Keeping House

Over the last few months I have ignored cleaning. Our house isn't in shambles, but it isn't clean either. The kitchen and bathrooms have been cleaned, and the laundry has been done. Aside from that and a bit of picking up, the house has not been cleaned. This has allowed me to be a more relaxed mama and more present with my kiddos. It also gave me a break from feeling as if all I did was clean up after people.  However my house is disgusting, and it is driving me crazy.

I walk by the shutters and see the layers of dust punctuated with tiny fingerprints. The blinds in the kitchen block the bright summer sunshine when closed and proudly display flecks of food and layers of grime. The carpet has a dirty, worn path where food and muck from the kitchen is tracked throughout the house. The walls have smudges and black marks where hands have travelled. Piles of paper threaten to topple at the slightest brush. The back patio has becoming overgrown with foliage. It truly is a mess, and this week it is changing.

I couldn't stand it any more. I realized no one else in the house was concerned, so if I didn't like it, I had to change it. This means I have been busy. This weekend, I tackled the walls in the kitchen eating area. They were speckled with bits and bobs of dried food and drink. Next was the miniblinds. I truly hate miniblinds. I am not sure why they were invented. They are impossible to clean and they are ugly. Armed with a rag and cleaning solution, I cleaned the evil slats. I also cleaned both bathrooms top to bottom. The floor was my next project, but I was distracted by the kiddos. Who wants to clean when there is fun to be had.

Today I returned to work. I trimmed the bushes and trees in the backyard. I even hosed down the patio furniture and the toys which occupy the space. Benton came out to help me and enjoyed spraying the patio himself. He watered our small garden plot, and I added some vermicompost. Together we then planted a few seeds in our humble garden. We now hope to grow a eclectic mix of chard, kale and spinach. Luckily they can be used somewhat interchangeably, because that is how they are planted. The space looks so much better and inviting now. With the weather cooling slightly it is a space we enjoy for relaxing and eating breakfast.

Once inside, I continued my cleaning of the window treatments. With the miniblinds out of the way, the shutters were the next task. I went through 6 rags cleaning them. They were so dusty! The house already feels much cleaner. The view out of the windows seems brighter. It has been a long time since they were dusted. It is my #1 hated cleaning chore. I will clean every bathroom twice before I dust. It seems like such a pointless task, but it is so nice when it is done.

Tomorrow is the kitchen floor. After that I will concentrate on more purging of my stuff (still working on the yarn reduction). The garage should be tackled as well, but I will wait until the outside temperature is below 100 degrees. In the meantime, I will continue to grab small bits of time for fun and knitting.

Seed Stitch Cowl and Hat finished today and photographed on my clean patio