Cleaning is Highly Overrated

I started cleaning the house on Friday. I never did finish ...

I was determined to finish the job that I started. I left the bathroom cleaner out on the bathroom counter. The rag is right there. All I would have to do is take a few minutes and do the job. I haven't.

I started dusting. I got as far as the flat surfaces in the kitchen. I left the dust rag out so that I could just grab it and swipe down the rest of the house. It's still sitting there.

As I scraped the dried on ketchup out of the kitchen sink this morning, I got to thinking about what I used to think 'cleaned itself' around the house (before I was the one ultimately responsible for the job). I would have thought that anything in the kitchen sink would automatically wash itself. Water is always passing through ... why wouldn't that eventually wash away any dried on food particles? The toilet and bathroom sink? Same thing (no need to go into details).

Then there is the grass, dirt, sand and grime that makes its way into the entrance ways. This is a pet peeve of mine. I am constantly vacuuming, sweeping and shaking out the mat. I think that my family members assume that the dirt from the entrance way takes care of itself. It's clean all the time, isn't it? I think the cat thinks the same of the kitty litter ...

Ever since I started taking an interest in other things that life has to offer, my house has suffered. I used to take pride in clean, organized and dejunked closets and drawers. Now? The closets have doors, don't they? And if you can close a drawer ... it must be clean. Right?

Every now and again I used to save on the grocery budget by convincing myself that we could survive (on the stockpile of groceries that amassed in the house) for at least a month. So I would cut down on groceries and empty out the cupboards and freezer. Lately? I may start to do that. But the instant that some of the supplies start depleting, I start replenishing them. This started just before New Year's Eve 1999, when there was such talk about world wide computer crashes stopping our world. I thought that candles, flashlights, batteries and extra food would save us. It seems to have become a habit.

Clean windows? Clean floors? Raking the lawn? Washing the car? All of the above hurt my shoulder. I'm working at fixing what ails my shoulder. Before long, I should have full mobility once again. I wonder what excuse I'll find then. Trust me ... I find that once I break a good habit, I have no trouble incorporating (the lack of) it into my everyday life.

I look back at the person that I used to be ...

I would devote an entire weekend to decluttering the closets. And that was all that I would talk about for a week. Heavens! I'm sure that I even have memories of showing people my clean oven &/or closets. How shallow I used to be!

The next weekend, I may focus on cleaning windows, light fixtures and vacuuming out the registers. Oh, the satisfaction I used to get from knowing that all of these nooks and crannies were clean!! I would sit down at the end of the day and just gaze at all the cleanliness. It would be the focal point of my conversations. It's really no wonder I didn't have many friends back then.

Then after all of that, I would gather all of my old treasures and start to organize a garage sale. This would entail cleaning out the garage. Can you imagine the conversations that triggered?

If that wasn't enough, I would spend the next weekend sitting in the garage with all of my excess clutter and try to sell it. This was exciting for me! I would fill up the coffee butler, take out a pad of paper and crossword puzzle. It was my excuse to sit still for two days. I loved it! The bonus was, getting to talk to some of my neighbors that dropped by. Neighbors who were privy to look 'inside of my closets' and make their assumptions about the kind of person that I was. Just by looking at the wares that I was trying to sell. Talk about airing your dirty laundry ...

That ... was my life.

Then ... I started writing. I started a blog. I started collecting memories about Mom's family. I started dancing again. I started immersing myself in 'all things family' and invited family into my life. I called friends and suggested wild and crazy things (okay, okay ... it was just a day at Moose Jaw ... but back in the day where the highlight was sitting in the garage with my garbage, this was a milestone). Amazingly enough, when I wasn't talking about cleaning, dejunking and having a garage sale ... people actually started to act like they enjoyed my company.

I am living my life now. I have never been happier. And ... I get a little bit happier every day.

Cleaning, my friend (this blog was inspired by an email from an overwhelmed friend who commented that there were so many things she should be doing ... spring cleaning, for one) ... is highly overrated!

“My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you?” - Erma Bombeck