"Maybe if she'd do a better job during the week, I wouldn't have to deep clean the house twice a year." I complained.
"Do I get to interview her?" SM asks. "Can I hire a young one with a french maid costume?"
"Hire who you want." I told him. "As long as she can keep this house clean. At this point I'm not picky."
There's clean. And then there's Tami Clean.
Tami clean is clean that's "good enough." As in don't be walking in my house with white gloves. You'll be disappointed.
And there's lots of women out there who agree with me too. See?
Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. ~Author Unknown
Don't cook. Don't clean. No man will ever make love to a woman because she waxed the linoleum - "My God, the floor's immaculate. Lie down, you hot bitch." ~Joan Rivers
My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you? ~Erma Bombeck
I like hugs and I like kisses,
But what I really love is help with the dishes!
~Author Unknown
Still, twice a year (Spring and Fall) I try to do a little deep cleaning around here. I start off with big intentions but it always amazes me how little I actually get done.
On top of all that, this is usually when I decide that I really need to quit my job and stay at home full time to cook and clean and garden. Poor SM gets to hear me whine about it. "But I don't wanna go back to work." Like working here at the house isn't really work? Ha.
SM says he's fine with me staying home full time as long as the paycheck keeps coming in.
Bummer.
Anyhoo, this year I needed some inspiration. Some motivation. And I found it over at Chiots Run.
I'm sure many of you are already fans of Chiots Run, a beautiful blog I've followed for several years. Susy is a gardening and domestic Goddess. I've admired her home and garden for years now. Susy recently wrote a post about cleaning windows that caught my eye. You see, Susy moved into an old home with old windows. I'm pretty sure her windows are A LOT older than mine. And by the time Susy was done cleaning her old windows they looked so clean and pristine (even in a photograph) that I could tell she was on to something.
Susy knew the secret.
The secret is this.
I have lived 50 years on the planet and never knew that I too could have window glass that looked as clear as air.
Geez. It was THAT easy.
I have been pestering SM about replacing the windows in this 22 year old house for almost 10 years now.
Yes, they're drafty.
Yes, the seals are cracked on a few.
Yes, new windows would be more energy efficient.
But that wasn't the real reason I wanted new windows. I wanted new windows because I just can't stand looking out of the faintly hazy, foggy glass. I've always just assumed that they were cheap contractors windows that had lived a good life and were past needing replaced.
How do I know that my window glass is OhMyGod clean? Because earlier this week I'd cleaned SM's office windows and blinds. I didn't have the scraper then. But when we went shopping the other day I picked one up.
Now I was pretty impressed with the cleaning job I did the other day. I like to use Trader Joe's "...Next To Godliness Multi-Purpose Cleaner". I like the way it smells and I can whip it out and use it on lots of surfaces.
I cleaned the spare storage office room first using the scraper with a bit of spray, wiping the blade off with a paper towel. I could tell immediately that the glass on the inside was super clean.
Unfortunately the spiders love the outside of this window and it's too tall for me to want to pull out the extension ladder to clean it more that twice a year. (I'll wait to do the outside until after a frost when the spiders will die for the rest the year.)
I then went into SM's office (that I'd washed earlier) and scraped and cleaned both the inside and outside again. It made them even clearer.
I'm amazed. Really. I didn't think it was possible. I'm about 3/4 of the way through the whole house, inside and out. I've got 25 windows in this house so giving them the "sparkle treatment" really makes this house shine.
I love it. I think I've found a new hobby. Or maybe a new job.
Cleaning windows.
Does it pay very well?
I don't think the job pays very well, but the satisfaction of sparkly windows makes it all worth it.
ReplyDeleteWould you please come live with me? I wouldn't even expect you to wash the windows once a month. Every 6 months would make me ecstatic. I can find umpteen reasons why I can't manage to wash the windows. Even the inside (easy) ones don't get washed as often as they should. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteThere are two windows on the house that have not, I kid you not, been cleaned since we moved in here seven years ago. The dumbarses that put the windows in put the trim over where they were supposed to pull out and down (you know, so you could clean the outsides), so the only way to clean them is to get an extension ladder on the outside.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not that adventurous nor concerned if somebody sees rain spots or the mark where a bird ran into the window pane on the back side of the house.
I may try the window scrapy thing, although really, with a sticky-handed toddler, cats and a wet-nosed beagle, does it really matter since it's dirty again in thirteen minutes?u
I see we have the same attitude toward deep cleaning. I get exasperated with myself, sometimes. But playing with lambs and riding the horse and reading good books often prove to be irresistible.
ReplyDeleteTrust me CR...Nothing cuts through dog snot like a window scraper. I expect it would cut through sticky fingerprints just as well!
ReplyDeleteI'll bet you'd have more work than you could handle. No one seems to like doing windows these days...
ReplyDelete