Show of hands; who has a room in their house that is considered the “ugly stepchild”? You know: the room that is never shown off, kept locked away from the world, and only appreciated when it’s needed. Come on, fess up, raise a hand if you have a room like that (I won’t tell anyone – promise).
Now, who has a whole floor of a house that is the ugly stepchild? Damn, it looks like I’m the only one with my hand still in the air.
The basement is the ugly stepchild in this house. Oh, it’s needed and appreciated: we sleep there, my books and computers are there, my bathroom is there and the laundry room is there. However, nobody but us (and the animals) ever see it, so it doesn’t get a good cleaning very often.
Now, let me tell you what I did yesterday (and anyone who says “she gave the basement a good cleaning can go sit in the corner with a dunce cap on – it would take a lot more than a day to give it a thorough cleaning). I did however, steam clean the carpeting, scrub the floor and wash the throw rugs in the basement. Just that took 3 ½ hours.
Sure, I vacuum and mop the floor on a regular basis, but the carpets, rugs and tiling get really nasty. This is particularly true now that the dogs use the basement door as their primary means of going out to do their business. Of course when they come in, they drag in mud, dirt and what-have-you from outside, grinding it into the flooring.
After I was through with the basement floor, I made my way upstairs to commence dusting, vacuuming, mopping washing knick-knacks and changing the potpourri.
All this in preparation of the upcoming visit by Cop Car and HH. I know, I know, they are coming to visit me not critique the house – go tell that to someone who will listen. See, CC and HH have never seen the house completed before, so of course I am helping the house with its desire to make a good impression (see how I cleverly make it out that the house wants to make the impression – it has nothing to do with me). And since they’ve never seen the completed house, I’ll have to show them the ugly stepchild basement.
So, I took a hard look at the place with a critical eye and told myself, “Oh my God! I should have started last year month!” There are several walls that need scrubbing (especially the one by the basement door, where the dogs shake mud and water when they come inside from the rain). But, with the limited time I had, I decided to just stick with the basics.
I’ll keep the lights down low so they can’t see the walls (even some of the ones I painted just 6 months ago need scrubbing already!). Also, I’ll make sure they never look at anything above eye level (didn’t do any dusting up there, nor did I get rid of the spider webs in the corners – don’t tell them huh?). Geeze, I’ll have to let them see the front room, and I haven’t cleaned that up since we stained the trim for the new window. I know, I’ll tell them I’m getting ready to paint so that’s why nothing is back in its place.
I’ll have to make sure that WS is in the upstairs bathroom at all times so they can’t go in there; it really needs to be torn apart and completely rebuilt - starting with new sheetrock. That is on one of our many lists, behind the addition and vinyl siding but before the garage (I think).
I think that pretty much covers everything that I have to hide/cover up but if not, I’m sure I can get one of the cats to hack up a hairball if I need a distraction from another disaster area in the house!
Seriously though, I am glad when relatives (either mine or WS’s) come up to visit. It forces me to look at the house and find those things I haven’t done for a long time. When I look at something day-to-day, I tend to not see some of the things that need to be taken care of. And even when I do notice it, I figure I can do it at some other point in time. Visits from relatives force me to take the time to get these less than pleasurable tasks done. And that is a good thing.
OMG!!! The basement! I've been so busy looking at the first floor and gardens, moaning that I'll never get them cleaned up in time, that I completely forgot about the basement! Well...there's an easy way to resolve THAT! I'm going out to get new locks for the doors tomorrow!
Heck....they're YOUR parents, and I'M going crazy trying to clean the house!
I'm glad you've managed to get a jump on all this so you'll have a great time when Cop Car and HH show up. DOn't worry, Bogie....they'll have a good time, no matter what!
Posted by: Buffy | September 29, 2004 at 04:17 PM
A door, a door - I wonder if I can get one framed in and up within the next couple of hours!
Hey Buffy - they are now your (blog) relatives too. I tried to warn you about the adoption thing, but would you listen. Nooooo.
Posted by: bogie | October 01, 2004 at 05:00 AM
How in the world can so much effort be set off by a little thing like Hunky Husband's and my announcing our intentions to visit? I cannot believe all of this!!! Not only did I leave my string bikini at home...I left my white gloves (as if I owned any!) Not once did I look to see if there was a spec of dirt somewhere. Not once did I look to check for cobwebs or window streaks. Folks...that just "ain't" my thing. If I do it to you, you may do it to me...and I just couldn't pass muster. Both of your houses looked GREAT! Had they not, I would not have cared! Thanks for caring enough to make the effort, but I would have loved seeing you just as much...well...maybe not--I didn't see what you started with, did I? LOL
If we are vying for dirt, though, I hope that you consider the 1/2-inch of "fuzz" that habitually bedecks each horizontal surface in HH's den/workout room. In addition, while we were gone, CK stayed at our house some nights and, evidently, for whatever reason removed the plastic hangers that are ALWAYS on the rod above the washer and dryer in the laundry room. I noticed, while looking at the empty rod in wonder, that there was also 1/2-inch of "fuzz" on it. I flipped a towel from the laundry over the rod, moving it from side-to-side to get the dust, but (unfortunately) at that point noticed the cobwebs in the corners between the cabinets and the wall--above the rod. I'm not tall enough. The cobwebs are still there!
Posted by: Cop Car | October 12, 2004 at 09:14 PM
(sigh) It's never-ending! The day before you came, I found cobwebs in the kitchen, and the day after you left, I found even more!
I think we clean for friends more than we clean for ourselves. I know that doesn't make sense, but we seem to do it anyway. Thanks for giving me a head start on the Fall cleaning. Now I'll have less to worry about at Thanksgiving.
I've heard about the fuzz in HH's den. He's tall. Let him help you out in the laundry room, since he's not cleaning in the den! lol
Posted by: Buffy | October 12, 2004 at 09:56 PM
Buffy--HH is like my mother who always said, "A dustrag doesn't fit my hand!"
Posted by: Cop Car | October 13, 2004 at 09:06 AM
I know you don't look for it, but it seems to jump out at me when I know family is coming to visit (our friends are used to the mess, and some have a bigger mess on a regular bassis, so I don't worry about them). Anyway, as I said, it forces me to do some of the stuff that I find all too many excuses not to do!
Posted by: bogie | October 14, 2004 at 04:21 AM