housework

Set your timer:  For the next 15 minutes write about someone who is obsessed with cleaning.

For those of you who know me, this one is a stretch.  I would rather organize than clean, but the more I thought about it, I think they're the same thing.  I could work for hours on a closet, trying to find the perfect use for it, making sure everything has a place.  I will sit and plan out the week every Sunday morning, and have even added coupon clipping to that chore. 

I love it.  Makes me feel like I'm actually accomplishing something.  But nitty, gritty cleaning?  I despise it, and have wanted a cleaning lady for years.  If only...sigh.  So here it goes:

Cheryl looked at her calendar hanging on the fridge to see what she had to do today.  Of course, she didn't really need to look since she had been on the same cleaning schedule for the past five years, but it made her feel good to know it was there.  A cleaning schedule based on her family and their needs.

Fridays:  Bathrooms and floors

She smiled to herself, knowing that most mothers weren't this disciplined with their cleaning.  Most didn't have any plan at all and it showed in their homes.  Dust on the coffee table.  Dog hair on the furniture.  Dirty sinks in the kitchen.  The thought of those things made Cheryl's skin crawl.  That would never happen here.

She even had a cleaning closet, a mecca of all her favorite cleaning products, just for her.  When they built this house three years ago, she insisted on the closet, even fighting with the contractor about where it should go.  On many occasions he wanted to tell her where it should go.  But, defeated, he took her "suggestions" and did what she wanted. 

Most people did.

Pulling out her cleaning caddy, she turned on her iPod to the Perfect Home Playlist, and set off for the bathrooms on the second floor. 

Today is going to be a fabulous day, she thought to herself...

Obsessed with detail

Set your timer:  For the next fifteen minutes, choose a still life and write about it in great detail.

Okay, this is one of those moments where my writing life and my organizing life are going to collide in a train wreck of a mess.  Last week I found a website called A Bowl Full of Lemons and thought I had died and went to Organizing Website Heaven. 

Just go with me here.

So, I found this website that actually had a 21 day challenge and weekly projects, and while scrolling through the 21 days, I saw one that caught my eye:  The Pantry.  The challenge was to empty out completely the pantry, clean it, and then reorganize it with a system that works for your family.  Oh, and you're supposed to take before and after pictures.  At this point, I am hoping you signed the No Judgement Clause at the bottom of the page :)

Pantry: Before

I know... it's like one of those horrible Eye Spy books.  I love the balancing act we have going on with the two bottom shelves.  It's as if there was an earthquake and we never got around to putting things right.  Oh well, I do believe it was Oprah who always said, "When you know better, you do better."  So I took a couple hours to empty most of it out.  I didn't really touch the upper part other than to put a few things in their rightful place.  There were several expired items and cookware we just don't use anymore (Goodwill is a beautiful thing), so I made myself only replace the items we have used within the past year.  And the food?  Well, with the help of some containers, I was able to put most of it back and still have a sense of order. 

See what you think.

Pantry:  After

Will it grace the pages of Better Homes and Garden?  Most likely not, but it was a huge improvement for us.  I like knowing what's in the pantry and being able to find it readily.  I like being able to find the cookie sheet (shocking, I know) and not have three other pans fall out on me.  I like that I can make a grocery list and "see" what we need (Evan would shout "more food!"). 

So I want to see if you're paying attention.  There is one cookware item that I have two of right now.  One is my dad's and I had brought it home after our last cookout.  See if you can find it.

Eye Spy cookware of which there are two...

Homework for the day?  Go declutter something.  You'll thank me later.