This is a very strange topic to many people because it is often overlooked especially by the men’s folks but it is very important for them to note especially those planning to settle down in the nearest future.

The topic is about HYGIENE. Some Men believe hygiene is only meant for women hence they allow some things to be left unkempt or unattended to. We shall be looking at home and personal hygiene. Let’s begin with the home.

Sitting room
Some Men don’t care how their homes look like especially their sitting room. It is believed that the wife is the helpmeet or helper or helpmate (assistance to the husband), according to the Holy Book. Some people also believe that the woman should be the one to take care of the house but the sitting room should not be left in the hands of the woman alone.

Man is judged according to how his sitting room or what some people called, parlour looks like. No matter how gorgeous a man looks outside , if his home especially sitting room doesn’t look good, people will underestimate him no matter his level of education or wealth.

In fact, from your compound, to the entrance and then to your sitting room, a man or husband is judged by how they look. He must ensure that those places are neat, beautiful, and attractive. You don’t need to buy the most expensive things to decorate your home especially your sitting room.

Meanwhile, you will mistaken some people’s room for a store or warehouse, the way things are scattered even some stores and warehouses are well arranged. You will see clothes, plates, pots scattered everywhere on the ground when one can just get a wardrobe or better still a cupboard and put those things. One wonders what such a man and woman were doing when they were bachelor and spinster that they couldn’t acquire anything before getting married. I think children should be asking their parents why they don’t have some basic things in their houses like chairs, tables, wardrobe, tv set even if it is the box type. Funny enough, all these things are not expensive except that they are not prioritise by some people, they believe it is meant for the rich when actually is meant for our comforts or probably they are waiting for people to give them for free.

I remember as a bachelor, I put beautiful frames on the wall, not my pictures, use ceiling bulbs with different colors, ensure that the walls are well-painted and neat, the sitting room of course was very neat and the tiles were always sparkling. I had a love-upholstered settee with a centre table, a small rug in the centre, just to mention a few.

When my landlord entered my house, he was surprised and admired my room and that made him to also repackage his sitting room. Of course anyone that visited then, don’t want to leave but I spent little money to put those things together. The difference between a poor man and a rich man, is not the expensive things they put together. The rich man is always organised and his environment is always neat because of the caliber of people that visit him.

The fact that you are poor does not make you to be scattered and dirty. I learnt this trick from my former boss who works with a top financial institution.

Some people’s problem is organisation, they have the most expensive things in their sitting room but they are not organized. This is where you need a decorator, who will help with simple and beautiful settings. Some people’s problem is color combinations, the curtains is different from the settee and table, the rug is something else, the paint of the house is another different color. You will mistaken some homes for a shrine. You can contact me for help on this. What you need is just a simple and adorable home, it also helps you to relax well not where you enter and things will be manifesting because of what you put together.

Meanwhile, while thinking of how to repackage your house, also think of spraying air freshener but if you can’t afford that, there are some that can be hung on the wall. Freshener brings beautiful aroma but also be careful with those that have offensive smells.

Bedroom
Just like we said the sitting room belongs to the man, the wife is the one in charge of the kitchen and bedroom but that does not mean the man should leave it solely in her hands. The bedroom must always be neat. The man can serve as a supervisor otherwise some women will not do anything. I was privileged to enter some people’s bedroom and the kind of odour I perceived were not friendly at all.

I was so disappointed with the couple. Imagine if their bedroom can have such a bad smell, what do you expect of their sitting room let alone their children’s room. That is a bad signal because the children will automatically be dirty or smelling. I do change my bedsheet if my wife is busy in the kitchen, because she cannot do everything, even machines get tired. And moreover, she is not my slave hence I have to help out. If she is tired and doesn’t have strength to change the bedsheet, that means you will both sleep on dirty bedsheet and that is where smells also come from.

Once in a while, I do general cleaning of the bedroom, it is ours not somebody’s and that is more romantic than buying gifts. If the room is neat and good to stay, it is for our benefits especially our health, when you remove cobwebs, hidden dirts, mob the room. I have grown up children but once in a while you do things by yourself because you do it better, it is your house and your bedroom not office. You can actually use people to clean your office but not everybody should have access to your inner room (bedroom) except your wife and children. Just like the sitting room, your bedroom should also have air freshener or spraying types.

Kitchen
Many of us leave the kitchen for the women. If you were to be a bachelor, won’t you enter the kitchen and even clean it? Women are not slaves but helpmate (assistants), in fact it is more romantic being in the kitchen with your wife especially when she is cooking. She gets motivated and for those planning to settle down soon, it is more romantic because that is where you start conversation that will leave to the other room (laugh…) bedroom of course.

So while you are with her in the kitchen, you can point to dirt, cobwebs, dirty utensils, falling or broken cupboard, just to mention a few. Some women don’t care hence you have to put your eyes on them especially where they cook what goes into your stomachs. We have had cases of family after eating, started purging and we’re all admitted, it could be that cockroaches, and other insects or reptiles like wall gecko must have gotten entrance and maybe mistakenly fallen inside the food.

Our kitchen must always be neat, it is better for the kitchen to be neat than your bedroom but that is not an excuse. If you enter some people’s kitchen, you won’t be able to eat their food. Our dishes should always be washed before going to bed so that insects and reptiles don’t feed on plates and cutleries. Another thing we ignore is our hapkins in the kitchen and dining table. Some will be so dirty that you will think it is a rag for cleaning the floor.

Toilets
Our toilet is another important part of the house. You can comfortably eat in some people’s toilets because of how neat they are. It is called “Restroom or Convenient” not pighouse or abattoir where you perceive heavy smells. Our toilets must be clean always. Some of us don’t take care of our toilets and that is where you can easily contact germs. Some will use the toilet, they won’t even check whether their faeces are properly flushed, that is one thing you can never see of me. I ensure that after usage, the place is neat before I leave even if it is a public one, I can’t afford to leave it stained, it is not proper and doesn’t speak well of us.

Lastly, our laundry should also be cleaned regularly. That is where we wash the clothes we put on, if the place is not neat and your clothes are stained, you will be forced to replace them because removing stains may cost you a lot or get the clothes worn out. I don’t want to dwell much on this because not everybody has a laundry section in their houses.

Watch out next week for body hygiene on ‘Common mistakes some men make.’

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