The author and her friend helped each other clean for a day.
Courtesy of Kris Ann Valdez
My neighbor entered my house one afternoon, greeted by the laundry mound on the family room floor. As her three kids scurried off in different directions to find mine, she plopped down next to me in the epicenter of clothes and picked up a tea towel to fold."You don't have to help," I said apologetically. "You're a guest.""Nonsense, we're a community," she replied. "This is what we do."I didn't disagree, grateful for the help. And when I was at her house next and discovered her laundry pile, I reciprocated.Some people might be insulted by a guest inserting themselves like this, or particular about how cleaning is executed. But I've always appreciated friendships like these that lean into the belief that life is better when we enter into each other's messes and help bring a little order.My neighbor and I already clean togetherNeither of us can currently afford a house cleaner, thanks to replacing A.C. units and exorbitant dental bills. We both live in modest houses with three kids and have admitted that we feel overwhelmed at times trying to keep up with it all.So last week, while I scrubbed her kitchen alongside her during a visit, we made a plan: One day soon, we'd spend time cleaning each other's homes. At first, we thought it would be novel to swap homes for a few hours, but then we decided half the fun was having someone to chat to while we worked. So, we resolved to do it together and give each home one or two hours of our dedicated attention.
