We have put our home on the market to sell and even though the real estate market is terrible right now and not a single soul has indicated any interest in seeing it we have to make sure it is a showcase everyday.

As I face the dishes piling up in the kitchen and the muddy tracks in the so called ‘mud room’ I no longer have the luxury of saying ‘it will keep until later’. And why is it called a ‘mud room’ anyway if you can’t just leave the mud in there?

So, out comes the vacuum more often than in the cat’s worst nightmares; the cats are dreadfully afraid of the vacuum cleaner.  And speaking of the cats, their box has to be checked three, four or more times a day because heaven forbid a potential buyer (or ‘looky-loo’) get a whiff of that. And don’t believe the ‘world’s greatest cat box stink eliminator’ is all it claims to be either. Oh it’s good, but nothing takes the place of a frequent scoop and flush and perhaps an occasional lighting of a candle or incense.

I do like a clean house so none of this bothers me too much but what does trouble me is the act of making up my bed on a daily basis. A made bed is nice if someone is there to actually appreciate it but really, when you get up at 8 or 9 and plan to lie down again for a nap at 2 and then back into bed again by 9 with a good book well, making it look nice for such a brief period seems such a waste of good time. I’d much rather be gardening!