Queens of Clean

I have met three women that could give Mr. Kleen a run for his money. Clean was almost an obsession with each one of them. That habit was nearly to the point that there was nothing in their lives more important than to have a spotless house. I’ve told these stories before. This is only a few.

The first woman I’ll mention is Joan an LPN at Frick Hospital whose habits of home cleanliness extended to her work habits. I’ve shared numerous adventures in my other postings. One tale was her washing her full length white leather coat in her clothes washer. She stood on the top of it to pry the coat from inside. She would kneel on her basement floor and scrub the cracks with a toothbrush or she would clean her house before her cleaning lady would arrive. Joan took her own linens and cleaning supplies when she and her husband would go on vacation. There were multiple incidents that occurred while at work. She thought nothing of placing a dirty child in a sink and scrubbing them clean. Sometimes her acts caused her to be reprimanded.

The other women who I will mention are my aunts: Aunt Estella Strawderman and Aunt Helen Stahl. Aunt Helen had chores for each day of the week: Laundry, ironing, baking, etc. as well as a thorough cleaning of a different room each day. The cleaning would be like a spring cleaning for anyone else. She was a pleasant, jolly woman with a desire to provide the best home for her six children.

One peculiarity she had was her choices in colors. Each room of her house was painted a different color: turquoise, coral, and vibrant green. Her desires for bright colors may have been influenced by Anna Beck, her mother and my grandmother.

My Aunt Estella was unbelievably clean. She worried when people visited her home. The cost of her cleaning supplies rivaled the cost for food. When she washed dishes, she’d dry, then wax her countertops. She laid rag rugs on her scrubbed floors, then covered the rugs with newspapers. When her children visited, arriving with their family on Friday evening and leaving Sunday afternoon she would wait nervously until one minute after midnight to wash their dirty linens. She didn’t want dirty linens in her house but she didn’t dare work on Sunday. After an ice storm, she climbed a ladder to wash her windows, fell, and broke her leg. The compound fracture collected dirt as she crawled for help and she nearly lost her leg. She even waxed her enamel painted front steps making them even more slippery.

These are my queens of clean.