Classic Housekeeping: Rituals, Sayings, and Traditions.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I've been thinking of this lately as I scramble daily to get housework done. We've done many housekeeping threads, but I thought it would be interesting to approach from a different perspective.

 

So, can you think of any housekeeping rituals, traditions, or sayings that your mothers, aunts, grandmothers, or any other older members of your family introduced you to? Farmers have had all kinds of sayings with which I am familiar, surely housewives have too. They just weren't passed on to me. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Any kind of housekeeping tradition accepted. Just please don't say, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." I have enough guilt already.

[LauraGB]

Does "Get your d#m$ socks off my floor!" count? :D

 

How about this one - "If you took it out, you put it back."

[AuntPol]

Just please don't say, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." I have enough guilt already.

 

LOL -if cleanliness is next to Godliness then I'm practically Satan incarnate some days.

 

Here's one:

A place for everything and everything in it's place.

[elizabeth]

Not housekeeping but health advice from my MD Dad-Keep your nose clean and your bowels open. Lovely. But it covers a whole lotta issues in one fell swoop.

[Perry]

I heard this one on this board many years ago:

 

"Don't let the corners get round."

 

I don't know who said it, but I've always loved that one.

[fairfarmhand]

my mom always told me to wash the light fixtures every time you change a bulb, so that the nastiness doesn't build up.

[LauraGB]

Not housekeeping but health advice from my MD Dad-Keep your nose clean and your bowels open. Lovely. But it covers a whole lotta issues in one fell swoop.

 

:lol::001_huh::smilielol5:

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Here's one:

A place for everything and everything in it's place.

 

My husband preaches this to me and the children. Sometimes I am tempted to leave little post it notes with that quote on the stuff he leaves in places it doesn't belong. :D

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I heard this one on this board many years ago:

 

"Don't let the corners get round."

 

I don't know who said it, but I've always loved that one.

 

I haven't the slightest idea what this means. Am I in trouble?

[secular_mom]

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure can apply to LOTS of subjects.

 

If you open it, close it.

 

If you spill it, wipe it up.

 

If you use it, put it back.

 

If you empty it, rinse it out or throw it out.

 

If you turn it on, turn it off, etc.

 

 

One of my thoughts (I don't say it out loud, and it's not old fashioned that I'm aware of) is that emergencies happen and it's better to be equipped to deal with them so: keep laundry clean and put away, keep the kitchen clean and tidy, keep the pantry stocked, keep gas in the vehicles and sleep in decent attire in case of a fire.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

"If in doubt, throw it out." - my dad - in his opinion this only applies to food. My mother wishes he would apply this to his closet.

 

"Use zee old and save zee new." - my German great-grandmother

 

"Always wash the cleanest area first."- my nursing school instructor - works for bodies, rooms, objects, etc..

 

"Fresh air, fresh minds." - my grandmother

 

"Dinner without dessert is like a day without sunshine." - my other grandmother

 

"Make two, buy two, always have a spare." - my mother

 

"Clean the bathroom and kitchen every day. Dust for company." - me

[Dandelion]

Great thread!

 

"If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean."

 

"Clean top to bottom, left to right." (the thought being that what you clean from the top may land on the bottom, and that cleaning left to right prevents you from cleaning the same spot twice - I do find that this approach saves me time when I use it)

[kalanamak]

"Mop the floor and turn out the light" (do the floors last).

 

"Clean up as you go along" (my mother's mantra while trying to teach me to cook).

[LauraGB]

"Don't let the corners get round."

 

 

I *think* it means don't stash and pile the stuff to the point where dust collects. But, I'm not sure (just thinking about the round corners in ds's room).

[bookfiend]

Quiet now cobwebs; dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

[LG Gone Wild]

Poor work makes more work.

 

Who needs a smack!

 

Get rid of stuff to make room for people.

[BeckyFL]

Dust is a protective coating?

[Perry]

I haven't the slightest idea what this means. Am I in trouble?

:lol:

 

Well, I *thought* it applied to washing floors - IOW, make sure you clean in the corners. I pictured lazy mopping, resulting in rounded corners. But I could be wrong.

