Tuesday 4 March 2008

I am a terrible housekeeper

For the past week or so I have been complaining to Jeff that we seem to be getting little buggy flying insects coming into our laundry. I've been noticing them there when I put anything in the rubbish, and I thought they were attracted to the bin. So I was making sure I put the rubbish out every day and I even washed the bin and its lid. But the little bugs were still coming in, I thought through the laundry door that the kids often leave open when they head outside.

Then for the last few days these little bugs have been migrating to our bed! I've been finding them out our quilt cover for three days now, and at first I didn't realise that they were the same bugs and I thought they must have hatched from our quilt or ceiling fan or something. So I changed the bedsheets, took off the quilt, and they were there again the next day. What on earth were they and where on earth were these little buggy things coming from???

I've been remarking to Jeff about these bugs a bit lately, but last night I must have actually caught him while he was paying attention, because he said he thought they were probably coming from our pantry (which, while it is right next to the archway through to our laundry, had never struck me as a possible source). He'd thought that for a while, but kept forgetting to let me know. And it turns out Jeff was right. The horrible little buggy things were weevils that hatch out from flour etc. They were feasting on a long forgotten bag of parrot seed, right up in the top of the pantry. I would just like to say that I think my mother must have been an excellent housekeeper, because otherwise I surely would have recognised them as weevils straight off, right?

So I spent about three hours yesterday evening removing everything from the pantry, getting Jeff to clean the icky shelves, cleaning and throwing out and organising things again. (Three cheers for Jeff who went out and picked up take-away pizza for us all so I could get on with the cleaning.) And we still have bugs! Jeff reckons that it'll take a few days for them to all leave or die or whatever and then we should be right again. There is one good thing to come out of this though: my Tupperware containers are finally neat and clean and organised on top of my fridge!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow - looking at that photo I'm so impressed! Good on you for getting the job done. I am a terrible housekeeper too (though I suspect you aren't really?!) and often wait till I really have to do things and then I get stuck in with a vengeance and can't be stopped!
I found your blog via 168hours and liked your manners post too.

Cathy

Sharon said...

Hi Cathy. Thanks for your comment, it's good to know when new people visit. I am glad you enjoyed my manners post. And actually, I can be that bad! Sometimes I just have a complete mental blank and don't realise that a certain job even needs doing. Like when I didn't realise just how mucky my shower was, until one day for some reason I stepped in wearing my glasses (I'm short-sighted) and was completely horrified... and promptly spent an hour or more scrubbing with vinegar!
~Sharon