Surprise birthday visit prompts quick cleanup

Some houses are social creatures, and some aren’t. Those that welcome visitors are the social ones, but some of the messy places love to welcome visitors too.

Growing up, I had a good friend whose mother was an artist. That is what her mother did all the time; she painted beautiful pictures. A few got hung on the walls in the house, but many of them were sold. Those sales kept her family in a good financial status. However, except for the beautiful artwork on the walls, their house was a mess.

Since my friend’s mother was an artist, she spent her time painting, not keeping her house neat. One day my friend asked me to come over to her house; she needed a little assistance helping her mother out.

When I got to her house, my friend told me they had a call that morning informing them several family members were on their way for a surprise visit to celebrate my friend’s mother’s birthday. Since it was a surprise visit for her mother, the house must be neat and ready for company. What a job my friend needed help with.

All day my friend and I dumped trash, swept and vacuumed floors, put clean sheets on beds, wiped down bathrooms, and hung clean towels in each one. While my friend began to run the vacuum cleaners, I started dusting the furniture. It was hard work, but we were very pleased with the results.

Once we got all the mess cleaned up, my friend’s house was pretty again. Just as my friend and I finished our work, the front doorbell rang. The guests had arrived, and the house was pretty and welcoming.

I went home to my house and realized it was a bit messy. I was too tired from helping out my friend, so I did a quick and effective way to make my house pretty. I gathered all the messes and put them in a closet. Suddenly, my house was as pretty as my friend’s house without all the work. Just don’t open the closet until I can finish.

Granted, my closet use was not in any way good housework. It sure saved a lot of effort.

Laura Moore can be emailed at lehmoore1@gmail.com.