House Etiquiette

I was up at the Strickland manor last Friday and I have to admit being a little bit shocked at what I saw. Beth was in the midst of an all-day project to clean up the disaster that some of us left behind. The rugs in the bathroom floor were smeared with thick mud; the carpet in the office was likewise streaked and littered with mud; there were dirt stains on the walls, empty cans, old tubes, and other trash in the garages, driveway, and grass; tons of random gloves, clothes, even shoes lying around. In short, a total freaking mess.

Now we all know that Bill and Beth are infinitely gracious to host this weekly event, and I'm sure they do this knowing that it's not exactly going to be a low-impact affair. But still: We can do better than that.

Bill and Beth are also too polite to address this with everyone. Fortunately I'm not. So let me propose a few common-sense ideas to save the Stricklands from unnecessary cleaning duties.

1. Just stay out of the office or anywhere else that's carpeted. You can change in the bathroom or the garage or by the washing machines or whatever. Bring a towel or whatever if you're bashful.

2. If you must walk somewhere carpeted, take off your muddy cleats first. If you're caked with mud, think about whether you could take a stroll back into the trees rather than head for the bathroom.

3. Throw out all your cans and other trash.

4. Before you leave at the end of the night, do a quick inventory to make sure you've got all your stuff...so Bill and Beth aren't left managing a massive Lost & Found dept.

Bonus: maybe take 5 minutes before you roll home to pick up some of the crap that's lying around the driveway, garages, house, etc.

If anyone else has any other ideas, obviously post them below.

Steak

How about a "Personal Portable Changing Tent" from http://www.twistntent.com/:



Obviously, we would have to modify it some:

As the saying goes " No good deed goes unpunished".... unless you're Chuck Norris, then every deed goes punished.

Seriously, pretend Chuck Norris is there and will roundhouse kick you in the face everytime you: go in the house, litter, knock down caution tape without making any attempt to fix, allow your hyper children to rip down tape and chase each other with the metal pointed steaks, or invite other people when no one knows how you got there in the first place.

Unfotunately common sense is not at all common.