 

It just struck me as a great metaphor for attention to detail.

Edited May 19, 2010 by Perry

[Jean in Newcastle]

My mom had a Pennsylvania Dutch saying in her kitchen that applies to housekeeping as well as other things: "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get".

[Peri]

I heard this one on this board many years ago:

 

"Don't let the corners get round."

 

I don't know who said it, but I've always loved that one.

 

I don't get it ...

[Sherry in OH]

Thank God for dirty dishes,

they have a tale to tell,

while others may go hungry,

we're eating very well.

 

and the well known

 

Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without.

[RoughCollie]

Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere.

Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share.

 

Courtesy of Barney.

[Peri]

:lol:

 

Well, I *thought* it applied to washing floors - IOW, make sure you clean in the corners. I pictured lazy mopping, resulting in rounded corners. But I could be wrong.

 

It just struck me as a great metaphor for attention to detail.

 

Oh!

[Jean in Newcastle]

:lol:

 

Well, I *thought* it applied to washing floors - IOW, make sure you clean in the corners. I pictured lazy mopping, resulting in rounded corners. But I could be wrong.

 

It just struck me as a great metaphor for attention to detail.

 

sweeping too.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 14:4

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

Get what you get and Don't pitch a fit!

 

 

My MIL came over one day when oldest ds was about 2 and she asked me how Often I cleaned the baseboards because they were very dirty. I didn't know I was supposed to clean them!!:lol:

[Serendipity]

When someone can't find what they're looking for, I say: Look with your hands! And that person usually then finds what they were looking for...

 

:)

[elise1mds]

Thank God for dirty dishes,

they have a tale to tell,

while others may go hungry,

we're eating very well.

 

I have this in my kitchen! It hung in my uncle's kitchen until he died and that was the only thing in his house that I really asked to have. There's more to it, though. The rest is:

 

"With health and home and happiness,

We really shouldn't fuss;

For by the stack of evidence

God's been very good to us."

[Amy Jo]

When I think of round corners I think of stuff piling up and cobwebs.

 

"If you hadn't been complaining you'd be done by now." (my Mom)

"You can do a lot in 15 minutes." (FlyLady)

 

Wonderful thread.

[MommyRyan]

Thank God for dirty dishes,

they have a tale to tell,

while others may go hungry,

we're eating very well.

 

We have the longer version by my sink:

 

Thank God for dirty dishes,

they have a tale to tell,

while other may go hungry,

we are eating very well.

With food, health, and happiness,

I shouldn't have to fuss

By the stack of evidence

God's been very good to us.

[Audrey]

Maybe this is more a farm one, but there is a handmade sign in my kitchen that has been there the whole 110 year life of the farmhouse that says:

 

Reminder! You live here, not in the barn.

 

I tend to point to that sign... a lot. I imagine many a mother who lived here did the same.

Edited May 19, 2010 by Audrey

[StartingOver]

I don't get it ...

 

My grandmother used to say don't let the corners get round. It was pertaining to dirt in the corners. She would get down on hand and knees and clean the corners about once a month. The old brooms weren't near as good as the ones we have now, and just wouldn't get in the corners, so the dirt would be rounded in there.

[Melissa in Australia]

"A stitch in time saves nine"

 

It has more meanings than keeping up with the mending!

[Teachin'Mine]

How about this one from Phyllis Diller:

 

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."

[Teachin'Mine]

Here's some more:

 

1. Kitchen closed – - this chick has had it!

2. Martha Stewart doesn’t live here!!

3. I’m creative; you can’t expect me to be neat too!

4. So this isn’t Home Sweet Home… Adjust!

5. Ring Bell for Maid Service…If no answer do it yourself!

6. I clean house every other day…. Today is the other day!

7. If you write in the dust, please don’t date it!

8. I would cook dinner but I can’t find the can opener!

9. My house was clean last week, too bad you missed it!

10. A clean kitchen is the sign of a wasted life.

 

Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have canceled my FlyLady e-mails. :tongue_smilie:

 

One more by Erma Bombeck:

 

"My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."

