Friday, December 12, 2008

SOS Pads. Who Knew??

My sweet Mom, kept a very tidy house. I remember always being proud when walking in with friends after school-- at the clean, orderly-- and always tastefully decorated home she made for us. I always loved all of our houses.. all the decor.. all the well-kept homey-ness it always was. The crazy part is that admist all my Moms tidiness (with 5 kids, a dog, and plenty of church roadshows to write and direct, weddings to decorate for, and football pants to wash..) us kids never had so-called, "chores." Now as I got older I remember always being pretty good at keeping my own room cleaned up.. and secretly helping out around the house with little "The Good Fairy Was Here" notes left behind for my Mom... but it was all.. voluntary. Hard as I try I literally cannot remember my Mom ever telling me to do anything specific around the house. I'm sure there was occassion-- and I remember randomly helping out, vaccuuming and squirting down a bathroom here and there (in fact I do specifically remember her showing me the 'get all around the base of the toilet' technique.. and she called the pee drops from the boys on the rim,'butter stains'..)but for the most part, she did it all. She was just happy to have us being kids, doing kid things. So long as we were making good choices-- and loving eachother.. she was good. (For those who never had the joy of knowing my cute Mom.. let me take this spot to just say she was really, really, great.) SO... this brings me to my blogging point today. I consider myself a decent homemaker. I'm a mediocre cook.. excellent laundry doer, and always make my bed. I vaccuum pretty regularly, sweep a little less than is required, but honed in on my Moms skill of keeping things straight. Presentable. Uncluttered. Sink empty. My ability to never leave a room without taking something out of it that belongs somewhere else is a mastered skill straight from Mom. BUT-- there's a few things I never picked up on. While I was busy picking out Homecoming dresses and deciding which bangle bracelet to wear with my royal blue flats (well, royal blue bangle, ofcourse. It was 1989..) somewhere I seemed to miss the Mom lessons that teach you things like what kind of starch to use when ironing, or what the true process of mopping a floor looks like.. (I always end up on my hands and knees with a wet paper towel.. but I have a feeling there's other options.) Then there's my husband. HE, (although you wouldn't guess it from his own house-dwelling habits.. love ya honey!) had chores. So he will often reccommend a product or process for cleaning totally foreign to me.. which I respond to with a blank stare. So imagine my intrique when he picked up SOS pads at the store the other day. The burner trays (if that's even what you call them.. you know-- the silver things under your burners that your boiled-over pasta gets gunky in)were getting embarrassing.. and my paper towels and hot water just weren't doing the trick. Long story short (wait, actually.. this is just a very, very long story.) I tried SOS pads for the first time in 13 years of marriage. Wow. They work. And TOTALLY remove, gunk. (As well as the finger nail polish Sophie spilled on the table a week ago.) Gone. Poof. Wa-la. I thought Magic Erasers were the only thing capable of such miracles. Other than roughing up my hands a little (is THAT why people have rubber gloves?? It's all coming together.) it was a very exciting experience. So there ya have it. For the other possible TWO of you who haven't tried em.. SOS pads. Getcha some.

12 comments:

My Crazy Life said...

You are a crack up. I loved you very very long story though.

kristina said...

Now, I know what to get you for your Christmas stocking! Fun story Katy. Just got done cleaning & I have a few stains around here, I may just go pick me up some SOS pads. And You so do have an awesome mom and you are so much like her- that is why you are so awesome too!

Denise said...

You little homemaker, you. Look at you cleaning the house so nicely with your new love-SOS pads...

Emma Jo said...

Oh there is no combination like SOS pads an Comet...they are unstopable! and the fumes will probably kill you, but what a way to go!
Was that post supposed to actually make me tear up because I love your Mom? and its true, she always had the cutest house ever.

Heather Zwygart said...

You are so entertaining, you crack me up. And give me hope I though the only was to teach your kids was to be a saturday chore natzie like my mom. That is what I have become except my mom had 2 kids I have 5 and one coming so I feel like a failure every week. If your mom didin't ever do that and you have a spotless house than maybe there is hope!

katyvee said...

Whoa-whoa-whoa! Easy there Heather.. it is so NOT spotless. Just usually tidy. (And NEVER look inside my stove..)

Brynne said...

I think she taught you things that were a lot more important than cleaning techniques...

Got me a little teary, too. I really wish I could have met her. Someday...

Jocelin said...

I loved this entry and think it was a cute tribute to your mom. My upbringing sounds a lot like yours. Our house was always beautifully decorated and flawlessly maintained; my siblings and I had very few responsibilities. (Now that I'm a homemaker, I realize that might be why the house was always shiny clean -- kids don't clean quite as thoroughly as a mother.) Anyway, cute write up and congrats on discovering SOS pads. I learned about those when I had to clean my apartments prior to checkout. I needed that cleaning deposit to pay my gas home!

Stef said...

Glad you discovered SOS pads. They are a lifesaver when it comes to the stove top.

Your mom sounds like she was a wonderful woman.

Amy Lynn said...

Oh, the joy of SOS pads...although I would have to say that my real love affair is with the Magic Erasers.

And your mom...ah, my aunt Boo. I got very homesick for your mom reading this. Your homes were always perfect and wonderful because it is where the "Jolly family" was. You are SO much like her!!

Abby said...

Happy belated birthday to your mommy, and aside from the fact that out standards of housekeeping sound identical (swept, not mopped), I am about to blow your mind: Cut the sos pads into smaller parts so you can throw them away after one use. I hate the mess and smell of keeping them around. Props to Mo for that trick! (I'm with you on the starch and stuff, by the way.)

Suzie Petunia said...

You are too funny! And it is true, true, true... your mom was THE BEST. And she didn't make you do chores?! If I hadn't known her myself I would say she was too good to be true! And somehow without doing chores as kids you all turned out clean and orderly.

SOS pads. I just cleaned my burner trays (or whatever they're called) last night with them! This is a bi-annual event, so it really is significant and uncanny. They also get rust stains off of just about anything. I remember my dad using them to clean the hubcaps of the cars. I also used the bleach with wild abandon last night in my kitchen, so you can just imagine how sore my un-gloved hands are this morning. Ouch! It hurts to type such a long comment! :-)