Have priorities changed? Housekeeping and housework are still big issues in the lives of women everywhere. Surveys say that women my age are supposed to be good housekeepers. Senior women are portrayed as the people who change sheets more often, scrub tubs more often, and never go to sleep with dishes in the sink. Who started this myth anyway? Senior women are the same as women everywhere. Some obsess over a clean and orderly existence and some do not.
When I was a kid spring housecleaning was a major event. Housecleaning was tackled with something akin to frenzy. Rugs were aired, and curtains were laundered, and dust bunnies were abolished. It felt good. It felt like a new start. Spring cleaning is a thing of the past. Now we just struggle to maintain. Yes, people who cannot afford cleaning services struggle to maintain.
Surveys all seem to indicate that no matter what age we are or how we feel about housework; it is always on our minds. I love the way Amy Wilson (Orange County Register: Santa Ana, Calif. May 1, 2001) described cleaning. She penned that it has long been seen as a source of guilt and pride, envy and scorn, a burden, or a blessing. Either way, she said, it says something about us.
Everyone has a different take on the situation, but it never goes away. For some cleaning is way of marking their territory. If you clean it, it is yours. It all depends on how you see it I suppose. The author suggests that womanhood has often been defined by domestic achievements. What that means is that women have always been psychologically shackled to their homes. Perhaps that is true. If you see your house as a showplace that everyone will admire you are probably a tiny bit compulsive but still, nothing beats coming home to a clean house.
What do you if you fall half way in-between? Most women, of all ages, fuss and fume and spend precious days off trying to create order out of chaos. This goes for older women too. Creating order out of chaos is quite satisfying, but if you slip and fall behind it is a source of stress too. I fume every day of my life about needing to devote more time to the “house”. Is it ever going to happen? Probably not, but I try to look at the big picture as I dream about being able to afford a cleaning service. Being a woman is not easy. In the meantime I belong to www.flylady.net which takes the guess work out of cleaning by sending me daily messages filled with housekeeping tips.
Wise women have come to know that there are more important things than a spotless house, even though the guilt doesn’t go away. Housework is here to stay but friends, family, and achievements are fleeting. If you are wondering what to give yourself, your mother, or your grandmother for Christmas…how about a cleaning service!
Comments