LOVE all the discussion about surface cleaning in the comments on yesterday’s post.
I’m sure there’s a definition out there somewhere and an expert who could tell us exactly what surface cleaning is supposed to be.
But I don’t care. I need to figure out what it means for me, and how it can help me in this deslobification process.
One of the things brought out in the comments was the “place for everything” concept. I think this is so true.
But soooooo difficult. Even as I get rid of my too-much-stuff-to-fit-in-my-house, I still find that I struggle. And someone else pointed out the very real slob-struggle to actually put things away once they do have a “place.” Mmmm-hmmm. So true . . . too.
After pondering this concept all day, it made me laugh that we watched the episode of I Love Lucy last night where she and Ricky were bickering about his slobbish tendencies.
I know it was a TV show. I know it was back in the 50s. I know that comic effect was the goal of everything in it. But I’m a huge Lucy fan and so I’m going to draw some wisdom from her. (A friend recently made my YEAR when she said my profile pic reminds her of Lucy!)
Anyway, as the show opens, she is talking to Ethel on the phone about how she loves an orderly home, and as she talks she straightens an already perfect desk and pushes in a barely-not-pushed-in chair, etc.
I started thinking about the “straightening” I’d given myself permission to do that day.
Here’s the thing. To me, as a slob, straightening seems pointless.
But it isn’t.
I’ve always been in awe of homes with tons of stuff, maybe even as much stuff as I have/had, which don’t seem like a tornado just blew through. Some people can handle it. Their huge amounts of random items are lined up neatly, while mine are in piles.
I think . . . maybe . . . it’s because they straighten. Not just at the point when things are chaotic, but when things still look pretty good.
Now, I’m in no way saying that straightening is the answer to all of my slob-problems. I have too much stuff, and I don’t have the personality or brain-type to be able to handle it.
BUT, accepting that I’m different doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t bother straightening the stuff I do have.
Here are a few more examples of how straightening makes a difference:
This first picture is of our breakfast table, in a condition which I generally consider fine. This is what it looks like after I have cleaned it off. There are no dirty dishes on it (the cup is my daughter’s drink, still to be finished), and the table has been wiped off. I’m good with it.
The blendy pen and two potholders? Totally invisible to me.
Then I straightened it. Pulled everything into the center to make it look a little neater and more purposeful. At this point, I see the blendy-pen and the potholders, and I also notice the teeth-brushing-timer that my daughter got at the dentist.
So once there is a little order, just a little . . . the which-of-these-things-doesn’t-belong game is easier to play, and I see the potholders, the teeth-brushing-timer and the blendy-pens.
And the paper towel holder which is supposed to go on the counter.
I still don’t love having the Kleenex on the table, or that I have no idea where my pepper shaker went, but I’m OK.
And then there’s my bathroom counter. The place where I know things have been spreading-and-multiplying, but which overwhelms me.
I cheated a little on this one and immediately stuck things into the drawer and put the hairdryer under the counter where it goes. In seconds (literally) it looked like this:
No decluttering or organizing . . . just straightening. And personally, I think the difference is fairly impressive.
Here’s the thing. This surface-cleaning-concept has to mean different things to different people.
You know, because we’re all different.
But for me, if I can use the concept to give me the freedom to “just surface clean” when I don’t have the time or energy or desire to “really clean” maybe I’ll have found one more piece of the puzzle, maybe I’ll be one step closer . . . to having that orderly home I crave.
Maybe.
Great post! It definitely means different things to each of us, and that's ok. I was surprised to see that the difference in your bathroom counter is huge. You've given me something to think about now, too.
These pics totally remind me of myself. Thanks for the post! 🙂
http://www.rebeccabany.com
Now that's my idea of straightening up and it does have it's benefits as you saw for yourself.
The next step might be to get a container to corral all the bottles, tubes and tubs of stuff on the vanity. It does two things. Makes it look even a bit neater and come cleaning time all you have to move is one container, not a bunch of different bottles, tubes and tubs.
Job well done!
I was going to say the same – if you Containerize those containers, then you can lift, wipe, replace as part of your daily sweep. Otherwise, you are going to wipe around them all or waste time lifting and wiping.
Same on the table – you could have a tray that is just big enough for the items which you define as living there all the time. Anything more will not fit on the tray and should prompt you to put back where it really belongs (like the paper towel!)
You are doing a great job!
Hmmmmm. I did grasp the container concept not too long ago, but hadn't thought to apply it in these situations.
Hmmmmm.
What's great is you recognize it only takes a few seconds to put things in the drawer or under the sink etc. I love Yvette's idea of the tray on the kitchen table with just enough room for what's supposed to be there.
