Cleaning House…

Cleaning house used to be a lot simpler. When the kids were little, we didn’t have all that much. Most of our furniture was hand-me-down from other family members. We didn’t have a lot of money and we hadn’t lived long enough to collect a bunch of stuff.

We had a routine with the kids, every night: we picked up all their toys and put them away. We “found the floor” if you will. We didn’t have a fancy toy chest. I got old Baskin-Robbins ice cream “tubs” and decorated them with contact paper in cheerful patterns. We had a place for everything and, before going to bed, everything was in its place.

We had dishes from the grocery store. Buy enough groceries, and the dishes were very cheap. I think I remember that they were kind of an off-gray with brown rims. Not pretty, not what I would have picked out, but inexpensive and utilitarian. Macaroni and cheese looked just fine on them.

And then something funny happened: we started having a little more money. We were able to buy things. More things than we could before. The ice cream tubs were replaced with wicker baskets. I finally got to pick out dishes that I liked. We even bought a new table and chairs for the kitchen.

There were more clothes, more toys, more dishes and more messes. More books, more bikes, more baseballs and bats, and a garage. And boxes stacked in the garage. And a barbeque and all the paraphernalia that goes with cooking outdoors. And a pool for the kids and floats and beach towels and folding lawn chairs and a chain saw and wheelbarrow and hedge clippers and a rototiller that we never used.

And cleaning house got a lot harder. I had less time to do it because I was working so much to pay for the things I tripped over when I was trying to clean house. The kids got too old to put their toys away every night. They had homework and sports and social activities and no time to help Mom clean house.

And now those kids are grown and gone. They have their own homes and their own messes to clean up. I’m thinking it should be easier to clean house now. I started by getting rid of a lot of the things I thought I had to have when I bought them. After hardly using them, or not using them at all, it was high time to get rid of them. For awhile, I was on a first name basis with the guys at Goodwill. That’s really okay with me.

And then the economy tanked. Well, I had already gotten rid of those things I didn’t need and what was left? Just the essentials. Well, and a few toys. But I also have a newfound appreciation for what I have been able to keep and take care of. It makes me feel good to fix something that was broken instead of tossing it in the trash. To take a former treasure, now tarnished or in disrepair, and make it sparkle again.

Somebody might be able to use the things I got rid of, but I can certainly use the things I kept. Everything I own is used almost daily, has a place of its own, and is appreciated for the money I already spent to have it.

It’s a lot easier to clean house now….