photo credit: lille abe - annoyed by the pro account

At 81 years of age, my grandmother still cleans her kitchen floor every day with a rag, on her hands and knees.

She tells me that by scrubbing it by hand she gets a better clean than she would get with a mop. I don't deny this is a fact.

My grandmother has a sparkling clean kitchen floor.

Yesterday, however, she asked if I could recommend a mop.  At 81 my grandmother has realised that sometimes near enough IS good enough.I think this is a pretty significant thing.  Some of us have difficulty doing anything at all at less than 100%.  This type of personality often finds themselves working in the law or in the medical field and hopelessly overcommitted.

Everything needs to be better, neater, more efficient, faster.  We need to be high-achieving, career-driven, family-focussed, well-presented, socially-conscious, environmentally-friendly and more besides.  Something has to give.  And it may as well be the housework.

At this point in my life I have more money than time, but not enough of either.  Personally, I'd rather clean the house myself and have more money left over for shoes and pretty handbags.  My sister and her boyfriend however are quite happy to pay a lovely man to come and clean for them.

Now this is my cheat-list.  As reluctant as I am to share, these are the tools and ways my house stays clean.

• My husband does not sabotage my efforts to keep the house clean.  More than that (and I know this is shocking) he contributes.  A lot.  No, the division of labour is not equal.  Right now he is doing a lot more than I am because I'm still not 100% mobile.  At other times I do more.  I call it the see-saw of division of labour and I am convinced it is the only way to maintain sanity.  I'll write more on this later.

• Kill the clutter.  I have a notorious aversion to 'stuff'.  I just don't get it.  Why waste money on things you need to dust when you could buy handbags instead? Make your life easier and kill the kitch.  If you really must have it, accept that dusting will take you longer.  Everything has an opportunity cost - balance it in your favour.

• Buy a quality vacuum.  Back in the olden days when I worked part-time selling electrical appliances to get me through law-school, people would constantly say "I hate vacuuming" and then proceed to buy the heaviest, most cumbersome and cheapest vacuum, garanteed to make the task more horrifically awful and time-consuming than it needs to be.  We bought a Dyson barrel thingamybob 5 years ago.  It does the job with a minimum of fuss and is light enough for me to drag up the stairs.  Yes it was more expensive than a Sanyo but it does a better job and I barely remember how much the difference in price was now.

• Clean on a regular basis...daily.  This is the one thing that can really make the biggest difference.  A quick swipe of the shower screen and tiles when you get out of the shower will save you a lot of scrubbing later.  I'm personally fond of Enjo but you can use any reasonable quality cloth/squeegee to clean and dry the bathroom when you're done.  Likewise give the kitchen a quick clean and clean up dishes after every meal or while you're waiting for something to cook and you'll barely ever have to do a deep clean.

• Protect your clothes with quality laundry appliances.  It wasn't that long ago that we were washing things twice due to my husband's horribly inefficient old washing machine.  One cycle in the beast took about 50million years and then we'd often have to run it through all over again.  Frustrating, time-consuming and terrible for the environment.  We replaced the washer with a front-loading Asko with a great delay start feature.  This is my best friend. It washes gently and beautifully and I never have to run it twice. Clothes and powder goes in at night, the machine starts (as near as damnit to silently) while we sleep and finishes first thing in the morning in time for my husband to hang clothes out or transfer to the dryer.  I hate hanging clothes on the line and am grateful for any machine that makes it convenient for my husband to do it for me.

• Steam it up.  If you're living in a pinstriped prison (or worse, you're also married to someone living in a pinstriped prison) you probably have a hideous towering pile of ironing.  I do.  I have a lovely Laura Star steam station that pumps out lots of lovely steam and irons like a dream in double quick time.  It can also steam suits (while on the hanger) to keep them looking fresh in between dry-cleans and can iron on silk, lace and embroidery.  Yes, more expensive than a regular iron but way more efficient.

• If you're renovating or building a new house like everyone else in the known universe, pay attention to floor coverings, wall tiles and try to avoid fussy detailing.  Smooth clean lines are easier to maintain and keep clean.  A little bit of scrimping may cost you big time later when you need to replace it all again.  Buy cheap, buy twice.  That doesn't mean avoid a bargain - just work out a good balance based on your budget and expected replacement time-frame.

• Outsmart the oven.  If you don't have a self-cleaning pyrolytic oven these are my tips to keep your oven clean.  I'm allergic to oven cleaning chemicals and I've never used them.  When you're baking, move the large grill tray from the top of the oven to the bottom.  That way any drips go on the tray, which, with any luck is either oven safe or easy to clean.  Wipe up any spills on the walls or door of the oven with a damp cloth when the oven is still slightly warm. While you're at it, wipe out the exhaust fan (make sure you get one that is externally vented) or better yet, choose an exhaust fan with dishwasher safe filters.

My house is far from spotless but it is always reasonably clean.  And that is good enough for me.

I'd love to hear your tips or questions, so please post a comment.

Other posts you might be interested in reading

1. Absence makes the heart grow fonder..or forget. One of the two. No, I haven't run away to a lovely deserted island with no internet access.  Although, who hasn't, when looking at a massive pile of ironing...

Tags: clutter, division of labour, Housework, kitchen floor, mop, sanity, shoes