While Husband #2 was here, we had our own little differences in housekeeping. You may even call them our Housekeeping Wars.
Husband #2 insisted that the bed should get made every morning. I am a little more lax in that regard. To me, the somewhat tousled, sloppy look of The Company Store catalog is more my style. Bedroom sex hair for your bed. It wasn’t a big deal to make the bed in my world. For Husband #2, making the bed was an accomplished goal. The first checked off pick-me-up on his daily to-do list.
When it came to the kitchen sink, our views were opposite. My goal was to go to bed at night with an empty sink, preferably one that I had scrubbed clean with a little bit of Soft Scrub with bleach. It’s a snowy white sink and I enjoy waking up to see it as sparkly and new looking as the day we bought it. Husband #2 did not share my love of the morning brilliance. He was OK with leaving pots and pans soaking overnight…to which I only saw work that needed to be done first thing in the morning. Plus I hate, hate, hate cold dish water. Don’t even get me started about dead spiders that find their way into dishwater. Blech.
We had similar differences when it came to scrubbing the tub, mopping the floors, washing the windows, and wiping crumbs off the counter tops.
Since Husband #2’s departure, I’ve had the freedom to treat the housekeeping chores with the attention I feel they deserve. My bed is unmade, my sink is cleaned nightly, crumbs never last on the counter tops, and my floors go un-mopped for weeks. And while this new setup is certainly peaceful, it is definitely lonely.
Part of the richness of life, especially life shared with another person, is weaving together each others’ foibles and quirks, habits and laxities. When you mix it all together, Husband #2 and I had a house where the bed was made every day, the counters were clean, the floors sparkled, the windows were washed, the tub didn’t have soap scum, and the sink was brilliantly white.
Are Housekeeping Wars really necessary?
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