Some simple questions about housekeeping

In Feng Shui you're supposed to wash the sheets and put them back on your bed, not fold them and put them in the closet. So according to the Chinese you kick ass as a housekeeper.

In my younger years (before marrying) I was very tidy. Since marrying at 35, I've slowly become messier and messier. Hell if I'm going to clean up someone else's mess!

Husband does his own laundry, or just stinks at work: His choice.

We never make the bed, esp after I read that handy online article that said dust mites/yicky bed-bug things like it better when you make the bed, since they dislike light and air. We close the bedroom door to keep the pets off the bed.

With 3 dogs & 3 cats indoors, well, honestly, f**k it! We got a sorta-nice "Pet Hair Vacuum" some months ago, and I still dislike using it. It frightens all the pets and is too loud. I'd rather use a broom.

I do cover the big fluffy chairs & sofas in sheets (from thrift stores, of course) and wash them at least once a week, since the pets love to sleep on soft furniture. Plus they have their own floor pillows, with pillow-cases frequently washed.

I wonder if I can be a slob because we've never had children?

What is this "dusting" you speak of?

Oh, and I always wash one set of sheets & put them back on the bed immediately. Why? They smell nicer, even though I do have a back-up set of sheets for, you know, Bedsheet Emergencies.

Oh wait, I DO actually turn my own laundry inside-out beforehand, just because we have very rusty well-water, and clothes will get all yellow-rusty if I don't do that. Then I turn them rightside-out again before hanging. I don't fold anything.

I never iron unless it's fine linens which I hang on the walls for decorations, or I'm sewing. If something needs ironing, well, hang it up for a really long time (outdoors is fine in Florida) and it will unwrinkle itself!

And sorting the silverware in the dishwasher? What the heck?

And Chai, hon, it goes OVER! I can never grab it when it's under! OVER, I tell you! (Though if someone came over and switched it, you can bet I'd speak my mind about it: Do not EVER touch my toilet paper again! Ever! Here's an old phone book for you.)

Sounds like a lot of marital arguments could be solved by installing one of these:



Lots of other cute alternatives here:

http://uniquecutestuff.blogspot.com/2009/09/tissue-holder.html

What brand of vacuum?

I found an easy way to dust my furniture.
I simply duct tape everything down that I dont want moving, then get the leaf blower.
It does a wonderful job of dusting.

Cats lost too much fur when I pulled off the duct tape.

new question....

how the heck to you clean the schmutz off the end of a spatula?

We'll put the spatula in water to soak while we're eating, try to rub off most of it before putting in the dishwater, and it always has left over egg, breading, what have you on it when the wash is done.
I'll try to scratch off the residue, but, I hate to admit it, I end up tossing them into the utensil drawer. I figure if there's food on there, at least it's sanitized.

My grocery store carries these stainless steel "tuffy" type scrubbing pads, brand name Evercare. I like them a lot, good for cleaning, for example, the burner thingies on the stove, and the crudded up stove splatter, without scratching the stove enamel. They work for spatulas with egg goo too.

I use these silicon spatulas, they're so easy to clean

I use those too, but also have a few old type plastic spatulas.. (why don't I just toss those, eh?)

What material is the spatula made from?

If a synthetic other than silicone, it may be slightly melting and collecting the food residue.

If metal, how badly scratched up is the end of it? Maybe the scratches have removed the finish and the food is sticking there.

When you soak it, do you add a bit of dish soap to the water to help dissolve the oils?

Next time you use it, before you do so, give it a bit of a spray with oil (or rub some on with a towel) and see if that helps it resist the sticky food build up.

oooooo.....

I'm going to invest in a few of those.

Boomerang -- you are a horrible housewife. How your husband and your son can love such an abomination of quirkiness is a mystery to me.

My own habits are identical to yours, point for point. But at least I'm single, lonely, and miserable, as housekeepers like us deserve to be.

I love buying new bed linens and have several sets in the linen closet. But ... I'm lazy and every two days the ones that are on the beds get thrown into the washer/dryer and then, most of the time, are replaced on the bed. Just too lazy to pull out anything else. (And I agree, it's impossible to fold fitted sheets.)

I check the laundry, and if it says wash inside out, I do, then turn it right side out before hanging up. (I'm more careful now, since I threw my son's jeans in the wash without checking his pockets and destroyed his $300+ cell phone!)

I know I should separate my silverware when it goes into the disheasher, but too lazy again. It's sorted when it's put it away.

We have an electronic air cleaner on our furnace, but we still try to dust once a week and vacuum the whole house once a week. We have a dog, and have some allergy problems, so it's a necessity.

We've had a central vac for the past 15 years. I cannot imagine being without it.

We use a mop on the floor with a solution of Pine-Sol and water, every week. Well, we try. We scrub the floors with a brush in the kitchen, eating area, back hall, powder room, laundry room and upstairs bathrooms once every six weeks or so. The rest of the house is carpeted, and the carpeting is professionally cleaned once a year.

count me in as someone who loves those silicone things.

I have a regular , bought at the grocery store, spatula too. Damn thing is always greasy and dirty. But because the tip of it is like paper in its thinness, I use it only for eggs.

Those silicone ones? if anything has sat on it long enough to dry, I just bent it a bit and everything powders right off. Heat resistant to 600 degrees or more my clumsy butt will not melt it.
love em love em





whats with the sorting of the silverware in the dishwasher anyway?
that has never EVER in my entire life, crossed my mind.
I mean, i watch out for spoons . If they are too close they rest against each other and dont get cleaned.
Sorting beyond that? oh hell no.

Housekeeping?

what choo talkin bout Willis?

but seriousely we have two kinds of clean. Normal clean which usually involves a lick and a promise, then there's mother clean.

I have responsibility for spider webs cause mumpad is to short to reach the 14 foot ceilings.

Thomas was kind enough not to mention that he has actually been inside my house and seen my housekeeping skills first hand!

There used to be a comic in the paper that occassionally featured "the woman who does everything better than you......"

I used to work with a girl who I called "TWWDEBT Me" but now I think I'll bestow that title on my mom's long lost daughter, mckenzie!

I let the spiders take care of their own webs. Why would I think I know more than they.

You serve a delicious cheddar and some very tasty breed of apples, even if I can't remember its name. That redeems a lot in my book.