Cleaning House

Well, the inevitable has happened. My baby turned 18.

That means a lot of things, of course. In practical terms, one of the big things is that my ex-husband no longer has to pay child support.  It means my income for managing my personal life and the household suddenly dropped by about 25%.

(In my ex-husband's favour, I must say that he does give the kids pocket money to help them with their education expenses - but that doesn't help with food, rent, etc.)

One of the things which has had to go with the reduction in income was the cleaner. Suddenly, I'm doing my own cleaning.

I don't do it the way the cleaner did. I'm not trying to clean the whole house in two hours. Instead, it's a little bit here and there, breaking down each task into its smallest possible bits and doing just the tiny bit at a time.

But I'm also doing things like sweeping behind the fridge. (No, you don't want to know what that was like when I first looked.) And I'm moving things to clean under them, which is giving me no end of surprises.

As with the kitchen, I have gadgets to make it a little easier to do what I have to do despite complaining joints.

Long-handled cleaning tools.

I use a long-handled dustpan and brush, rather than having to bend down to use the traditional type. And a reaching tool to pick small items up off the floor, again to save bending.

The item on the right in the picture is absolutely amazing. It's for cleaning the bathroom. I don't try to reach across the bath with a spray bottle and sponge.  Instead I use this long-handled sponge/scrubber. I dip it in a bucket of water and disinfectant, and use it to clean tiles, the big mirror on the other side of the bath, anything that I would otherwise have to bend or stretch to reach. After that, all I have to do is give what I can reach a quick wipe with a cloth dipped in the disinfectant water.

The only really heavy job, the vacuum cleaner, I haven't tried yet. On the cleaner's last day with me it broke and I have to buy some fairly expensive parts. (The problem with buying such a high-quality vacuum cleaner/carpet washer, is that the parts cost a bit.) Once I get the part, I think I am going to give the offspring vacuum-cleaner lessons.

Update 13/3/2022 I was sent a link to show how to clean the house.  Can I suggest that if you don't have brain fog, do up to the point of making the detailed checklist - then hand it to a more able-bodied member of the family and go have a nap.  Pro Tips on How To Clean Your Home The Right Way.