Is that your teenager or your partner? To be fair, they are impacted by your need to have a clean house. Before we look for their cooperation, let's ask ourselves: "So why do we clean?" One of the most obvious reasons relates to living in a healthy environment but the onset of guests become a primary motivator for many of us. I often like to quote Queen Aurora, aka my Mom, who taught me all I know about cleaning, especially the deep cleaning which she detested doing herself. "What will the neighbors think?" We were trained at a young age. Every Saturday we were on our knees dusting baseboards. Yuck…
But the rebel in me gave that up as soon as I moved out on my own. Fast forward to adulthood: whenever Nathan and I have entertained in the past 20 years there has been a feverish rush to be sure that no one knows we live like "everyone else" does. That is-- just like most everyone else-- we clean for company. But this is stressful! I am a fanatic about clutter and my husband is the exact opposite. We've managed to make that work between us over the past twenty years. (That advice comes only one-to-one. Call me.) But, as much as not-cluttered looks clean--it isn't necessarily. There is still
