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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

If you don't do it, who will?

My mom uttered a phrase throughout my childhood that I hated. "If you don't do it, who will?" It applied to any variety of situations. If we came across a wadded up piece of paper on the sidewalk, she'd say, "If you don't pick it up, who will?" I would always feel guilty, imagining some poor little old lady trying to bed over to pick up someone else's trash and having a heart attack while doing it. Once I had seen the paper, it was now my trash, my responsibility. If I didn't do the dishes, my mom would say "If you don't do it, who will?" I pictured my poor mom washing the sinkfull of dishes after I had dirtied them. Again, Guilt.

So, I find myself cleaning the apartment in my basement we have rented out since we moved into this house 7 years ago. This last renter was, well...... not clean! It took 4 hours to clean the bathroom, and it still isn't finished. It took me 3 hours to do the counter and cabinets, and I'm still not done. There's trash everywhere, strange un-nameable things are stuck to the walls. There are suspicious stains all over the carpeting, and it reeks. I am reminded of what my mom always said. Why should I have to clean up someone else's mess? Why should I dry-heave while scraping off stubborn sticky attrocities

5 comments:

Heidi said...

That's AWFUL!!! So sorry you're stuck with it...

I think I'm going to start using that phrase on my kids... hmmmmm

;)

Jen said...

You poor thing. Thanks for taking a break tonight to say hello!

Jess said...

I hate cleaning up after others! Hang in there. Thinking of you.

Whitnie Wells said...

Nasty! My bro-in-law just sold his house. When he was ready to show it he asked if I would come clean it! He had never scrubbed a toilet during the course of 4 years which he lived there! It took my steamer and MAJOR elbow grease to clean those toilets! I spend hours and hours cleaning his house. Took me an hour to clean his stove top! My sister-in-law even came one day to work with me. She brought her vaccuum because his doesn't work. She went through 2 bags!!! All those little extra's that we do like vaccuming the corners! Loveliness!

Frogs in my formula said...

Funny, I have that exact question running through my head every time I get home and assess the damage...and do the chores...and rub my own achin' feet!