Friday, July 27, 2007

mopping

I've been more neglectful than usual of my household duties this summer.  I don't have the energy I once did, and when I start the day with a two-hour horseback ride followed by a walk with my husband and dog, I'm tired.  Then there's all the time I've been spending at the cabin.  Playing has taken precedence over work... more so than usual.  Factor in a large portion of pure laziness and you get the idea.

So this morning I decided to mop the kitchen,  hallway and bathroom for the first time in... oh, I don't know... a month?

Sounds simple, doesn't it?  And it would be, except for the hair-sheddingest short-haired dog you'll ever meet.  And most of what she sheds, I've learned, is undercoat, which is as fine as cat-hair.  Here's how it goes when I'm ready to mop:

1.  Pick up all throw rugs, take them out and shake them, and get them into the Kenmore for a wash job.

2.  Start sweeping all the areas you intend to mop.  Notice the little piles of hair you are accumulating, congratulate self. 

3.  Go chasing after hairballs when a slight breeze blows them out of your swept-up pile and all around the room.

4.  Realize that the source of the whole hair situation is the dog; perhaps it would be wise to start with her.

5.  Take dog outside and brush her awhile; congratulate self on how much hair the brush is removing, and bring her back inside.

6. 
Start bathwater running for dog.

6.  Drag dog from behind the bed where she's hiding because she heard the bathtub being filled.

7.  Spend ten minutes bathing the dog, then put her on her tie-out to dry.  Notice the many clumps of wet dog hair going down the drain and congratulate self.

8.  Spend five minutes trying to rinse all the stray dog hairs that are stuck to the edges and sides of the tub down the drain.

9.  Start vacuuming again; run wand around the edge of the rooms and under computer desk, and use it to pick up stray hair-piles seen blowing around, because any hair left when the floor is mopped simply sticks to the mop and relocates elsewhere. 

10.  Mentally curse the &%@#& vacuum, which never was worth a hoot, and stinks when it's running because, years ago, itwas used to pick up a bunch of Asian Lady beetles 
that had invaded the upstairs and they left a permanent foul odor in the sweeper that gets worse over time.

11.  Go to computer and see if Kohls has any Dyson vacuums on sale.  Nope.

12.  Lay kitchen chairs down in order to get any embedded hair off their feet; otherwise, when they are brought back into the kitchen and placed on a damp floor, the hair that's stuck on them will soak off and deposit itself on the clean floor.  Begin to carry chairs to the living room, out of the way.

13.  Realize there's probably plenty of hair on the carpet that will be tracked back in the kitchen; run the &%@#& stinking vacuum in the living room.

14.  Prepare mop and water.  Spend five minutes mopping.  Finished.

15.  Make mental note:  next time a dog is adopted, make sure the parentage is known and get one that has no undercoat.

I think I know now why I procrastinate when it comes to this job.



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reading this now I remember why I have a poodle....they don't shed !

Anonymous said...

Maybe when you get a kick-ass vacuum, you can just vacuum the dog.  I had one that used to LOVE it when I would vacuum him.

~Amy

Anonymous said...

You sound just like me!  LOL!  Honestly, I do the same crap, you start on one project and the next thing you know, you're knee deep in rearranging the kitchen cabinets thinking, "I really only wanted to wipe down that refrigerator door, how the hell did I end up here?!?"

Anonymous said...

She sounds like Patches with that shedding. I swear all her hair is coming out. I can see new short short hair coming in. I usually spray a dush mop with furniture polish such as pledge or endust and use that instead of sweeping. It catches a lot of hair. Then I go outside and shake the hair out. The Dr says she is healthy and he sees no problem with her skin but I do wish she would stop so much shedding though. You can now see the naturally black spotted skin that I didn't realize she had so many black spots. You might try putting a couple of dryer sheets in that vacumn bag if you haven't tried that already to help with the smell. Helen

Anonymous said...

Ok now I'm tired - Lets sit down and have a cold one (Ice Tea that is). I would say that is quite a chore - I'm afraid I would be like you, put a month between doing that again! Now that that's all taken care of, hope you enjoy the rest of your day!
Great read by the way! Take care of you!
P.S. How are Secret and Meatball doing - Have they determined who's boss yet? Have a good one!
Katie

Anonymous said...

<LOL> That reminds me of mopping here. I have a Corgi and they have that soft undercoat... that they shed ALL year long! I swear there's more hair on the floor sometimes than on the silly dog!

Anonymous said...

LOL I'll stick with a Schnauzer...they don't shed!  Your description is so funny!
Pam

Anonymous said...

WHEW ! I'm worn out just reading the account of the chore. you know what they say about vacuums? They all SUCK !! (sorry about that one, it just had to come out...lol)

One thing I hate about housework is that one thing ALWAYS leads to another.....and by the time you get through....it's time to start all over again ! I like Erma Bombeck's thinking. She deemed that dust is a protective covering for you furniture. That's my favorite....I hate to dust. Let's say my house is WELL protected !!  

Anonymous said...

I could have written this!  This is my life!  LOL
Traci

Anonymous said...

well I thought I would mop my floors...but after reading this...I think they can be let go for another day or so LOLOL..thank goodness my Max doesn't shed....not a hair do I find....and he has plenty....and about that vaccuum....think I will drop a hint to Cliff about your christmas present????? LOL....hugs to ya...Ora

Anonymous said...

Hi!  I'm a long time reader and I just wanted to let you know one way to prevent Sadie from shedding is to buy a dog rake.  This can be bought at Wal-mart.  It is made specifically to get the undercoat.  I have an Alaskan Husky and it works great.  It also works great with dogs with hair like a German Shephard.  I hope this helps you.

Anonymous said...

Whew I think I'm exhausted. Paula

Anonymous said...

Pretend the dog hair isn't there. That is what I do. Luke has several layers of hair. I have a shedding rake (comb) and use it. When I do use it, it looks like it is snowing outside, with white hair floating in the air.......everywhere.   Anne