dusting domestic whale Remember when you used to go round to friend's houses as a kid and their rooms would be in varying states of tidiness? If they were messy, resentment would be experienced at the thought of all the times you tidied your room for their arrival. If their room was incredibly tidy there was a risk of them being brought up at an example you should follow next time your bed wasn't made. Their house might smell funny, or they had coloured loo roll, or plastic lining to save the furniture/carpet which is impossible to appear relaxed sitting or standing on. 'I will never/always do that when I have my own place' you would think. Eventually you became an adult (this is adults only, get out of here children reading this!) and have your own abode to clean or not clean, cook or not cook in. As you get older - as we all are - you will find certain things you thought as a child you may not bother with (cleaning) suddenly seem not just a good way to spend your time, but pleasurable (in a Cif clean way, you are filthy). Here are the things that make us feel domesticated. Like proper adults, not pets.
1. I feel domesticated whenever I make something you could unashamedly buy from the shops. Such as mustard. I make my own beer mustard and it wows and baffles people that I would bother. I've realised, however, that I am not as domesticated as I might think. I make condiments, I wipe surfaces, I do laundry, I hang fairy lights around mirrors but on visiting my flat my mother noted I didn't vacuum. Apparently it is not enough to instruct guests simply not to lick the carpet and I must invest in a vacuum. Squeamish Kate
2. I feel domesticated every time I put the cutlery away. I've spent the last decade being taught that the correct order to put cutlery in the drawer is knife, fork spoon. I have no idea why. Personally I'd rather place them in the order they are placed on a table (i.e. fork, knife, spoon) which has the additional benefit of them being arranged alphabetically - but I've been informed this is wrong, if not a downright perversion of the natural order. Gareth
3. What makes me feel domesticated and also helpless, frustrated and quite frankly furious is dusting. There is nothing more life suckingly boring and futile as dusting. I know things look old and unloved when its got a layer of thin grey fluff on it and the air quality of my home may have diminished. But when I dust I just feel like I am wasting my life and my time. I just end up flicking it all back into the air, getting all itchy and then I have to have a bath. The domesticated bliss bit come when I realise things look a better and I feel a bit more positive in general. Until the dust settles. Squeamish Nicola
4. I entertain fleeting visions of being a domestic goddess. I can do all the bits that make up the picture - I'm a great cook. I can mix a drink. I know how to wield a vacuum cleaner. Occasionally. And sometimes I even make myself tidy. Or put clothes away. Ah. I see what's happened here. I have confused 'domestic goddess' with someone who really likes eating and drinking. Not that that's a bad thing, necessarily. So I'm probably at my most domesticated when I willingly pick up an iron and take it to the few dresses I own that I just can't wear without subjecting them to hot steam first. I once vowed I would never iron anything, and that resolution has obviously cracked. But I definitely wouldn't iron clothing belonging to someone else I live with. That is a step too far. Squeamish Louise
5. I am pretty domesticated as far as cooking and cleaning go, because I enjoy cooking and hate living in filth. So when I feel domesticated it's when I've got out my trusty screwdriver and assembled furniture, or fixed the leaking loo. Man stuff. Except growing up my mum took care of all that, so I've always seen it as woman's work. Real women have callused hands from fixing stuff. F1Kate
2. I feel domesticated every time I put the cutlery away. I've spent the last decade being taught that the correct order to put cutlery in the drawer is knife, fork spoon. I have no idea why. Personally I'd rather place them in the order they are placed on a table (i.e. fork, knife, spoon) which has the additional benefit of them being arranged alphabetically - but I've been informed this is wrong, if not a downright perversion of the natural order. Gareth
3. What makes me feel domesticated and also helpless, frustrated and quite frankly furious is dusting. There is nothing more life suckingly boring and futile as dusting. I know things look old and unloved when its got a layer of thin grey fluff on it and the air quality of my home may have diminished. But when I dust I just feel like I am wasting my life and my time. I just end up flicking it all back into the air, getting all itchy and then I have to have a bath. The domesticated bliss bit come when I realise things look a better and I feel a bit more positive in general. Until the dust settles. Squeamish Nicola
4. I entertain fleeting visions of being a domestic goddess. I can do all the bits that make up the picture - I'm a great cook. I can mix a drink. I know how to wield a vacuum cleaner. Occasionally. And sometimes I even make myself tidy. Or put clothes away. Ah. I see what's happened here. I have confused 'domestic goddess' with someone who really likes eating and drinking. Not that that's a bad thing, necessarily. So I'm probably at my most domesticated when I willingly pick up an iron and take it to the few dresses I own that I just can't wear without subjecting them to hot steam first. I once vowed I would never iron anything, and that resolution has obviously cracked. But I definitely wouldn't iron clothing belonging to someone else I live with. That is a step too far. Squeamish Louise
5. I am pretty domesticated as far as cooking and cleaning go, because I enjoy cooking and hate living in filth. So when I feel domesticated it's when I've got out my trusty screwdriver and assembled furniture, or fixed the leaking loo. Man stuff. Except growing up my mum took care of all that, so I've always seen it as woman's work. Real women have callused hands from fixing stuff. F1Kate
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