(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

There are two kinds of people in this world, people who like a clean house, and the rest of the slobs.

Summer’s just around the corner, but if you haven’t done it, there’s still time to get your Spring-cleaning on.

The ritualistic cleaning of a house from top to bottom and side to side goes way back. Some trace it to the Iranian Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which falls on the first day of Spring.

Others say it came from the ancient Jewish practice of cleansing the entire home for Passover. Catholics claim it because the church altar was thoroughly cleaned on Maundy Thursday…the day before Good Friday.

My take is more practical. In the old days houses had no heating and air conditioning…no screens on windows…small animals - some domesticated - came and went as they pleased. Soot from burning God-knows-what to cook and stay warm stuck to the walls.

So, women…and in the old days it was always women…scrubbed every vertical and horizontal surface, washed every fabric and swept the filth of months of living in Spring. This once-a-year practice continued for the masses for millennia.

Just to be clear, I’ve never thought keeping a clean house was a gender-based task. My mother made it clear in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t going to unleash me on the big cruel world without my knowing how to wash and iron clothes, sew, cook and clean. You would have to have known my mom…she was 4-feet, 10-inches of iron will who wasn’t scarred of the devil. So, if it’s a domestic skill…I know how to do it.

Now to be sure there are degrees of acceptable house cleanliness. I’m not a fanatic…cleaning behind every step in the kitchen…or making sure the fringe on the area rugs are perfectly straight. But, I like the look and smell of a clean house.

Both Bonnie, my wife, and I clean house…plus we have the greatest housekeeper I’ve ever known come in four hours a week, as well. When you have two cats and two dogs and two grandkids that love sleepovers…house cleaning is like painting the Golden Gate Bridge…once you get to the end…you start over.

Bonnie and I are old school…primarily because we are old. But we grew up in homes that - again - our moms kept almost spotless. My mom used to mop the kitchen floor every night…on her hands and knees. Dad used to say he was surprised the linoleum floor had two sides. Our housekeeper - about our age - hates dirt, dust bunnies, cat and dog fur and things out of place and I admire her tenacity each week.

I’ve read recently about today’s new-age approach to house cleaning. Forget Spring cleaning say many articles…Spring cleaning for many folks between 20 and 40 doesn’t exist…it is something mom did because she had the time. Actually, she made time. It was important because those she loved most deserved a place cleaner than a flop house.

A lot of younger folks seem to be buying into a narrative that mom - and her mom - had it wrong…being slaves to their “fancy” homes and passing on more important aspects of life.  Hmmm. That sounds too much like an excuse for spreading yourself too thin to me.

I played sports growing up…but not every sport. Mom and dad knew the wisdom of saying “no” sometimes. I learned a lesson…you can’t do it all…and do it well. A lot of young folks I know create the own hell…afraid saying “no” to a child might deprive or rob them…and your time to do anything with any degree of quality…simply vanishes.

That’s when you get advice like this from a young writer in a recent piece in the New York Times. “So next time you feel the pressure to do a huge spring clean, why not just tidy the kitchen cupboards and save the rest for another day?”

True enough…there are lots of things more fun and exciting than cleaning house. Hey, chocolate cake is more fun to eat than broccoli or carrots. The problem with this “save the rest for another day” is…that day usually never comes.

If your house is so cluttered a hoarder might live there…if enough fur balls are drifting around your floors to make another pet…if you’ve ever lost a small child under a pile of “to-do” laundry…you need to embrace Spring Cleaning.

Life is nothing but making choices. The better choices…the happier life you’ll live. It’s not easy…but who promised it would be? You can pretend a clean house isn’t important…but you know that’s not true. That’s why you feel so good when your house is clean and uncluttered.

Otherwise, you’re stuck when it’s your turn to host a gathering and your guests ask what they can bring…and you tell them dark socks and low expectations.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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