle -- especially the fact that you pointed it out. 'Cause you can rest assured, that I will be one of your thoughtless guests and I won't get up on the ladder to inspect the tops of your cupboards on my next visit!
ReplyDeleteThe newspaper idea is brilliant -- I think next time I clean up there (and trust me, it's far less frequently than every two years)I'll try to remember that paper trick.
You are very organized. I agree with Persi, it is so silly not to have cupboards that go all the way to ceiling. In my case, I am stupid enough to put things on top, as decorations. Of course then, they need cleaning, as well as the wretched cupboard tops.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why it makes me feel better that the tops of wardrobes and cupboards have been recently cleaned. It just does. So I appreciate your efforts and I'm glad you told us.
ReplyDeleteNewspapers. Right. It has never crossed my mind to put down papers. I am on it. Well, I will get the son in residence to do it, actually. Excellent idea, and I am deeply impressed! Shoo now, and go to the gardens!
ReplyDeleteSo long as you strike a balance - some Botanic Gardens time, some battling the ever-present dust and grime - housework can be ok, I suppose. All in moderation, with perhaps a little bias towards Botanic Gardens time....
ReplyDeleteKeeping the top of the cupboard or fridge clean is ok too, if one must, but a plumber once told me that it was never a good sign when he found the floor under and behind the fridge to be clean - moving fridges wasn't good for them, he said! That was just the excuse I needed.
Our kitchen has cupboards that go to the ceiling - hurrah I used to hate that job. It's strange how somethings really bug us and we have to clean them even if we're sure no-one else will notice. Mother-in-law is obsessed with the tops of door frames, but couldn't care less about lime-scale on taps, for instance!
ReplyDeleteEnough, now off you go somewhere nice - seize the day!
The botanical gardens sound much more fun than housework, though I congratulate you on your efforts. I used to have a blue glass collection up atop the cupboards. I would try to clean them every...hmm, two years or so (at least that's what we'll say...) and that glass would hold grease from the air and then the dust on top of it-trying to get that off breakables was a pain! Since the kitchen redo last year, nothing is up there (except the dust... ;))
ReplyDeleteI've just spent the last week doing all the jobs I don't usually have time for but as you say, no one has noticed but me. I plan to spend the rest of my holiday doing things that I enjoy whilst ignoring the dust.
ReplyDeleteThe Botanics...it must be the Botanics!..forget dusting and such like......and as I say this I'm trying hard to persuade myself to listen to my own advice as I have been feeling guilty about the state of my cupboards for months....what is wrong with us all?!
ReplyDeleteI was just reading about this guilt and life balance things in a magiazine ( it's all go around here!!) I hope you do go to the Gardens and have a lovely lovely time!!!
ReplyDeleteYou know, it has never occurred to me to put paper on tops of high cabinets! What a flash of brilliance.Your kitchen looks oh so much cleaner now by the way; well done! :-)
ReplyDeleteWe shall appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteand in response to your comment - snort - clean UNDER the fridge?!? i am one of those people who didn't know that there was a drain-tray-thing under the fridge till i watched (one of) the Lethal Weapon Sumpin movie - the fridge does not get cleaned under OR behind unless it is being replaced - wouldn't want to dent or scratch the floor, now would i? besides, rachel's plumber told her it isn't good for the fridge ... bwah ha ha!
ReplyDeleteWith a blog this beautiful and sensitive and all-around lovely, you will hardly be remembered for your cabinets, dear lady.
ReplyDeleteAnd anyway, you're not going anywhere any time soon. I simply won't have it.