Vitamin C for the Garbage Disposal

I would like to have a clean house, really I would. I go to other people's houses and marvel at the cleanliness. There are stay at home mothers with perfect houses. My own mother's house is practically sterile. No matter how good my intentions, however, I am pretty much a failure at cleaning house. When I know someone will be stopping by, I tackle the catastrophic dissary in a marathan scrubbing session after the rest of my family has long ago gone to bed and wake exhausted the next day, disillusioned about cleaning. Generally I pray that people don't stop by unexpectantly. They might get lost in the clutter. Cleaning up after a family who doesn't really care if things are clean is disheartening. Not to mention pointless because the second I turn around things are back to normal . . . messy.

So, in the name of spending quality time with my children and doing things I much more enjoy, I wallow in the dried mud near the back door, the obstacle course of various toys strewn all about the main floor of my house, and the sludge that accumulates in my kitchen sink.

It's the sludge in my kitchen sink that I really set out to write about. It appears often in the basins of my sink, sort of clear, sort of brownish and slimy. Every few days I scrub away at it, and it disappears only to return soon. If this slime relishes the visible surfaces of my sink, I'd hate to see what lurks in the garbage disposal. You can't exactly clean a garbage disposal, even if you try. I have a lot of respect for my garbage disposal; believe me, it really simplifies my life in the kitchen, and I treat it very kindly. However, sometimes that little appliance really smells. Getting rid of the smell is not easy. So when things get to a certain point, I purchase citrus fruit at the grocery store.

Not only is citrus fruit a good source of vitamin C for young children, and grown ups too, but the garbage disposal relishes it. My daughter eats the fleshy part of the fruit and slurps the juice. The garbage disposal delights in orange and lemon peels. It grinds them up and thanks me with a fresh citrus scent.