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Spring cleaning... if I must
March 13, 2007
I hadn't planned on spring cleaning and perhaps that's best. If it was written in my planner it would of been one more thing to do, another project to try to squeeze in to my day. A project that would keep getting re-scheduled, assigned to next month and the next. And yet here I find myself smack dab in the middle of a week of big spring cleaning and organizng projects that are dominating my life, and I can't say I'm too happy about it either.
It started innocently enough. With one little line written in my quarterly planner "organize new shelf". The new shelf was to be a wooden book shelf in our learning room. We started patching the walls 2 weeks ago to prepare to paint the room. That resulted in rearranging the furniture. Which resulted in deciding it was a better use of space & finances to reconfigure our downstairs closet into "school & craft" storage than to order a custom built bookshelf for the learning room. So, we put the learning room painting on hold and Damien built me an awesome storage closet this past weekend. Sounds great and it is great but in the meantime all the bookshelves have been emptied of their contents and all the craft & school supplies have been stacked up here, there and everywhere. The mess is driving me bonkers.
I am almost, I think, done putting everything away - figuring out where everything should go to best use the space. Knowing full well that over the course of the next couple months supplies will move and a better system will evolve.
And then this morning I had a classic spring cleaning experience. Thinking it would be a 10 minute job I decided to wash out the drum of the washing machine. It was getting grungy at the top. In doing so, don't ask me how, the machine leaked water on the kitchen floor. So, I ended up moving the machine and the freezer next to it to dry everything up. Discovered nasty stuff growing on the wall next to the freezer. Out comes the baking soda, vinegar and buckets. Not planned, but necessary given the circumstances.
And last week, before this whole school storage upheaval began, I was moved by the cleaning spirit to re-organize the kitchen cupboards. Some small (I initially thought) changes needed to be made to make some things more accessible for the kids. I don't need to go into all the details except to say it became a day long project - arghh. But it's done and I have a better organized kitchen, less a couple gadgets I don't need.
Perhaps it's like a virus - this need to clean and organize this time of year. I feel helpless against this infection. But I'm hoping it clears up soon because I have other things I'd rather do with my time - like all the to-do's that ARE in my day planner.
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barbara on March 18, 2007, 5:50 a.m.
I think the bug has bitten me too. This week, I felt compelled to sweep the deck and wash down the deck furniture. And I no sooner finished that when I noticed how murky the windows look. Windows are my next spring cleaning project and I know I won't rest easy until they are done too. Yipes! A disease with no cure! Well, actually, the cure is a long, hot summer day. That always makes me lazy.
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Karen on March 15, 2007, 3:32 a.m.
Maybe you can't help this spring frenzy of cleaning - your grandmother was the same. She didn't have a day-timer that scheduled her plans but she did have a calendar (both current and past ones she could review) that kept her in a plan of routine seasonal planning. I think that consistent cleaning regime missed me - although I, like your blog report, do seem to accomplish more in that department when I don't have it scheduled in the plan!