The thermometer says 16 below 0 F when you wake up and you discard any plans of playing outside. What to do? I know. It’s time to clean the grout between the tiles.

It started off with a sort of spousal challenge. In any relationship, one party has a lower tolerance for mess. In our house, that someone is Tim. I pride myself on cleanliness but may have piles of stuff – clothes for future donation, things to sell on ebay, wool for future projects – lying around.

It drives Tim crazy, especially because I request they remain in place. So we made a deal. He vacuums and tidies and I scrub. And scrub I did today.

It began innocently enough in the bathroom; first the shower, then the toilet and then…the grout between the tiles. I was off.

Once I tackled the bathroom, I headed towards the kitchen. Apparently, I’m not so clean. The grout was black! Yuch!

I made short work of it with Oxy Clean, a little scrub brush and lots of elbow grease.

Now even though it’s below zero, I wear my sunglasses at night ! I’m compulsive enough that the little dark spot is history.