Chase, I do like the restructuring you used, but it won't fit with the rest of the paragraph.
THANK YOU blacbird for the suggestion about thoroughly. I absolutely needed a modifier here. This is an urban fantasy, and the character's nature is one which makes her hyper about domestic tasks. It soothes her to multi-task and tidy up, and during the past two days the climax of the book have taken place. She's done an average job with homemaking, but this is a bit of grounding going on.
The sentence seems dull, but it is a vital part of the final portion and I do need it. thoroughly is much better than really! I can't drop it because the reader will know it's not true.
Trust me, the whole para isn't about this, nor is the book.
Snick, thanks for the suggestion, but that would be totally out of character for her. Same with focusing on how the house smelled or felt. Most of this scene focuses on how she feels, the suds dripping through her hands and the sounds of water in the sink mingled with echoes coming through the walls of her kids in the next room. It's about an emotional settling in rather than a smelly house.
Thanks to all, I truly appreciate it!
