progress in spurts

[netmouse]

Today I did not get a lot done, but at least some of it was preparatory to packing - sorting Rosie's books by size, sorting some other things. I also got the guest bathroom (Rosie's bathroom) cleaned - the sink, the toilet, the mirrors, and the windows of the little cabinet above the toilet, the floor swept and mopped. It cheers me immensely to have that clean.

Brian does not seem to get the same lift that I do out of cleanliness. He cleans, it just seems to be something different for him, which shows in things like how he'll do the dishes but not necessarily wipe down the sink and counters. To him, he's doing the dishes - an important, but isolated task. To me, when I'm doing the dishes, it's about cleaning the kitchen; even if I don't get all the dishes clean, I'll still often clean the counters and the sink. To get that sparkly clean niceness.

Does that sort of thing cheer you up?

Comments

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

It does cheer me up to have a neat and clean house, but there's also a dark side, where the more I try to do on a regular basis, the more I see the things I haven't gotten to, like the dust on the top of the refrigerator and the discolored grout in the bathroom, and so on. Each one has to find his/her "good enough" place, I think.

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

Nod. I hear you. Right now the noticing of little things that only need to be cleaned rarely is helping me, as I'm trying to do things in advance of moving. The other day I cleaned out the insert in the fridge where you put your glass for filtered water or ice, only we don't, ever, so the ice is all frozen together in the dispenser and we've never changed the filter. Anyway, the little tray you set your glass on was all dusty and now it's not. And that'll be one less thing to do to exit the house.

A couple weeks ago I took Old English to the top and outside of a little wooden cabinet in our bathroom. The cabinet was not finished all that well in the first place, so it looked dried out and fraying, and the top was thick with dust. Now the top is clean and the whole thing is gleaming and nice. Not only don't I need to clean it a month from now, I also get to enjoy the gleaming wood between now and then. :)