Cleaning Houses and Cats

Today was cleaning day.  Not the light, get the dirt of the surface stuff, but the deep cleaning that you never want to do. 

Krista cannot stand cleaning.  She loves the way it all looks in the end but she hates the process it takes to get there.  I, on the other hand, actually enjoy cleaning.  I think it comes from living in the not so clean environs of my youth.  There were 8 of us in a little over 1200 square feet, with just one bathroom.  The house was all about function not about clean.

I clean and organize when I get overwhelmed.  Therapy says it is my way of controlling what I know I can't control.  I like it when things are neat and crisp and clean.  All those years in doctor's offices' looking at the homes on the outdated Better Homes and Gardens gave me home.  I'm good at cleaning--period.  If this is one of those things that gets your man-card revoked, I'll gladly hand mine over.

Today's cleaning was no different than any other I've performed over the years.  Dusting, organizing, scrubbing, sweeping, mopping.  I tell Krista to take pictures after we are done because as soon as the kids get home, all bets are off.  We made good time on this one today.  I think it was three hours start to finish.  We missed somethings but that is always the case.  My wife is one of those who gets to brag about her husband who cleans, does laundry and cooks.  It is my badge of honor that I gained way back when we did our best to make that 1200 square feet look as good as possible.  

It was also time to take the cats to the groomers.  They are both long hairs, and both incredible shedders.  As we cleaned we noticed that we were able to pick up an entire cats worth of fur off of the floor, couch and seats.  

In the summer we get them a "lion cut".  Imagine a big fluffy cat, fur everywhere, something much like a Yeti before going to the groomer.  Coming out, same face, same tail, everything else in between shaved to the nubs.  It is a hilarious sight.  I can't explain it at all.  We do it out of sympathy for the animals who have to endure the hardship of summer without air conditioning. 

For some inexplicable reason home builders in "beach communities" decided that air conditioning was not required.  There are about 10-20 days a year where I loathe the fact that I don't have the 747ish whirr outside my window of the condenser starting up to push out 48,000 BTU's of nothing but cold, dehumidified air.  This is why we shave the cats.  Of course it also cuts down on the amount of cleaning we have to do as well.