Getting There

OK-

So I went through all of my rooms and made a checklist (as I said, this is something I am good at…it’s the follow through that is an issue!)  Holy cow – no wonder I have trouble keeping my house truly clean – I have 15 rooms/areas in my house!  I keep trying to do it in one day – and that is just overwhelming to say the least.

Tangent – I did go and get that great buffet; can’t wait to get started on it!  It was up in Lake Arrowhead, CA.  OMG I fell in love with the area!  A mile high, gorgeous homes (large and small,) green, the remnants of snow on the ground, a view of San Bernadino below….OH!  So I started talking to DH about buying a little summer/winter cabin up there.  I fell in love with a few little places I found online and I realized a strange thing…it wasn’t because the price was super reasonable…it was because they were quaint and small!  I could imagine myself whizzing through the place to keep it clean and organized – minimal furniture – minimal stuff – again…BLISS!

But back to getting things under control.

I think my cold is finally going away – although I spent the last day and a half in bed.  Ugh!  Finally decided to get moving this afternoon and spent 1 1/2 hrs cleaning out my refrigerator.

And no – no pictures.  It wasn’t pretty.

It get’s really bad during the holidays – I want to make all of these terrific dishes and have tons of leftovers.  Even my mom asked “Karen, do you have a leftover night?”  Yeah, normally I do…but the holidays…well,you know.

So after removing, cleaning, trashing, scrubbing, etc. I had what looked like a new refrigerator and freezer.  Of course when my kiddos got home from school I begged them to keep it that way.  We’ll see how THAT goes.  

I also did a deep clean on the half bath downstairs just for good measure – oh it felt good!

So, back to the checklist.

Fifteen rooms – ugh!  I separated them into equal “time” portions, ranging from a 2 to 2 1/2 hr segments for “full” cleans (like dusting the blinds, baseboards, etc.)  Manageable.  I can do that each day – and have the weekend free for the family.  Heck, I used to work 8-12 hours a day without blinking an eye, so what is the issue?  The issue is this:  I have the attitude that “I hate cleaning.”

So this is part of my challenge.  I must re-adjust my attitude and realize that a clean home makes me feel happy and at peace.  I must realize that 2 hours a day is nothing compared to my other waking hours.  Granted, I spend about 2 hours a day cooking and cleaning up (the kids help,) and 3 dedicated hours to the kids helping with homework, projects, etc.  OK, that STILL leaves me 9 HOURS A DAY to do what I want to do.

Let me repeat that for my own sake:  9 HOURS A DAY to do what I want to do.  WOW!

I never really looked at it like that.

I can do this.

~K