Housekeeping for the servantless working woman

Yes, I have been inspired by Julie Child's cookbook, but I don't intend to jot down my culinary skills here, I'll write about another aspect of family life, that is housekeeping.

Housekeeping, like most other things is an art. Some women are extraordinarily good at it, while others have to just manage with what they've got. All women are born with some instincts about housekeeping, the rest we have to learn and practice(as always).

Our houses don't always have to be fancy and well decorated. It can be a studio apartment in a busy city or a cottage style cozy little house in the town, but the housekeeper has the key to make it a "home".

Nowadays most families have both couples working. Even when the second salary may not be "needed", women are pursuing their dream careers (and why wouldn't they?) but that does never mean that we are any less good housekeepers than our moms or grandmoms. How ever much career oriented a woman may be, I am yet to know of someone who doesn't like to arrange fresh cut flowers for her centerpiece, doesn't want to knit a throw for her husband or doesn't care about packing a home cooked lunch. So here comes what I've learnt through my own (one year) experience at housekeeping:

The first thing a house needs to be is CLEAN. It does not matter if it is well decorated with costly furniture if the toilet stinks and the hardwood floor is greasy. Well, we all know this, but attaining the level of cleanliness we intend to reach sometimes seem impossible. So let's go through the bullet points.

0. The pre-req: You have to have a husband who co-operates in the cleaning/arranging process with you. A tip: Never leave cleaning to a guy's discretion. They have a tendency of being oblivious to dirt/dust/cat hair. So instead of telling them "clean the bathroom", point to a dirty place and say "clean this! NOW!!!"

1. Find out those major-cleaning regions of the house. 1. The kitchen and 2. The Master bath. Keep these two places scrupulously clean even if that means paying less importance to the other rooms. The best habit is to wipe the sink, counter tops, stove top with a pre-moistened cloth like Chlorox or Lysol. It cleans, takes off grease and disinfects too. Wiping off these smooth, straight places before going to bed would take very little time but would give you a fresh feeling the next morning! Also, you can spray some air freshner before going to bed :-)

2. The dining table: I am very traditional when it comes to having dinner. I strictly believe that "dinner time is family time". Obviously you cannot lay a table if it's full of bread crumbs, spilt coffee and cat hair (our cat loves to sit on the dining table looking like a china showpiece). So you've got to wipe the table before(and possibly after) every meal. When you brush off the crumbs, some would fall down. Pay attention while vacuuming the carpet below the table, it becomes very very dirty.

3. The master bedroom. The main thing in this room is--- THE BED. And that gives you the solution. Crumpled sheets, scattered pillows, laundry and wet towels on the floor and nightstands piled high with magazines would not make the room look pretty. When you get up in the morning, spend a minute in straightening the sheets and comforter. You'll yourself feel great later in the evening when you'll slip under smooth sheets :-) Also, don't forget the purpose of nightstands. They are meant to support a lamp and those things like a glass of water, spectacles, alarm clock (or cell phone) and a few books. So don't stack it up with things you just want to keep out of your way. If you have a dresser/mirror in your master bedroom, keep the top of the dresser clean. Also, don't dump everything on it. Perfume bottles, trinkets and photo frames look nice on it.

The most important thing to keep in mind while cleaning/arranging your house is to be grateful that you HAVE a house to clean/arrange/decorate. Enjoy your house and be happy!!