Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Don't Let It Get You Down!

So, here's my theory on housework: Don't do it! I mean, don't do it unless it's worth doing. Don't clean ANYTHING unless the cleaning will be noticed. Let the place be a little bit grimy, because when you do finally clean you'll be rewarded. You (and "they") will know you did something worthwhile and you may even hear something like, "Honey, the kitchen floor is SO BEAUTIFUL AND SHINY!" We call this "positive reinforcement," which is a tactic used by psychologists, teachers and animal trainers the world over to control (people, children, dogs, etc.). Don't get hooked on the praise or you'll find yourself scrubbing and cleaning way too much! And then the praise will go away because they don't notice anymore and they start thinking the house is cleaning itself!

At that point you - poor soul - are ADDICTED to housework! I can think of a lot of more fun things to be hooked on than scrubbing my toilet, can't you?

So just get it done and get it over with, as in mopping the refridgerator - really! When you mop the kitchen floor, mop the fridge too, and the walls. Well, why not? Why waste a bucket of water just doing the floor?

I've learned a few things down the years, about how to keep a household. And I would love to hear your ideas too, because I think that ever since the first cave person shoveled out a cave there's been this depressing thing called housekeeping, and IT CAN REALLY GET YOU DOWN, if you let it!

Now, here's my first attempt at beautifying my new blog with a picture. Is it working? Can you see it?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Ugh! Mopping! So when I really HAVE to clean the kitchen floor it is with a wet Swiffer. Quick, smells nice and looks clean (who knows if it really is). Mother gave us sage advice about cleaning; clean the edges and corners, the middle will take care of itself.