Dust to Dust…

Do you believe in fairies? I have a team of overall-clad workers who work their ‘magic’ when they visit every fortnight. Actually, I can’t decide if they’re fairies or therapists – such is the improvement in my mood since they started calling at my home.

Musings aside, these are flesh and blood cleaners who work for a domestic cleaning company franchise based in Redhill. The subject of housework seems apt at this time of year – spring cleaning being a centuries-long tradition, however, ‘cleaning’ is one of those words (along with Marmite) that will always elicit an extreme love/hate response.

Personally, I hate regular cleaning, but I enjoy a once-in-a-blue-moon sort out. It’s the relentlessness of housework that gets me down; it’s never-ending! Left to my own devices, I would adhere to Quentin Crisp’s philosophy: “There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years, the dirt doesn’t get any worse.”

However, sharing the house as I do and not wanting to frighten away potential visitors means that some sort of housework has to take place in my home occasionally. Thanks to professional fairies my life and home have been transformed (incidentally, they seem impossible to shock, no amount of filth and grime fazes them!).

De-cluttering – and now even re-cluttering are popular. Obviously, the less stuff we have in our homes, the less there is to clean. Victorian designer, William Morris, owner of more than one beautiful home is quoted as saying: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

In the real world, life is messy, disorganised and unpredictable and we don’t always have the luxury of time to sort stuff out. When we do, it’s a good idea to start small – not aiming to tackle the whole house, but selecting one room, and then actually doing it (whatever you do, don’t start looking through old photos; you’ll be there for days!).

Getting a friend to help and then returning the favour is an idea, other people’s mess is more interesting! I used to iron for a friend while she cooked me a meal (I love ironing, she loved cooking). Try the internet and the next time you’re surfing the web (and avoiding the housework) take a look at – theorganisedhousewife.com.au/ – she has useful tips.

“It’s alright for her, she has cleaners!” do I hear you cry? Admittedly, this is true. Actually, there was one time when I managed to clean my whole house from top to bottom in a morning. Okay, so it was a fully-furnished three-storey dolls’ house, but that still counts – right?

By Sarah Ballinagl