Day 2 of Return to Routine.

This week, I’m focusing on being thorough with my daily checklist and my weekly tasks. 

Yesterday, I did pretty well, and also conquered quite a few little piles of clutter that had been ignored all summer.  I felt good about it. 

Too good.

When I was writing my post, it did occur to me that I hadn’t actually done the “Focused 5 Minute Pick-Up.”   But, as I tend to do, I let myself be overly proud of all the things I HAD done, and decided that was enough.

Then, at 5:45, the doorbell rang.  Suddenly, my Selective-Vision cleared up and I looked around to see a living room with undies on the coffee table, dolls stuffed legs-up behind the couch cushions and who-knows-what-else scattered all over the floor.  Maybe it’s a Pavlovian thing. 

Unfortunately, it was hot enough that I couldn’t leave my friend standing out there at the door while I did some crazy-woman-decluttering.

So, today I printed out my daily checklist, and carried it around the house.  Whenever I start to get off track, I find that I have to do this.  Something about physically holding a piece of paper, even though it’s one that I created, makes me be conscious about these tasks. 

I also cleaned bathrooms today . . . since it’s Tuesday. 

For the summer, the kids had been cleaning them, and today my 4yo wanted to help.  The only problem was that I wanted to do a deep-cleaning after more than two months of “educational cleaning.”  

Meaning, I wanted to use my lethal stuff.  You know, the shower cleaner that requires major ventilation and the toilet bowl cleaner that eats a hole in your carpet in less than 3 seconds if you spill some (unfortunately, a proven fact). 

So, I snuck around, hoping that she wouldn’t come looking for me or see me move along the walls of the living room carrying a sponge. 

I did decide to use the home-made all-purpose cleaner, made from Ivory liquid, vinegar, and water, to clean the counters, sinks and my only-used-by-me tub.  I loved not having to be paranoid about accidentally contaminating a bar of soap, a toothbrush or a candle.  With the lethal stuff, my neurotic mind takes over and I picture lighting a candle only to have toxic fumes emit from it due to a forgotten splash of cleaner. 

As a slob, I don’t need those kinds of excuses to not clean.

I found though, that there were quite a few spots on the counter after it dried.  Ideally, I could shine it up with a dry cloth, but I’m not really a go-back-and-shine-it kind of girl.  When I’m done cleaning a bathroom, I’m done.  The only thing I want to do after that is take a bow. 

Now that I’ve decontaminated myself with a hot shower, I’m reminded, once again, how much I love clean bathrooms.   It’s amazing how when I’ve been neglecting my home for a while, it seems like cleaning it is all for the sake of others, but when I’ve cleaned it, I’m reminded that a clean home is really for me. 

And don’t worry, I’m not advocating the toxic cleaners.  I’d like to get to the point (being consistent and cleaning the bathrooms myself), where I could use the home-made cleaners and get it as clean as it needs to be.  That way, that my 4yo could work alongside me.