Good Housekeeping

I'm not the greatest of housekeepers. I keep things tidy and like everything to be in its assigned place, but I'm not that good at the actual cleaning part. Luckily for me, E was a great housekeeper. She cleaned the bathrooms and the floor at the Dollhouse, while I kept the kitchen spic and span. Now that I'm living alone, it's a different story. I cleaned the toilet the other day for the first time and realized I haven't cleaned a toilet for months. That was weird. An exercise in remembering what self-sufficiency really means. But I also learned that vacuum cleaners work just as well on tile as they do on carpet. My vacuum has a hose and attachments and I think that cleaned the floor better than any broom would have done.

I also learned a little something new about housekeeping while at a friend's house the other day. On her coffee table was a copy of Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House. I paged through the sections on bedroom decor (sexual art not necessarily best), the use of stimulating beverages (when to serve coffee, tea or alcohol) and liability (when one could reasonably be expected to pay damages for injury), but carried away on this handy advice:
upon rising in the morning, turn down the sheets and open the window to air the bed.

Both A and E are bed makers, so I've grudgingly fallen into the habit of at least pulling the bedding up over the bed so as to have a slightly less rumply bed to come back to in the evening, but no more. I've aired the bed for the past several days and I find my bed so much more appealing now. I actually leave the bed turned all the way down (with the sheets and blankets folded back) until it's time for bed. The sheets are then cool and fresh every time I climb between them. I guess that's a lesson in listening to my own instincts.