Day 19: Cleaning - Getting a little help from my cats

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts.

Day 19: Cleaning – Write about doing laundry, dishes and other cleaning activities.

Cleaning? They want me to write about cleaning! In all my years, I have never come across anyone who likes to clean. Most, if not all people, do it because they have to, including me. Still, let’s see what I can come up with. Since today is international cat day, let's involve cats in this post.

Making the beds

In our house, the cats dictate when the beds are made. I never make my bed right after getting out of it. I believe that a bed has to air to keep it fresh. Unfortunately, while I shower, get dressed and have breakfast, one, two or even all four cats have taken possession of my bed. And I mean really, look at Charlotte, would you have the heart to disturb her slumber?

Dusting

Once again, the cats have to be taken into account. When I see Mickey sprawled out so elegantly on the coffee table, or Charlotte resting on the cabinet, I just let them be. There’s always time to dust the table and the cabinet later.

Window washing 

If there’s one cleaning task I like to do it’s washing windows. If I didn’t have such a fear of heights, I would have applied at a window washing company in Toronto. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine dangling by a rope from the 82nd, 43rd or even 16th floor.

Anyway, when I wash the windows here at home, I invariably have an audience. Mickey, Charlotte, Gabriel, and Holly sit on the other side of the window and watch the sponge go up and down and from left to right. While Charlotte, Gabriel, and Holly quickly lose interest, Mickey supervises until I’m done. He even points out places where I've missed a spot.

          

Vacuuming

Mickey, Gabriel, and Holly couldn’t care less about the vacuum cleaner, but Charlotte is terrified of the machine. Even though we paid attention to buying one that doesn’t make much noise, it’s still too much for Charlotte. When the vacuum cleaner gets switched on, she goes and hides under my duvet. 

 Meanwhile, Gabriel lies on the cat tree or sit on a chair and sees to it that the work gets done properly.

Dishes

I’m not a fan of doing dishes. Then again, who is? Not sure why I dislike it as I generally like working with water. I get at my most creative when I’m surrounded by water (maybe I should move to Hawaii). Occasionally though, Dieter volunteers and on this occasion (this was several years ago), Mickey was once again there to supervise.

Cooking

When I cook, I generally keep the cats out of the kitchen. When I’m working with boiling water and hot butter, I like to keep them at a safe distance. However, when the potatoes are being peeled, Mick is there to count them.

Now in case you’re wondering why there are no pictures of Holly ... Holly is a lady and stays far away from housework. She prefers sitting in her basket, relaxing on her cushion, lazing in front of the fireplace, or spending time with Dieter while he reads her a story.

Feel free to comment. I’d love to hear from you.

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