Edited May 19, 2010 by Teachin'Mine

[scubamama]

Man! We Dutchies have lots of sayings..."the hurrier I go the behinder I get"

The house is all ferhoodled,

make the dust off the furniture

Kissin' don't last, cookin' do

I'm wonderful busy now

there's no time to dopple, get busy once

and my personla fav, that I didn't understand when I was little and heard my Pappy say, "I get old too soon and smart too late."

 

I married a "fur in yer" (that's a foriegner to all true PA Dutch folks - basically anyone who's not Dutch) and he makes fun of my sayings, inappropriate word ordering and my accent when I call home.

Keep the sayings coming!

[Orthodox6]

Not housekeeping but health advice from my MD Dad-Keep your nose clean and your bowels open. Lovely. But it covers a whole lotta issues in one fell swoop.

 

:rofl: . . . having just endured 24 hours of, let's euphemistically call it "bipolar intestines stuck in the manic phase", that second suggestion cracks me up !

[LadyR]

Regarding square corners: I once had a boss who spoke of another employee as having square corners. When I asked what he meant he said that she was thorough and didn't take short cuts when doing her work, sort of like when you vacuum into the corners instead of rounding them. That was over 25 years ago and I've never forgotten that!

[Caraway]

I heard this one on this board many years ago:

 

"Don't let the corners get round."

 

I don't know who said it, but I've always loved that one.

 

I take this to mean don't cut the corners (ie do short cuts), a constant cutting of corners would lead to round corners.

[MomsintheGarden]

How about

 

Do not create unnecessary work for others.

 

(From the 21 Rules of this House by the Harrris family)

 

GardenMom

[Catherine]

"Too soon oldt and too late smardt." That's how my Pennsy Dutch grampa used to say it.

[KC in KS]

One of my thoughts (I don't say it out loud, and it's not old fashioned that I'm aware of) is that emergencies happen and it's better to be equipped to deal with them so: keep laundry clean and put away, keep the kitchen clean and tidy, keep the pantry stocked, keep gas in the vehicles and sleep in decent attire in case of a fire.

 

I do this, too, and DH hates it. It's funny, but nightwear that wouldn't embarrass me in front of the firefighters (or on the 6 a.m. news!) isn't what he considers appealing. :lol:

 

Keep the cars cleaned out, too. You never know when someone's going to say "toss me your keys and I'll move your car".

[KC in KS]

When you do a job, be it big or small

Do it well, or not at all.

 

Proper prior planning prevents p*** poor performance.

[Merry]

Organize the clutter into the trashcan.

[Nakia]

My personal favorite is "Only boring women have clean houses." :lol::lol::lol:

[ScoutTN]

These are hilarious! Some I 'll have to copy and post in my house!

 

DH's favorite: The floor is not your closet.

[Peri]

We have the longer version by my sink:

 

Thank God for dirty dishes,

they have a tale to tell,

while other may go hungry,

we are eating very well.

With food, health, and happiness,

I shouldn't have to fuss

By the stack of evidence

God's been very good to us.

 

I love this! I am gonna cross stitch it, fram it, and hang it up!

[Peri]

5. Ring Bell for Maid Service…If no answer do it yourself!

 

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[Peri]

My personal favorite is "Only boring women have clean houses." :lol::lol::lol:

 

:glare: So what are ya tryin to say?:glare:

 

JK:D

[secular_mom]

I do this, too, and DH hates it. It's funny, but nightwear that wouldn't embarrass me in front of the firefighters (or on the 6 a.m. news!) isn't what he considers appealing. :lol:

 

Keep the cars cleaned out, too. You never know when someone's going to say "toss me your keys and I'll move your car".

 

:D I find that it is difficult in the hot summer months to be covered enough and not be too hot to sleep. Oh, and having that thought does NOT mean that I act on it at all times. :tongue_smilie: It is ALWAYS the times that I don't have my act together that emergencies, difficulties and problems arise. It's very frustrating when that happens, and so I try harder to not get behind on things. Maybe keeping everything prepared and running smoothly wards off trouble for us, :)