02.28.06
Depression Treatment
Woke up yesterday morning very despondent and depressed. Stuck in house as too cold to bring children out so said feckit, I will clean my way out of this. And I did. Highlights included:
- using vinegar to shine taps
- taking toothbrush and washing soda to shower tray
- discovering that my mother is right and half a dishwasher tablet washes just as good as one
- then I cooked up loads of meals for children to freeze.
- handwashed woollens which had been building up.
Several morals to this story
1. Physical activity is good for your mental health
2. Cleaning is good for your mental health. Cooking is particularly good.
3. Using traditional products like vinegar and washing soda is really cheap and effective so can feel superior to lumpen consumer masses thus further aiding mental health (altho, slight fear of being smug, but f*ckit perhaps entitled to feel smug on occasion).
4. Dishwasher tablet thing is significant economy in kitchen…recommend to all (and good for environment too).
5. Psychiatrists who say, “Don’t take an SSRI, exercise” are not being mean, they are probably right.
6. Just in case I was thinking I was too great, toddler child descended into puking disease. His only comfort? A bottle of tea…I believe this is popular amongst inner city Dublin children. I can see why. It’s not too milky (and puked milk is disgusting), it’s not harsh on your tummy like juice, the bit of added sugar in it gives him a bit of energy. He’d normally drink tea out of a cup but bottle is comforting when sick and finally tea is easy to puke back up. Apparently tea is antiseptic so while it gets a bad health press, I think its grand.
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Pete said,
February 28, 2006 at 2:31 pm
- taking toothbrush and washing soda to shower tray
You have too much time on your hands. Use a bigger brush.
- discovering that my mother is right and half a dishwasher tablet washes just as good as one
This goes for most cleaning products (clothes-washing powder, dish-washing liquid, floor-washing stuff, shampoo, toothpaste). I also find that the cheapest unbranded products are often the most effective at shifting dirt, although they can be pretty hard on clothes and skin.
Sarah said,
March 1, 2006 at 3:51 pm
For those parts where the shower wall meets the tray, or around the plug hole, only a toothbrush will do. It’s got to be done.
Pete said,
March 1, 2006 at 5:05 pm
>It’s got to be done.
I can’t decide if you said that ironically or not.
Sarah said,
March 1, 2006 at 5:29 pm
ah yes I think Luke has referred before to the difficulty in detecting irony/sarcasm.
It was not ironic. Of course it has to be done. We have hard water and even tho we have a softener, its a bit erratic so you get deposit building up in sneaky places. Every few months you just have to go at it. Anyway, I checked with my cousin-in-law. She does it too. It just has to be done (well if you like a shiny shower – personally I just hate manky showers and baths -”whiteware” has just got to be white – IMHO)
lola said,
March 1, 2006 at 6:52 pm
when you were 19 did you ever think that you would be cleaning your house yourself and then writing about it for everyone to see………………….I think not
Sarah said,
March 1, 2006 at 7:35 pm
well, no. But I did want to have children and stay home and mind them when they were babies, so I knew what that would entail. Also I did have ambitions to write a newspaper column and be on telly. So apart from being rich and having good staff to clean (which were amongst other teenage hopes), I’m not doing too badly. Actually I consider myself quite lucky.
So I’m a bit isolated. So was/is every other mother in the same boat. I have the internet and I know the baby years will pass. A few years doing the dirty work won’t kill me. Our mothers were not so lucky. They had no escape.
btw, Future ambitions include going back to college in my fifties and doing a philosophy degree. Check back in 25 years!
Note to George: I tried to respond to your comment but the email bounced.
Pete said,
March 1, 2006 at 9:08 pm
My best friend’s house is truly disgustingly dirty, even by my low standards (non-white bits around the shower plughole don’t bother me). Him and his wife have a daughter, aged 7, who has been raised in this squalor. She never gets sick, ever. I suspect she has a very well-developed immune system. Maybe houses can be TOO clean.
Sarah said,
March 1, 2006 at 9:26 pm
I’m with you on the too clean. I don’t disinfect. No dettol, bleaches, any of that stuff. And I apply the 5 second rule to food which falls on the floor. And the children apply the 8 hour rule to food on the floor. ( I sweep the floor in the morning. Anything they find after that is deemed edible). I might have a low dirt tolerance but I have an even lower waste tolerance. If they are going to fling food around they can eat it afterwards. Hopefully this means they won’t get asthma and all those other modern diseases.
Pete said,
March 2, 2006 at 11:29 am
The 5 second rule. I love it. LOL. That definately counterbalances the image of you as one of the “toothbrush people”
Sarah said,
March 2, 2006 at 12:17 pm
phew! you see, I AM NOT CRAZY.
Gimme a couple more years at this lark and I may well be. But for the moment I am still at the thin end of the wedge. The best bit about doing all this shit is the connection I feel with women every where in the world. Sometimes I like to consider my experience a rather in depth research project. These may be challenging times but they are also ones of personal growth and lessons in human nature.
Pete said,
March 2, 2006 at 4:57 pm
I’m reminded of a woman I heard on the radio a few years ago, who had got so sick and tired of cleaning the house without a word of thanks or any help from her family, that she stopped cleaning it for a few weeks to teach them a lesson. Noone noticed
georget said,
March 9, 2006 at 2:00 pm
sarah ,
I hope i didn’t offend you by saying I thought you sounded a bit isolated. You spend so much time on your excellent blog you are bound to be in the house alot, anyway as you have said you have family and lots of friend ( not just virtual!) in your meath village. I am glad you are acheiving your goals and once more forgive me for suggesting your life was empty ofcourse its not its virtually crammed!
I am in my 50′s and the stlye of email blogs is difficult for us oldies to grasp.
Your email should not have been bounced, I have another email address but it is work based and my secretary has access it ,so i use this address with my wifes maiden name to venture forth independantly of work.
I hope this is not rude but I maybe you should get a cleaner after all you work part time
george,
Sarah said,
March 17, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Hi George,
tried another email and still bounced! maybe it doesn’t like my clunky yahoo address…ANYWAY just want to assure you that I wasn’t remotely offended by your initial comment. In fact I was really touched and it was so personal that I did that very very rare thing and deleted it cos I felt a bit over-exposed leaving it there.
Of course I am isolated and this winter has been really tough ( and it won’t end – it’s still bloody snowing!) However, I am clinging on to mental health by assuring myself of a number of things
1. this will pass…babies are only babies for a short time. It is hard minding them but also wonderfully rewarding and I know I’d never forgive myself if I’d put them in a creche and pursued a wonderful career. I just have to keep my fingers crossed that the wonderful career will wait for me. It is REALLY hard saying no everytime the phone rings asking me to take a up a job because it means I have to re-take the decision I took just over 2 years ago. So please world, give me 6 more months and I’ll get back out there. The baby will be nearly 2 then and ready to leave home a couple of days a week…
2. It’s nearly summer! and there will be holidays and nice weather.
3. So I’m stuck at home banging my head off a wall…talk about getting some perspective on life and on my mother’s generation and on every mother. This phase of my life is short term and the end is in sight. I’ve had a great opportunity to keep connected to the world with the column and with the blog…they had NOTHING. Total respect for them and all the other mothers…
So thank you for your kind thoughts. Oh and I should make one confession..I do have a lady who comes in on a Friday morning and does the ironing and hoovering. It is GREAT. When I start to work (outside the home!) more I’ll get her in more often. And she loves the children and is all chat. And I like having her in my home. A great find.