Over the last week and through the weekend, we’d been fairly busy here at our home. With four of us (plus a dog) living here, things can go from general clutter to chaotic pretty quickly … way faster than I remember from the time I had four small children running around the house!
By Monday morning when my Beloved, our grandson and my brother-in-law had all disappeared out the door headed for their jobs, I looked around at my kitchen and groaned. Dirty dishes were piled high in the double sink. Other dirty dishes were spread across the countertops. More dirty dishes and cooking pans littered the range-top. Only the kitchen table was clear of dirty dishes – most likely because the collection of newspapers and various reading materials monopolized that space.
Contrary to the claim in the above sign, I do not find any happiness from a messy kitchen. Quite the opposite! If I could have a full-time housekeeper, I’d be more sanguine … but when the responsibility falls mainly on my shoulders to keep things from getting out of hand, I’m often tempted to “go on strike” to demonstrate to the men in this house that their lack of efforts build to a point of almost unmanageable (and certainly unsightly) piggy-ness!
However, if I were to take the extreme step of a “strike,” I’m afraid they would hardly notice! Piggy-ness? Where? That’s just a little clutter! We could do a lot worse!
Needless to say, I’d prefer not to experience the full extent of their grunginess!
Having spent several hours addressing Monday’s mess – scrubbing down dishes with dried-on food, getting everything into the dishwasher for a heavy-duty cleaning, sanitizing all the counter tops, etc. – a plan began to hatch in my brain. In fact, as I cleaned, my silly brain began constructing light verse.
While the dishwasher ran, I set those words to reasonable form, found a piece of clip art to illustrate the verse and a simple frame for the print. There’s now a plaque set beside the kitchen sink to warn everyone about the new regime of our Self-Cleaning Kitchen. (See the image below.)
Lest anyone believe I’m a tyrant, I admit I can be almost as sloppy as the other members of my household. However, my mindset is to always clean up my own mess, since I’m the one who made it! And I think that’s a good philosophy for everyone to follow.
I have yet to understand the carelessness of those who make messes and then expect someone else to clean up after them. The plaque is a good reminder for us all … and it’s been almost 24 hours where the sink and countertops have stayed clean. How long will it last? Who knows? But it made me feel better – and I didn’t even have to raise my voice!
I have pitched more hissy fits over this issue than any other, and still no progress with the male in the house! The girls are finally seeing the light now that they have their own kitchens to clean up. Really how hard is it to place dirty dishes inside the dishwasher that is approximately a foot from the sink, counting the downward angle. Yes, I’ve measured it! And I’ve also timed how long it takes for me to place each item in. Maybe 3-5 seconds tops for a quick rinse if needed and a pop into the appropriate place in the washer. That’s not too much time out of one’s day, UNLESS that One is the ONLY ONE spending those 3-5 seconds per item DOING IT ALL!! That adds up to some real time over the years! And I’m the one who has the problem when my HISS begins hissing. Don’t get me started! Too late. . .
Yes, yes, yes! You have captured the situation exactly! Thanks for commenting.