Saturday 30 August 2008

Danger

It's only half past ten, and I've already bruised the back of my hand after the window shut unexpectedly on it, and shredded one knuckle changing hoover attachments. Housework is a dangerous business, and I'm not sure whether the answer is to do it less often, to minimise the damage, or more often and get better at it. I know which answer mum would give.

But there must be a balance between a house so clean that it's unwelcoming, and a festering pit. I've spent several years trying to find it without success, and having recently been diagnosed with asthma, I think I might need to move my bar a little towards the cleaner end of that scale. The less dust, the better I sleep, which has to be good (especially this week). So I've hoovered everything in sight, and incidentally disturbed several enormous spiders who were lying in wait to panic me once September arrives, the official season of mists, mellow fruitfulness, and gigantic hairy arachnids walking across the living room carpet in the evening. (This year I'm prepared - I have a plastic glass and postcard combo within reach of my knitting seat at all times.)

It's time for a cup of proper coffee and some more frantic knitting, because I have a totally ludicrous idea of what I can achieve in a week whilst still having a full time job. And I've been doing a lot of ripping lately, which I'd really rather not talk about. (Next time I am getting Chris to check that my buttonhole spacing calculations make sense. Or knitting a sensible pattern that works them out for me.)

2 comments:

jeanfromcornwall said...

Are you absolutely sure which answer I would give? I have always regarded cleaning house as the sordid side of married life. And I didn't ever get your Dad to contribute entirely to my satisfaction. My standards have always been based on what I think I can get away with.

There; I have revealed what I think you would say- that I think you should do more.

Wrong!

Does this all make sense?

Vivienne said...

Actually, I was totally convinced that you would say I should do less, because I think my mental definition of 'festering pit' is about a week earlier than yours.

The trouble is, since I started paying attention to such things I have noticed that there does seem to be a direct correlation between the amount of dust in the house and the state of my lungs, and the NHS doesn't pay for cleaners.