In his book, “Bobos in Paradise, the New Upper Class and How They Got There” (Simon & Schuster), David Brooks explains, “Educated elites are expected to spend huge amounts of money on things that used to be cheap.” Therefore, Bobos (Brooks term for the new Bohemian bourgeois) don’t mind spending $95 for a dustpan and broom (found in Williams-Sonoma’s catalog). It is a new symbol of elitism to be able to wash your counters with Parsley Countertop Scrub ($9.50, also from Williams-Sonoma).
A company such as Restoration Hardware, http://www.restorationhardware.com, understands consumers crave kitschy nostalgia. And they hawk their wares, including such cleaners as Orange Glo, Swipe, Seeds’ Merit Silver Polish and Oust Cleaner, with a memory indulgent fervor. Think Seinfeld’s Mr. Peterman and his story-driven catalogue.
“When I was a kid, there was a guy named Pete who yearly took down and washed our storm windows…” This caption is referring to the squeegees for sale on the company’s website. Squeegees are elevated from the realm of ordinary objects to something more magical…you don’t just wash your windows with these items, you can entertain childhood memories. Cleaning is no longer a mundane task, but an ethereal moment (that is if you have the right tools).
Just take a gander at some of the recent bestsellers at your local book store: “The Art and Science of Keeping House” by Cheryl Mendelson and “Biting the Dust: Joys of Housework” by Margaret Horsfield. One an encyclopedia for matters of the home and the other a social history of cleaning. These titles and others represent our love affair with all things domestic.
And of course everyone is familiar with the domestic goddess herself, Martha Stewart. Whether on TV, on the web or at the newsstand, Ms. Stewart can turn scrubbing the toilet into an art. Log onto her website, http://www.marthastewart.com, and you won’t find any run-of-the-mill cleaning devices. Even the dusters and brushes she advertises are made with ostrich feathers and goat hair.
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