Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Random Housekeeping Thoughts

First, when I was working, we had a housecleaner come in every other week. It was a terrific investment to reduce stress and needless arguing. I highly recommend it, but urge you to hire someone who runs a business with liability insurance. Not only does that protect you from possible damage,  but it sends a message about professionalism. Our housekeeper was a very nice person who became part of our little world and I miss having her here. I know other people who hire someone to come in every other week to clean the bathrooms and the kitchen. It is definitely a luxury, but we always likened it to giving up cable for peace of mind. Have realistic expectations of spending around $100 per visit – for a 4 hour visit for someone maintaining a business, that’s very reasonable because after all it is hard work. You can get someone to do it for less, but that’s true of everything I suppose.

Second, Jezebel has a new feature that I love – Squalor is an every-other-week housecleaning advice column written by my distant cousin, Jolie Kerr. Jolie has a year long challenge to help sloths like me get their butts in gear. Actually, her column is called “Ask a Clean Person” but Jezebel uses squalor as the tag. The comments are terrific, too. I’m ready to wash a dingy comforter as we speak. Who is with me?

And third, another great read is “Home Comforts” by Cheryl Mendelson. It is a gorgeous read, easy to digest and has so so so much information. And it is not a book that freaks you out about mites in your pillow or anything like that.

Fourth, a Pgh based resource is the blog “Green Grandma” which focuses on a greener lifestyle, including a lot of suggestions for housecleaning. I rotated vinegar into our cleaning and it is amazing, especially as a deodorizing cleaner around the pets. She also explores healthy eating, child rearing, etc. It is a great resource.

Fifth, if you have a friend or loved one living with a chronic illness, housework can be a huge challenge – and easily overwhelm someone during a tough period. This excellent blog post on how to show your support includes some specifics about how important it can be to offer your help with housework.

When a person begins spiraling into depression, they may feel like they are slowing down while the world around them speeds up. The mail may end up in stacks, dishes can pile up in the sink, laundry may go undone as the depressed person begins to feel more and more overwhelmed by their daily routine and unable to keep up. By giving your partner some extra help sorting mail, washing dishes or using paper plates and keeping chaos in check in general, you’ll be giving them (and yourself) the gift of a calm  environment.

It can be that simple to help someone.

I just sprayed some vinegar on the dog beds and am making a shopping list for some items to tackle my “dingy comforters” … onward!