Spring is finally here…and it’s time for spring cleaning!
As I look through my cleaning closet, I can’t help but reflect about how differently it is stocked. In my life, there was ”life before children” and “life after children”. In my life also, there was “cleaning before Simon” and “cleaning after Simon”.
Before Simon joined the family, the focus of my cleaning was general household cleaning – dusting, vaccuming and treating the spills from wine, juice, soda, coffee, tea and food; in hindsite, this was a cakewalk. Although I was really careful in the children’s rooms (when they were small), I wasn’t overly concerned with the chemicals in my household cleaners. What I focused on was how effective the products were in cleaning; I just made sure that the rooms were very well aerated and everything was rinsed thoroughly…that was before Simon.
Although he is really good and my kids accuse me of treating him as if he were their (human) sibling, Simon is still a dog, and he brings a whole dimension to ”home cleaning”:
- Unlike my children and husband who were trained to take off their shoes in the foyer, Simon has no shoes to take off after he comes back from the park or the backyard. Not only does he tramp in dirt, but anything that has been deposited on that dirt at the park.
- Simon eats everything, and I have to deal with the aftermath when it does not agree with him. The other day, he vomited a green sticky guew on my oriental area rug … unfortunately, each time is a challenge because what I am cleaning changes !
- When Simon gets a special treat (like a juicy bone), he doesn’t eat it in the kitchen; he takes it to his favorite couch (away from us) so no one can bother him while he savors his bone.
- The humans in my house take a shower or bath daily, and wear clothes so they do not typically leave behind odors and natural oils on the furniture. I can’t say the same for Simon.
- According to the Environmental Protection Association (EPA), typical household cleaning products and air fresheners are one of the leading contributors to poor indoor air quality. The agency reports that poor indoor air quality can lead to health issues; animals have faster metabolisms and smaller lungs than humans, and not only are they processing these chemicals at a faster rate, they are also breathing them in more rapidly. Because animals are closer to the ground, they are more often in direct contact with these harmful substances.
- Simon is a live vacuum cleaner, eating off the surfaces I clean; the minute we drop food on the floor, Simon scoops it up. He also licks himself so I need to be careful about what I use on the surfaces on which he lays upon.
“Cleaning after Simon” is about using more powerful cleaners that work on “natural messes” that are safe enough for Simon to ingest, lick or breathe.
So yes, in reflection, pet cleaning is very different from general household cleaning. However well we house train our pets, we will always have to have a powerful, but gentle cleaning arsenal that deals with urine, feces, vomit and other nasty messes on our carpet, wood floors and fabric surfaces. This is “cleaning after Simon,” both figuratively and literally!
Quincy and Simon
