Whisked Away

I love my siblings. So if you happen to know my brother Will--who lives in NYC and doesn't read my blog--I guess please don't tell him that I didn't ask to stay in our family house that he and Kelly now own on the Cape.

It's just--they are very neat in their city apartment, and at the house. As you know, because I've written about it many times, when we leave the house on the Cape, we are expected to follow a whole list of cleaning steps. The older I get, and the more stressful my everyday life has gotten, the less willing I am to have that looming on the last day of vacation. It takes a whole day, by the time we haul out all the laundry and sheets (no washer and dryer there); clean the fridge (and I do mean clean it, not just empty it); sort all recyclables and haul to the dump with the trash; clean the bathroom, etc. etc.

My brother frowns on us hiring a cleaning service upon exit.

So when I zip up to the Cape for two or three nights, I'm not willing to take on that housework commitment. What's nice about going off-season is that room rates dip....and staying in an inn, hotel or Airbnb, I can just pack up my things and leave. That is so different and very restful.

Here's what I DID NOT have to do yesterday:

• Swab down fridge drawers with cleaning spray and paper towels.
• Pack up all of the groceries we bring back home, everything from ketchup to milk to eggs.
• Mop kitchen floor.
• Vacuum rugs.
• Clean window wells, which collect dirt up there.
• Dust wood furniture.
• Sweep up sand.
• Shake out throw rug.
• Urge Dan to get to the dump before it closes. (What would we do if we missed that? Too much trash and paper/glass/plastic to haul home to NJ. We would not have enough room in the car for ourselves, our luggage and our dog, Sugar.)
• Pack a zillion bags of things I brought up with me, including some cooking ingredients (such as pure vanilla extract); kitchen equipment (such as a cheese grater); clothing; beach towels and beach bags; several sunscreens, for variety;  journals; magazines; work folders; candles; beauty products; nature guides; magazines; stack of books; accessories; and CPAP machine.
• Gather from several rooms what I collected that trip on the Cape--stones, shells, pine cones, a jar of Cape Cod sea salt, a bag of coffee beans from the Hot Chocolate Sparrow--and maybe a speckled pink whale mug and a soft pink Eastham sweatshirt.
• Make sure all windows are locked, shades pulled halfway down (I'm serious).
• Mow lawn.
• Check refinished wood floors to be sure we cleaned up every spill and Sugar pee accident.

Have a good day.