I hate mopping the floor

Of all the regular household chores, I think I hate mopping the kitchen floor most. Well, realistically, more than anything that doesn’t involve other people’s body fluids, let’s just say.

I procrastinate fiercely against mopping the floor. Some of my best housework is done in this mode, as in folding laundry or cleaning my desk is usually much more interesting/important/urgent than mopping the floor.

But today I broke down and did it. I learned several lessons, none for the first time.

1. It works much better to scrub the floor in the morning or afternoon than to wait until the end of the day and then think I’m going to do it. ‘Cause most days, I won’t. Much better to start when I’m not already worn out.


2. Those fancy floor cleaners don’t really work. Or at least they don’t work any better than straight ammonia and water. I think I’ve bought my last bottle of stuff that smells good but doesn’t really clean anything. I don’t know if ammonia is better or worse for the environment, but at least it’s functional in the first place.


3. If you really want the floor to get clean, you have to get down on your hands and knees with the scrub brush. The sponge mop is just an in-between tool. As one of my college roommates quoted her mother, while on her knees in our kitchen in preparation for her mother’s visit, “the sponge mop just moves the dirt around.” I was not convinced then, but I am now.

The worst part of mopping our current floor is that it doesn’t actually look any better when I’m done. I don’t mean it doesn’t look different – it does, but it’s not any prettier clean. The vinyl flooring is so old, so chipped and stained, and ugly to begin with, that I don’t get the sense of satisfaction out of seeing my nice, clean floor.

I suppose I should remember to be grateful that I have a floor to take care of, and that I’m not required to mop anyone else’s floor for my living. Dear God, help me to not be resentful of the blessings in my life.

The good news is that, at my current frequency of mopping, I probably only have to mop this one once more. Yes, we’re moving next month, to a slightly smaller, but brand new and owned by us, home in the nearby town where Chris works. I’m starting to be excited about the little things – like having two bathrooms and new paint and carpeting. I never really pictured us buying a brand new condo (aren't we more the funky old house types?), but the various first time home buyer’s assistance programs that we’ve been advocating for all these years are finally coming back to help us, and this is what we can afford. Small, but enough. Dear God, help me to know when I have enough.

Actually, the kitchen floor will be much smaller in our new home. So small that I’m thinking I might not even buy a new mop. Since I already know that to really clean it, I have to use the scrub brush, I’m thinking maybe I’ll just use a regular sponge to wipe up spills and then scrub it when it needs all over cleaning. If you have any experience with these newfangled floor cleaning devices, I’m open for other suggestions. Maybe if it was a fun tool to use, I’d use it more often. Because the Lord knows I don’t need any more excuses for not mopping the floor.