Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Chore of the Day - Thursday

How well I remember Scrub Day when I was a child! Mom would arm me with a small pail and I would have to first sweep, then wash the stair steps and side boards every week. It was not a difficult chore for a child, and I did pretty well at it. Later on, she added the chair and table legs to my list, as they collected dust on the decorative turnings and in groves designed for the look of elegance! (I try to remember these days when I pick out a new furniture piece - I don't care for the upkeep, so clean lines of mission style decor suits me well, for the most part!)
As I grew older, my most hated chore of the week was scrubbing the Dreaded Floors! Of course my sister and I only had charge of our bedroom floors upstairs - it was a dormer with hardwood floors. Dad had lovingly finished the attic with varnished wood and tongue and groove knotty pine (the wide WIDE boards!), saving the lumber money from every paycheck so he could complete the room for us girls once they knew my brother was on his way inside mommy's tummy! Sweeping that floor brought back memories of my sister and I years before, making porridge out of sawdust we found in the corners while dad cut boards - we mixed our concoctions up in the bowl of a little potty chair and fed it to our dollies and stuffed animals, or pretended to eat it ourselves!

Of course the floor would have to be washed (hands and knees, please - and don't forget the corners and baseboards!), and then - the WAX! Oh how I hated cleaning those floors! Mom always taught us the best way to complete that job is on hands and knees, if you really want that floor to be clean enough to eat off from!! Nowadays, I "cheat" and use a mop! But for those pesky corners, Momma knows best - getting down to eye level with that dust and dirt is the ONLY way to GET R DONE correctly!

11 comments:

Angela said...

I'm afraid to say that I didn't ever have to do any of that kind of cleaning when I was a kid. We didn't have hardwood floors. Plus I was allergic to the cleaners. I do remember dusting and a few things like that but nothing like what you had to do as a child.

How in the world did parents get their kids to do things like that back then? I know my kids wouldn't do it. They will help but to give them somthing to do like that on their own it just wouldn't happen. I might need some parenting lessons from your Mommy! hehehe

Hugs,
Angela

April said...

Wow...times sure have changed, haven't they? Be very thankful! :) I must admit, however, that I did, actually, get down on my hands and knees yesterday and clean my hardwood kitchen floor. There's nothing quite like a good old fashioned scrubbin' from time to time!

Diann said...

Hi!

I couldn't agree more with "mama'. Although I use a steam cleaner for floors, you still have to get down on hands and knees to do the corners, baseboards and the toe kick area of the bottom cabinets.

Oh, now you made me reasize that I can't put that off any more....groan! LOL

Have a wonderful day Monica!

P.S. Troy and I have been enjoying that awesome book you sent him. We just love those kinds of books. they are so much fun!

Diann said...

ooops... "reasize"??? Maybe realize? LOL

Old Time Cindy said...

No more hands and knees for me when it comes to regular mopping of the floors. The knees don't approve anymore!
Cindy at Lakewood

^..^Corgidogmama said...

...very good training!
Kudos to your mama.
Bet those floors were beautiful, oh my, wide planking and waxed..shining and clean!

Sara's Sweet Surprise said...

Hello~this is my first visit....
Growing up my chore was to empty the garbage cans from each room and reline them with newspaper. "I HATED IT!!" I vowed to myself that when I got married I would never empty garbage cans or pump my own gas (although not a household chore, a chore none the less). Well, I'm happy to say I've pretty much passed garbage detail on to my hubby, who fortunately pumps the gas too. I did detest washing dishes too, but when dishwashers came to be, it changed my opinion...a little.

I have to say how much I adore Corgi's. My son and DIL have a 7 month old Corgi who we've fallen in love with. Miss Eva has truly brought great joy to everyone's life.
Come by for a visit your company would be nice.

Sweet wishes,
Sara

farmlady said...

I would imagine that there aren't too many kids that have chores like this anymore. I had to laugh at one of you commentors that said she could never get her kids to do chores.., that they just wouldn't do it. That's the difference between this last couple of generations and ours. Could you imagine telling you Mom or Dad..," I won't do it!" ?? I cleaned and waxed out livingroom parquet floors and I was always proud of how nice they looked. I also did the dishes every night. Mom cooked and sis and I cleaned up. That seemed fair. Now, this would be called "child cruelty". What a world of spoiled children we have created.

LV said...

I have had to do a lot of cleaning the hard way. I am not sure we went to that extreme. I need to do it now.

ocmist said...

We never had hard wood floors... just linoleum so it wasn't so hard to do, but we had other chores like ironing and dish washing IN the house. Generally, though, I helped my Dad outside with the animals or garden, and liked that a lot better!
And no... I can't imagine EVER telling my parents no if I'd been told to do something! Linda

Troy said...

OK, you got my attention with your comment on my blog.

Different salts? Are we talking garlic salt, onion salt, celery salt? Or are the types of salt I don't know about?