Sunday, August 22, 2004

Cleaning vs Reading

I clean my house every three weeks, whether it needs it or not!

Well, some things get done more often than that, but vacumming, floors and really cleaning the bathrooms (with a bucket and including the tub) just wait. Bathrooms get a quick wipe with a disinfectant towelette in between so they don't get hideous. Of course we load the dishes and also change the kitty litter and empty the wastebaskets. But "everyone get out of the way, Mom's cleaning" has worked itself out to every three weeks.

Why? There's so much to read of course! And write and craft and do with my husband and kids.

When I'm a little old lady in my final days, I will not say, "Thank goodness my kitchen floor was never sticky and you could eat off my toilet." I will say, "Wow!! we had fun, didn't we?"

Life's too short. So this morning my kitchen is clean, because the last time it was clean was August 7 for my daughter's birthday party (yikes, that was only 2 weeks ago - I need to slow down!) and I am going to read my book, NOT clean some more.

Today's question: Is there a critical point of house clean or tidy where our creativity and enjoyment of life is maximized? I mean, if it was cleaner, we'd be wasting too much time cleaning, but if it was messier, we would be so disgusted and disorganized that we couldn't function? What are the hallmarks of that optimal situation? Or does it matter to you at all?

mompoet - perched on the fulcrum between domestic goddess and lover of life

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