By Susan Shanklin

I just finished cleaning my house!

I do not like to clean my house!

I do like to live in a clean house, though. Ha ha. Almost sounds like the beginning of a Dr. Seuss book which really aren’t my favorite books to read to my grandchildren. Too much nonsense and too many tongue twisters.

Anyway, cleaning house is very therapeutic. Cleaning your house is…well…cleansing. You pick up outside dirt that shouldn’t be there, suck up spider webs and other interlopers. You get a chance to move things around, sometimes even getting rid of stuff you really don’t need or want in your house.

You straighten as you go, at least I do, and put things back in place where they belong.

Tom and I live in a 1880 two story brick farmhouse on 3.3 acres of trees, gardens, buildings and a barn, surrounded by soybeans and corn fields, just 1.7 miles from the city of Mankato.

The house has cracks in the mortar and some old windows with gaps and holes. The house has a wood stove and old radiators and, in the summer, window air conditioners. The wooden floors are gappy around the edges. The basement is well…not my favorite place to go, unless there are tornado warnings!

What I’m sayings is that my house has a lot of entrances for dirt and bugs to get in. Oh, and let’s not forget the big, very hairy and forever shedding ELLA!

My house gets dirty! The whole world wants in my house. I have a hard time keeping it out, but in the end it’s my job to keep it clean. Right?

I have gotten better with this cleaning thing but there is always room for improvement. Ha.

Since we have moved into this house we keep trying to seal it up, patch it up, and put out a “You’re not welcome” sign to pests and other crawly things.  But, you know, you could spend 24/7 trying to keep the dirt out, but hey, there isn’t enough time in a day and week for all the other stuff one must do. So the answer is to keep your house clean.

If the dirt accumulates, it can grow undesirable things. Things that can make you sick in body and mind.

It’s a good thing to keep your house clean. A house clean will let peace reign, reduce clutter and create order. A clean house invites Guests.

To clean this abode of mine, I am the proud owner of not one, not two, but three vacuums!

I have a second hand vintage Electrolux tank, a Bissell upright and a super duper Shark.

I was forever lugging the hundred pound Electrolux up and down the stairs. Just the thought of it makes me cringe. So I purchased a Bissell upright that was doing the job pretty fair, but you have to use the Electrolux tooooooo because of getting in tight places, etc. So If I’m going to get this house clean I’m going to find the perfect cleaning machine, right?

I did my research and for a ungodly sum of money, I acquired the super duper Shark, that is for pet owners. Ha! I bought a vacuum that is able to collect miniature Ella’s!!!!!!!!!!!

It has done all that it advertised to do—with one minor flaw  which is kind of major flaw. It’s SOOOOOO loud that I had to purchase industrial ear muffs to use every time I run it!

Grandchildren run, husbands slam doors. Ella makes a dash. But hey, it gets the job done.

I’m so proud of myself right now. Clean house. Clean house. I have a clean house. La la.

Until we start living again.

No one can clean your house better then you can. Just remember that.