Neglecting the Housework

Library of Congress:  These sweet children are helping with the housework. New York, 1943

I was so tired the other day that I spent most of the time resting.  While it is essential to rest, it is not okay for me to be a slacker.  I enjoyed several hours of reading, watching old black-and-white television programs, and puttering through a few minor homemaking tasks.  This was a much needed day of rest for me.  But sometimes I take resting too far.  If I lounge too much, I forget to do the daily housework.  I suddenly realized that no one was going to make dinner for me. If I wanted some brownies, I had to bake them myself.

 I had to get up the courage to do the work. We all get tired. We all suffer from aches and pains. It is important to rest and take breaks, but we also have to take the time to keep house.   I told myself something I often say when I am giving-in to being tired, "toughen up!"  I already had sufficiently rested.  I needed to do the little tasks of home keeping.

Brownies and dinner do not just appear, someone has to make them.   By late afternoon, I was able to get into my kitchen and do some real work. I baked and then did some cleaning. I also made dinner.  This gave me the strength and energy to get back to normal.  I had rested enough and was so happy to have done some work.

This reminded me of how easy it would be to reduce my standards of a tidy and sanitary home. I could easily neglect washing floors, vacuuming, sweeping, and putting away the laundry. Over time, this would cause me to have a neglected and unhappy home. 

An unkempt home may cause sickness and disease throughout the family. This can spread to those in the community.  I have read that many diseases, or illnesses, from the past have been greatly reduced in frequency - some have just about disappeared (such as scarlet fever).  The reason given is that improved living conditions - in the form of clean homes and good nutrition - has helped prevent these types of sicknesses.
 
This reminds me how essential it is to have an education in home economics.  We should know how to clean and make healthy food.  We should know how to manage a home.  But this takes time to learn. We should be constantly practicing these skills and continuing to learn so our families will have a safe and healthy home.

I used to read cleaning books by Don Aslett. I loved his approach to cleaning. Some of his books had cartoon illustrations that were so amusing.   He even wrote books about getting rid of clutter.  But the sweetest lessons on organizing will always be found in the old books by Emilie Barnes. Her gentleness and faith in the Lord shined through her words and made her readers want a lovely, peaceful home.

I love to see the whole family helping to clean and cook. It is wonderful for them to be involved in all aspects of homemaking.  It is important to involve the children in this.  Some of my grandbabies think cleaning and baking is part of the fun of their visits to our Estate.  I delight in the work and they catch on to this love and want to be involved. 

I appreciate having a routine schedule to follow for days of the week.  This way, the plan is already in place. I don't have to think about what I should be doing each day.   It would be easy to procrastinate, and avoid work, if we did not have a plan or goals for housekeeping.   To stay on track, some keep lists on their refrigerator. Others may use 3 x 5 index cards to stay organized.  Many use a homemaking binder where a careful plan of managing one's home is all written out and easy to follow.

The greatest way I have learned to avoid neglecting housework, is to take many breaks throughout the day. There should be tea times (or coffee breaks) and little walks.  There should be time for reading storybooks to little ones.  A serving of cookies or a fruit plate while reading a pleasant book are wonderful times of rest.

 In the middle of all this time of recreation, we stop and do a chore. We may do the dishes for 10 minutes before we read.  Or perhaps we wash the kitchen floor and then go outside to pick flowers.  Housework is easier to manage when there is much time of peaceful rest.

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

Is This True?  - Only Rich People Have Clean Houses.

Are You Ready For This? - Beware of Random Kitchen Inspections.

The Precious Joy of Grandchildren - I Hear Angels Crying.

Find Essays and Remembrances of Family and Home,
 in Mrs.White's book -Mother's Book of Home Economics . 
 Paperback, 312 pages.

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