laundry

Water-Conserving Host Parents Challenge Au Pair Cleanliness Preferences

by cv harquail November 11, 2015
5318518796_3dfd669c6f_m

My host parents are very, very concerned about conserving water. We live in a part of the US (not California) where there has been a normal amount of rainfall– so a lack of actual water is not the reason. In the house, the bathroom sinks have no hot water. I have to wash my hands […]

60 comments Read the full article →

3 Easy Ways to Help Your Au Pair Use Your Home Appliances Correctly

by cv harquail October 10, 2014
wash maching

American appliances have too many options. Having endless options is great for getting just the right setting for a specific task, but it becomes quite a problem when you’re forever trying to remember which combinations of buttons and levers to press. Between our vacuum cleaner (5 attachments, 3 wands and 5 buttons), our washer (23 […]

19 comments Read the full article →

Is it demeaning to ask your au pair to iron kids’ clothes?

by cv harquail August 8, 2010
201007261720.jpg

When my girls were littler, they had lots of adorable cotton dresses. All of these dresses were wash’n wear, which meant that they were okay to wear if clean but wrinkly. To look fabulous, these dresses didn’t need lots of ironing– just 2 minutes with an iron on the collars, hems, and sashes turned them […]

39 comments Read the full article →

What skills has your Au Pair learned… from You?

by cv harquail June 20, 2009
_images_content_web_features_feature3_ft_linencloset07_m.jpg

I was downstairs early this morning, in quiet reverie folding laundry. When I dragged the fitted sheets out of the dryer and started the elaborate and effective semaphore choreography that gets them folded into tidy piles, I was reminded of all of the crazy little things that I have taught my au pairs over the […]

13 comments Read the full article →

How much cleaning do you ask your Au Pair to do?

by cv harquail January 6, 2009
victoria chan Housework hero on Flickr

Housework. The contested terrain. Just what housework tasks are appropriate to ask your au pair to do? "The rules" say that your au pair is in charge of things related to the kids. BUT since the kids shared the house with at least one adult, there is always some overlap as well as jointly-created mess. […]

73 comments Read the full article →