Adventures in Parenting

I can relate to Sue Shellenbarger’s post in the Wall Street Journal blog. Speaking of college students who do not know how to do their own laundry, Shellenbarger says:

I too have stressed achievement, adventure and life outside the home with my kids over learning more mundane domestic duties.

I don’t like to clean the toilet and dust the furniture, so I am not quite qualified to teach anyone how to do domestic chores!

I have two children in college. Now they are actually asking me what to do: When do I use hot water or cold water for the laundry? How do I cook chicken? What do you use to clean the shower?

So I am thinking, when my last one goes to college in a few years. I better get her prepared. While I am no expert to tell her how to clean a toilet (and is one way better than another way?), here are a few basics I should teach her:

1. Show her the variety of cleaning products that I use, and which is best for the job. The toilet at my son’s apartment was…gross! His roommates only had a toilet brush, no cleanser. A week later, my son reports that all the stains around the toilet bowl are gone, simply by soaking it with the toilet bowl cleaner I gave him. Sometimes it just takes the right chemicals to get the job done.

2. Show her how much laundry detergent to put in. Doing the laundry for one person is most likely going to be a small load. Overdoing with the detergent is not good for the skin as well as wasteful.

3. Show her to soak the dishes when they are dirty. Washing may not be a priority for college students. If they are going to leave the dishes unwashed, soaking it right away will make the washing a lot easier and cleaner whenever they get to it…hopefully within a week!

4. Show her not put dirty clothes on top of wet clothes in the laundry bag. A wet towel and dirty socks is not going to smell pretty in a week. Heavy amounts of perfume is not going to remedy the situation either.

5. Show her to keep the floor clean by having a rule to have everyone to take off their shoes when they come into her apartment or room. Street shoes coming in and out, walking all over the carpet, will dirty up the floor very quickly. Removing shoes will save her from having to vacuum and clean the floor frequently.

What else would you tell your children about domestic duties when they move out?