Playing house

I think it's fun having my own place and taking care of it. But I must say that there are times I am disappointed that some of my peers do not treat their living space as a home. Once you are no longer living with your mother (or legal guardian), this means it is your responsibility to clean up after yourself and to keep tidy the places that you call your own.

I am not saying I am the perfect housekeeper. But I will admit that I am more of a neat freak now than I used to be; when something is yours, it feels more special and important! I like to think I haven't gone overboard though in my neatness. Here is my (rather) regular cleaning routine:

1. Vacuuming. I never liked vacuuming when I lived at home, so when I first got to college, I said, "No more!" My freshman year, I think my roommate and I vacuumed 3 times the entire year. Yep, we were pretty gross. But as the years went by I began to do it more often. Vacuuming is a chore that should be done once a week (once a DAY of you have hairy pets). Even though you can't see it, there is hair, dust, etc. caught in your carpet and resting on top of your other floor surfaces. Usually I vacuum when I know I will be having guests; luckily that happens about every week, so this is an easy one to remember to do.

2. Dusting. Also not my favorite. Again, this one tends to get ignored because, until dust builds up so much that you can write your name in it, you really don't notice it. But who wants to let it go that far? My grandma dusts her apartment once a week, but I'd say I do it about once a month. Though I know I should do it more often, it's still a chore that feels daunting. But once I see the TV screen begin to gather a layer of dust, it inspires me to dust the whole apartment. This means all surfaces, including window sills and floor molding. It would also include knick-knacks, but again, because I'm trying to keep a tidy home, I have few of those to worry about.

3. Cleaning the bathroom. This is definitely a chore that I have yet to master or do completely. I do regularly wash the bathmat inside of the bathtub because things can start to grow on it because of all the moisture (do all bathrooms inevitably grow mold or fungus somewhere in the room?). And I Windex the mirror and wipe down the sink anytime I think either of them begins to look grody. I occasionally Swiffer the floors, but not nearly as often as I should. And the only interaction I've had with my toilet (other than, ahem...you know...) is fixing its handle earlier this year (read all about it in a previous blog post). So this is a work in progress...

4. Cleaning the kitchen. Again, not my proudest achievement. I do sweep on average once a month (more often when a mirror broke in there...7 years of bad luck...). I wipe down the counters with an OCD-like passion (something I never cared about until I got my own place), but the microwave and stove-top frequently are neglected. So I'm working on this one, too, but at least I don't have dirty dishes everywhere (thank goodness for dish washers!).

5. Laundry. For this, another previous blog post. Just don't let it pile up and stink up the whole place...

So, in general, this list is not very long. It's just the basics, and even I have yet to perfect cleaning my apartment. But these couple of things should start off your journey to becoming a good housekeeper (important for everyone, but mostly for women, let's be honest. Just one more step closer to becoming a Stepford Wife!).