Being a Domestic

If you live in South Africa and your profession involves caring for the home and "necessities" of another family then you are called a "Domestic". I thought it might be interesting to show any passers by just what it takes to be a domestic, and to pay tribute to Evie, the woman who "came with the house" and now is a very regular part of our daily lives.

Each day Evie goes around after us and cleans things up. That is what she does. It is, as she says, "her duty". I can hardly get a washcloth wet to wipe up my spilled milk (yes mom after I used the paper towel first) without Evie beating me to it. If I leave the little girl's pajamas on the floor after crawling around with them to get them dressed each morning then they are folded neatly and placed under their pillows. I can't keep up with this cleaning machine. She is incredible to me.

And she has to do it the hard way. Just look at the photos of our laundry. Here is the process;
1. Evie brings all the dirty laundry down from the 3 bins in the bathrooms upstairs. Said laundry is deposited on the floor of the scullery. Then it is sorted, as best as possible, by color. SMALL loads are placed in the SMALL washing machine, stains having been treated or clothes having been put in the soaking sink to get out those hard to cure jelly marks on Lucy's shirts.

2.As loads come out of the washer they go into a dryer, one that must be pulled out from under the folding counter so as to have ventilation. The dryer works intermittently for a short time, and then the clothes are removed, while still wet.

3. Those wet clothes then find a drying spot out on the line, or draped over the bushes or even in the trees where the African sun takes the moisture mostly away.(thus my cute black skirt is slowly but surely turning into a cute grey skirt).

4. Finally, all laundry (and I mean ALL, including underwear and socks) comes back into the scullery to be ironed. Did I mention that ALL of the laundry is ironed?

5. Once folded into neat stacks, Evie USED to deliver said stacks to their proper shelves and cupboards in the bedrooms upstairs. I put the brakes on this one, and now Evie leaves the folded stacks on the folding counter and the children who wear said laundry put it away in it's proper place (I had to find something for them to do to help!).

Evie does this with other chores through out the day. She washes the dishes by hand instead of in the dishwasher. She mops the floors on hands and knees. She cleans the carpets if we go away over night. She washes the windows (using a vinegar concoction and wiping the windows dry with old newspapers) and she beats all the rugs. She darns our socks if they have a hole in them, and she would cook for us if I asked her to as well. On top of these skills Evie can make Lucy smile and giggle and find the girl's ballet tights when they get lost in their cupboards.

Yep, Evie is a domestic for sure, a domestic Goddess! An amazingly hard working individual and a great addition to our family during our time in South Africa.