I know this wasn't the focus of this post, but I love the line where you said that the potholders & pens were INVISIBLE to you. That is my exact problem & it is so incredibly hard to describe it to my husband. I simply don't SEE the clutter like he does.
For Example: Yesterday I "found" a dirty bowl on the kitchen counter that had been used for popcorn almost THREE WEEKS ago. *sigh* Really? Geez…
Sometimes I WISH I had domestic blindness on this level – isn’t the saying ‘ignorance is bliss’ – but I DO see it, and I STILL have slob responses of ‘I should do that, I’ll do it later’, or I’ll feel angry and resentful that it was left there by someone else like that and it can seem so overwhelming that I will just walk away from it and pretend it’s not there at all because that’s just easier then the alternatives, like nagging and listening to excuses, so I create my own excuses…..
(yes I realise this reply is 2 and half years later, *shrug*)
You have the same bathroom habits I do. For some reason, I don't want to have to look for my bathroom items. If I could, I would attach a picture of how much trouble that causes in our space. My solution? I bought an over-the-door shoe organizer with clear pockets. Every bottle, hair clip, brush, etc has it's own place. This way it isn't clutter, but I can still grab what I need without looking through cabinets and wiping surfaces is easier.
A picture is worth 10,000 words, but I love the words too! These two posts are hhhhhhhmmmmmm worthy for sure.
So purposefully thought out & well explained! From my too-long period of overwhelm, came the subtle changes of selective blindness to the things that should be elsewhere. Thank you for helping me see what I had lost the ability to see so clearly in years past.
I know I’m years behind and you’ve probably already figured this out (or it’s just my “a-ha,” not everyone’s) … but I thought the idea of surface cleaning was that you don’t HAVE to deep clean if you surface clean often enough. As in, if I dustbust the dog-hair-tumbleweeds every day or every couple days, they never pile up in the corner, collecting dirt and dust and getting so grungy that it takes scrubbing to extract them. Likewise, if I swipe up spills immediately, they’re just “spills” — not crud that has to be soaked and scrubbed and worked at. Or if I dusted (the one task I still haven’t even close to mastered) on even a monthly basis, it would just be “dust” that I could wipe off, not a quarter-inch of sludge that takes wet-rag cleaning.
The photos & comments in this post are a revelation to me. I am a tidy mom, trying to figure out the perspective of my not tidy and nearly grown kids. I’m convinced that some part of this is genetic, and my kids have family members (nice folks) who struggle with very serious housekeeping issues. I want to send my kids into the world with the ability to manage these tasks, but I don’t understand what the barriers are. It feels like I’m teaching someone with dyslexia to read. What do you wish you had learned before you left home?
Please don’t be insulted but, I am embarrassed because I so completely identify with you. I have found my people. Your book has helped me tremendously. Please keep posting 😊
Hahahaha!! I totally understand!
I know that buying organizing containers can sometimes be a slippery slope but dollar tree has some that I grabbed to put bathroom stuff in (then it can be put under the sink) and the counters look 100% better. So what I would do with what you have left on the bathroom counter is to put it all in a cute container that can be put in the cabinet and then brought out when I need something (and put back again when I’m done).
I find it a lot easier to keep the multiple bottles and tubes neat if they are contained in something, rather than them falling over when you barely bump them.
You’ve learned something here, truth is, anytime we engage with stuff, we are likely to make progress.
I’m still a few years behind “real time” so you may have already made this revelation in the “future”: Regarding the bathroom countertop – I used to be like you, “I use these things every day, so I’m going to keep them right out here on the counter where I can reach them.” This included a make up bag, contact solution, contact case, deodorant, toothpaste, lotion, hair brush(as), blow dryer, straightener, hair spray, floss, toothbrushes, and hand soap (and probably some other stuff). Regardless of how neatly I lined everything up, it was still a lot of stuff on the counter and created a lot of visual clutter. After being inspired by a book I realized it doesn’t take *that* long to pull any of these things out when they all have a designated home. I have some deeper drawers in my bathroom where my deodorant, contact solution, etc. can stand up in a neat little row and I don’t have to go searching in the depths of the cabinet under the sink. Did I mention this bathroom lacks a medicine cabinet? That also would have been a great solution to store everything in there. These days my counter has soap and lotion in decorative bottles, a toothbrush holder, my make up stored vertically in a tiny box, and my contact lens case that needs to air dry during the day. Everything else has a home. If the blow dryer or straightener have just been used, I let them cool off and then put them away until next time. Crazy, I know.
What you’ve been calling “surface cleaning” is, to me, a completeing* surfaces involves wiping — dusting or washing!