To Clean or Not to Clean
Mismatched storage containers fill many of our cupboards.
What is it about having to clean a house that makes me tired? I suspect it may be my propensity toward procrastination. If I go into the kitchen to clean the stove, oven, fridge, counter tops, sink, floors, etc., I first notice the refrigerator. How can I clean it if I don’t organize it first?
Everything comes out of the fridge. Expired stuff (most of it) goes in the garbage disposal, and the rest sits on the counter. Each shelf and drawer goes into the sink. Then the inside needs washing. After the entire inside of the refrigerator has been disinfected and polished, the shelves and drawers and remaining foodstuffs are cleaned and put back in what I consider a logical order. The door’s shelves are organized: foreign sauces on this shelf, American condiments on another, jams and jellies on another.
However, the kitchen looks worse than before I began. Oops! The cupboards are a mess. Once more everything is unloaded (usually a shelf at a time). But the canisters need to be cleaned and thoroughly dried. Bags need to be set into new closable baggies. Shelves need to be washed. There is now a plethora of empty containers whose contents have either been tossed or combined with other partially full containers.
Once the foodstuffs have been dealt with, it’s time to deal with Tupperware, Snapware, Glad, and Zip. Naturally none of these are with its proper lid. How do people keep this stuff organized? Once more, my counters are full of mismatched storage containers.
By the time all the drawers and cupboards are in perfect order, the day is over and the kitchen still needs to be cleaned.
This procrastination is true for every room in the house. Bathroom needs cleaning? First organize the towels and bath items. This is almost identical to cleaning the kitchen except the bathroom is smaller. It still may take an entire day with nary a toilet or basin or tub cleaned let alone the floor. Oh, the scale is dirty — perfect time to re-calibrate it — where are the directions?
Another day has passed. The floors are coated in fluffy rag-doll cat hair. There are probably a few hairballs as well. The furniture is lumpy, hair-covered and has smudges of who knows what: feet or food? It is impossible to vacuum without re-duct-taping its broken hose, which takes time.
I will do anything to avoid actually cleaning. Sweeping, dusting, washing windows, scouring. . . all are anathema to me. But do let me re-arrange your closets. I’ll organize your drawers, your cabinets, your refrigerator…all in a logical, easy to maintain (sort of) manner. Just please, don’t make me clean.
There is no Mission Hills Garden Club meeting in December. Meanwhile, enjoy the holiday season, and do renew your Mission Hills Garden Club Membership.
Category: Life Style
