Is it just me?

Join Wimberley humor columnist Susan Rigby as she attempts to navigate “the small stuff.”

House Cleaning Tips

I sometimes get behind in my house-cleaning. I am not sure how that happens, but it seems to be frequent. Luckily, I don’t live alone. It’s important to have someone else to blame when the house gets messy. My dog, Seymour. leaves a lot of things out, like his underwear, his mail and his dirty dishes. OK, so maybe it’s just his dirty dishes, but it’s hard to keep a house clean when you have to pick up after another person. And even with treats to tempt him, he still refuses to learn to carry his dish to the sink. Sometimes dogs can be so stubborn, but I digress.

I have had to get creative with my house cleaning so that if someone calls and says they would like to stop by, I have my 15-minute, 30-minute and hour routine.

My 15-minute cleaning routine consists of: Gathering everything that is laying around the downstairs rooms into large garbage bags and schlepping those bags out to the back of my pick-up truck. Quickly I grab an electrostatic duster and make a fast sweep over the floors and furniture, then I generously spray vanilla spritz around the house.

My 30-minute cleaning routine consists of: Gathering everything that is laying around the downstairs rooms into large garbage bags and schlepping those bags out to the back of my pick-up truck. Quickly I grab an electrostatic duster and make a fast sweep over the floors and furniture, then I generously spray vanilla spritz around the house.

And check my email. My 1-hour cleaning routine consists of: Gathering everything that is laying around the downstairs rooms into large garbage bags and schlepping those bags out to the back of my pick-up truck. Quickly, I grab an electrostatic duster and make a fast sweep over the floors and furniture, then I generously spray vanilla spritz around the house.

Check my email and watch a rerun of Clean Sweep.

I really need an hour to get ready for company.