I really do like housework...

or homekeeping, rather.  Hasn't Martha Stewart taken credit for coining that term?  Or for at least making it more popular in today's vernacular?  That being said, maybe it's homekeeping I like as opposed to housework.  While there is something to be said for the simple satisfaction of a job well done, like a gleaming kitchen floor or shiny bathroom faucets, for me it's the nesting aspect of keeping house.  That's not surprising, considering I spent a lot of my free time as a teenager arranging and re-arranging my bedroom - my own personal space.  When I first owned my own home, making it perfect - and keeping it that way - was a priority for me.  Only in my old age have I discovered that dust isn't some infectious disease and that no one really cares whether I do laundry every day or not.  I like the fact that my home is organized and relatively presentable, but I don't obsess over it any more.  These days I appreciate the visual appeal of my surrounding as much as I ever appreciated being able to eat off the kitchen floor.  Like anyone but the dog ever really does that.  If you've ever checked out Home Made Simple's website, you'll find that it's about cleaning, but mainly about simplifying your routines and your life.  Their book, Home Made Simple, is a compendium of tips on organizing, cooking, decorating and gardening.  Not that I do much of the latter, but I do a fair amount of the first three.  So far I've put several of the ideas I found inside to good use around here.

And that, as Martha would say, is a good thing.