– Opinion –
One of the good things about suddenly having to do your own cleaning, is that you quickly realise that not all is good with certain cleaning items in the lockdown establishment.
Like when I went to get the long-handled Ostrich feather duster to remove some long legged spidey people that thought it okay to squat in my house during lockdown. So the long handle was there all right, but the feathers seemed to have returned to Oudtshoorn to go spend lockdown with their great Uncle Ossie. Only one hardy soul remained, clinging desperately to the top! Fortunately, long-handled feather dusters are clearly considered an essential item and I managed to get one through the till at my grocery store quicker than you could say ‘I love lockdown’.
The yellow-duster cloth was another case in point. Normally the colour of newborn baby poo, mine was a very dirty faded yellow and so threadbare that you could see right through it! So that was sent off to the great duster cloth retirement centre with a case of speed and shiny new ones were added to my shopping.
And then while needing to clean one of my many, many, many vases, I dug out my very old bottle brush to get inside the narrow neck. When I did the Math I realised that I bought that bottle brush when SP (Son Person) was born – a whole twenty three years, seven months and nine days ago! No wonder this poor grey dithering creature was in a sad state of ill repair with body parts (aka the handle) falling off. So I gave it a hug and gently told it that its services were no longer required. (Fortunately for me, bottle brushes are also considered an essential item).
I don’t want to jinx anything but at least all my appliances are overachieving at the moment. Every morning while making my tea, I tell them how much I love them all and how much I need them in my life right now. They all smile very serenely back at me and I can only hope that none of them are planning a secret coup. I don’t know about you guys out there, but while I can make do without a kettle – I cannot live without my washing machine or dishwasher.
So before it’s too late, I implore you to go tell your appliances how much they mean to you!
Missed some of the other Corona Chronicles? Check them out here:
Corona Chronicles: Witty Joburg resident documents past five days of social distancing
Corona Chronicles: Lockdown makes Joburger confront gridlocked passage and a lipstick dilemma
Corona Chonicles: Are mops considered an ‘essential’ item?
Corona Chronicles: Chicken or beef?
Corona Chronicles: Worry over wine stock after husband accidentally breaks three bottles
Corona Chronicles: All dressed up and off to the shops she goes
Corona Chronicles: Does reading a book and drinking a gin while lying in the sun count as housework?
Corona Chronicles: Lockdown’s become a puzzle
Corona Chronicles: New dress sense during lockdown
Corona Chronicles: How to manage household chores during lockdown
Corona Chronicles: Attempt to re-create Mozambican holiday doesn’t go to plan
Corona Chronicles: Lockdown eating habits
Corona Chronicles: Thank goodness of homemade pizzas and braais that work
