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 Jean, an LPN at Frick Hospital whose habits of home cleanliness extended to her work. I’ve shared her numerous adventures in other postings. One tale was that she washed her full length white leather coat in her clothes washer. She had to stand on the top to pry the coat from inside. Another f her cleaning escapades was that she would kneel on her basement floor to scrub the cracks with a toothbrush. She also would clean her house before her cleaning lady would arrive. Jean took her own linens and cleaning supplies when she would go on vacation. There were multiple incidents that happened at work. She thought nothing of placing a dirty child in a sink and scrubbing them clean. Sometimes her cleaning acts caused her to be reprimanded. I was told that she has just passed away and joined my aunts to keep the streets of gold in heaven shining for sure.

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. She would do a thorough “spring” cleaning of a different room each day. 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 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 and 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 also didn’t dare work on Sunday. She even waxed her exterior enamel painted front steps making them even more slippery.

These are my queens of clean.