How long it takes to straighten up the house is totally different now than it was when I was first married. A month after I got married, the answer was 4 hours.
Yep. When we discovered my in-laws were coming for a visit to look-see our new apartment, we spent 4 hours cleaning. I think the time-limit had to do with my wife Crys’ training. Because she grew up in a household where both parents worked, cleaning was relegated to Saturday morning, and it took all morning.
Therefore, the standard time to clean: 4 hours.
I had the same kind of training. In my case, however, it was more about procrastinating, undertaking the job at a snail’s pace, and for some odd reason, spreading out the work and, the pain for as long as possible. In other words, I could have done it more quickly and it might have been less annoying.
Today, we can spiffy up the apartment in 15 minutes. Admittedly, we’re not stopping to scrub counter-tops, mop floors, or buff porcelain. But even if we did all those things, the time needed would be much less than 4 hours. My wife’s admonition, “Straighten up your office” only involved a minimal amount of time.
Why so short?
Because we have very little to do. When we downsized earlier this year, we took an adequate amount of stuff to do the things that we really value. And all that stuff is compactly, efficiently placed in a small place.
My friend, Jean says, “Less stuff to dust.” I’m thinking that sums it up nicely. I think this shift from something like 4 hours to around 15 minutes is a big plus on the side of downsizing and moving to an independent living apartment.
Come by in a few minutes. I’ll have the place spiffed up for ya.
Ed Zinkiewicz
Your Aging-in-Life Strategist