My New Year’s Resolution

It’s that time of year again. Yup, to make our New Year’s resolutions. Mine is simple this year: to clean my house less.

That’s right. I said less. I’m weird? I think we’ve already established that. But my resolution really isn’t.

Ever since I’ve had my own home, I’ve been obsessive about cleaning it. I clean every Saturday morning and straighten up at least half a dozen times each day. Some of this is necessary and I’ll of course continue it. But the bulk of it is overkill.

I don’t remember where, but about a year ago, I read an article about the history of housecleaning. According to that article, today’s practices and beliefs only developed in the twentieth century. Before that, the average woman was too busy working for pay to help support her family. Some of these paying jobs were accomplished at home—for example, taking in laundry—but true full-time housewives and stay-at-home moms were rare, found mainly in the upper classes. It really wasn’t till after the Great Depression, and especially after the two World Wars, that average women began working outside of the house less. At the same time, a booming new industry developed in household appliances. These new appliances made quick—or, at least, quicker—work of housecleaning. But what did women do with all their new free time? Clean more, of course! (What! That wouldn’t be your first choice?)

When I worked outside the house (as opposed to what I do now, which is run my own business from a home office), I had a cleaning lady come in on a regular basis. She always insisted that every other week was sufficient. I, naturally, was appalled. My mother had always cleaned her house every Saturday. But when you think about it, my cleaning lady was right. We use cleaner forms of heat today than we did 100 years ago. We cover our floors with expensive wood, carpeting, tile, and linoleum. We keep mud out with doormats. We keep bugs at bay with window screens. Our high-tech kitchens feature refrigerators and freezers for the sanitary storage of foodstuffs and electric or gas stoves for clean and efficient cooking. Electricity, not smoking oil, lights our lamps. Outhouses have gone, well, the way of outhouses, with even today’s simplest homes sporting a sleek bathroom—and often several—on each floor. Cleaning products for every variation of surface, dirt, and stain imaginable, as well as paper towels, garbage bags, lightweight buckets, and all manner of scrubbing brushes and sponges, fill the shelves of every supermarket. Cleaning chores that used to take hours or even days can now be completed in a matter of minutes. And with today’s miracle surfaces and fabrics combined with the modern cleaning-product formulas, everything stays clean longer. (Although dust seems to be housecleaning’s version of the common cold—incurable. It’s back again almost before we put the dust rag away.)

So, beginning this year, I’m going to clean my house less. I’m going to try to wean myself off my weekly deep-cleaning routine and shift to a bi-weekly schedule. I’m going to straighten up in the morning and after dinner, but try to cut out the hourly “tours” of the house “to stretch my legs.” I’m going to try to stop my automatic response to a dirty dish in the sink being to grab the sponge and dish soap.

Of course, this is going to leave me with some extra time. Let’s see, what can I do with that time? Think. Think. Ooh, I know! I’ll work on my book!