Talk around the Glug-Glug Wine Club dinner table each month always somehow turns to matters of the home.
Now you would think that we had more interesting things to talk about but discussing irons and clothes pegs is actually very enlightening. It highlights just how stressful it is to runa home and the high level of skills required to do so successfully.
Required skills to be a successful modern housewife according to Glug Glug members
- Weatherforecaster: Deciding in the morning if the clouds are going to dissipate or not. Often the deadline to put a load of washing on arrives and the sun has either appeared or disappeared. What to do? Bloody Durban weather.
- Clothepeg connoisseur: Apparently you can’t just hang your clothes up any old way. There is a right way and a wrong way. Who knew? I just hang everything upside down. It seems right for about 50% of the garments. Oh, and God help the lady that does not fold her washing with military precision when taking it down.
- Iron technician: Not all irons are created equally. Besides which – steamers are the next best thing, not irons. As far as I am concerned, if an iron last longer than a year it is simply brilliant.
- Dishwashing machine expert: To rinse or not to rinse before packing in? This argument gets discussed more frequently than the topic of husbands and becomes far too heated for my liking. Watch this space. This could be what starts WW3
- Detergent detective: Finding the latest, new,improved wunder-cleaner is essential. Once found it then requires stalking of the cleaning lady to ensure that she only uses the recommended amount and not the whole bottle in one day. The stalking is essential as the said bottle of phenomenal cleaner costs more than your entire month’s grocery budget.
- Pantry science: Not all tins live up to their expiry dates. Knowing which ones you can use after those pesky dates takes years of experience. Rotating produce and stock control requires meticulousness attention to detail. I don’t have a pantry. What a relief.
- Human Resources Degree: Actually, discussing the management of household cleaning staff requires a book, not a blog. The stories that get shared each month have me either gasping in horror or gasping for breath they make me laugh so much. I am so grateful for my sweet, short sighted Gladys.
And you thought we just discussed sauvignon, sex, shopping and shoes at wine club,right?
Glug-Glug ladies, thank you so much for always being there as my mentors and tutors as I bumble my way through housewifery. My house is still standing and no-one has died as yet so I must be doing some of it right.
Please tell me you sometimes talk about sex and shoes!?
Oh, of course we do! Shoe talk does not interest me much but my knowledge on matters sexual has improved dramatically since I joined wine club.
I am the laundry lady! Don't mess with me!
Les, I see you more as the pantry poppie!
That too! freak this is all me except the dishwasher – that I will give to Jax!