In this crazy mixed up world of ours I have come to discover that like beauty, cleanliness is in the eye of the beholder. I was raised in a house that was never the museum type-although I heard of them; these people that lived in homes that had rooms that were almost never used, plastic on the furniture, not a single footprint indentation in the carpet. The idea kind of creeps me out honestly.
We cleaned our house religiously every Saturday-because what kid wants to go have fun on the weekend? Not us apparently….. My brother and I had assigned jobs, although it seems to me that mine were really the only ones that got done. I would dust, clean the small bathroom on the main level and of course clean my room. I also helped with the vacuuming and occasionally the gardening or whatever else was in urgent need of doing including the yearly cleaning of the crystal glasses that for the most part were only touched during the cleaning process. I guess we had a mini museum of our own come to think of it.
In turn, I think this has given me the habits to keep the apartment my husband and I live in fairly well ordered. I wouldn’t eat off the floor or anything, but for the most part it’s clean. If things get too cluttered or if I see visible dirt, it gets cleaned and I feel pretty confident about the level of cleanliness I maintain in my home. That is until I visit some of our friends homes which range from condemnable to does anyone even live here? Both however give me the same feeling-that I need to go home and clean asap. You would think a disastrous home would have the opposite effect but somehow seeing the grime just makes me more aware of my own.
My husband’s take on cleaning is a little different than my own. Although lately he’s been making a valiant effort to help out more, he claims (and I believe him) that he just doesn’t see it when things need cleaning. I’ve read reports that men tend to look at the big picture and not see the details as much. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/07/31/2641922.htm
He’s happy with things as long as they appear clean and neat-and while, like me, he doesn’t need things perfect, I tend to be a little fussier and get annoyed when he doesn’t see the mess that I see in front of me. I have to say though-he never really complains if I ask him to do something-unless it’s the dishes-but I’ve still been wishing that he’d take a more active role in helping out.
Well, imagine my surprise then when the other day he’s sitting on the netbook and I ask him what he’s looking up-and he says cleaning solution?! I wondered if this was something to do with his recent efforts to help out more with chores without me having to ask him. I also wondered momentarily if my true husband had been abducted by aliens. Alas, I was mistaken. (About his desire to help clean more, not about the alien thing….which would make me sad, not happy….but I digress…) Apparently he needed a specific cleaning solution to remove the paint from some of his Warhammer miniatures which he wanted to paint in a different team colour. Apparently it really matters. So now at home we have some new cleaning solution…of course not for regular household cleaning usage. I guess I really shouldn’t have been that surprised. This all comes with the being married to a geek territory.
I haven’t given up hope though-this morning he swept the front entrance way without so much as a glance from me. Maybe I should count my blessings.
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