The Clean-up Urge - Rose Aldridge Column #7

I continue to experiment with the visual quality of the columns. We found where Rose had stored the first year of newspapers in which her columns appeared, and this image is from those papers. It should eliminate the crease problem for a while. I have also experimented with a scan app that is on my phone, but I have not yet successfully figured out how to get those to my desktop. I'll keep trying.

 

This is a common theme that will run through many of her columns. I can't say what it was like while she was younger, with a husband and raising Alison. My own observations were that, when I would see her home from 1996 on, cleaning ... was not the highest priority. But it wasn't unlivable. When she lost a lot of mobility in the last few years, problems would increase, but she did get a maid service.

I don't really like things too messy. On the other hand, I like places to look 'lived in' - not sterile. The recent trend against having books in your house seems insane to me. Books are the identifying soul of a household. 

It's terribly easy to let your mind be consumed by obsessive cleaning, pristine yardwork, polished cars, or anything that takes up so much of your time that you can't stop to smell the roses.

Of course, it's always good to have things clean enough to smell them.