* * * * * * * * * * * * *
getting it back to a routine
i've gotten out of the habit of routinely 'cleaning' my house, it's been this way for many years now, probably the same year i became ill with the depression (about 2006) i did less & less. sure, the dishes got washed, food was cooked, benches were cleaned, bathroom wiped down & floors swept but no major cleaning was done. while the kids still lived here it was 'cleaned' but never thoroughly, the breeze blows & the house fills up with dust, fur, leaves, usually straight after sweeping...
i've become worse with my cleaning since being on my own, just couldn't be bothered with it, didn't need it, it will still be there tomorrow & as we all know 'tomorrow' never comes. well, on the weekend i declared, 'enough is enough selina' time to get back into a routine of cleaning, starting on monday (today) i would do the bathroom & the toilet.
well, woke up late, still with the mindset of cleaning the bathroom & toilet (this is good) when i was making brekkie my sister text & wanted to Skype, (okay there's goes my cleaning) so we chatted for a couple of hours, while chatting i did manage to do a few loads of washing.
well, after getting off skype i decided i still wanted to clean the bathroom, so i put some hot water in tub & threw in a spot of bleach (vanish oxi bleach) & got the dust pan brush, cause i don't own a scrubbing brush, first with the broom i brushed down all the walls, too many cobwebs & spiders. then i scrubbed the lot, from the walls to the skirting boards & the door & frame, took over 3 hours scrubbing & still didn't look very clean! we have hard water here & get calcium build up on the walls, this does not scrub off, i started scraping it with a knife but i think if i keep up with doing a clean once a week i might just get it all off by the end of the year! honestly, i'd rather be knitting or gardening but seriously my poor house needs some TLC from me & i have to start somewhere...
have been reading jennys' blog & like her idea of 'gentle domesticity' thought i might give it a go & start with just one or two rooms at a time & slowly just bring it all back gradually, if i try to go all out & do all of it i will lose interest again & nothing will get done. the bathroom was all i could manage today, when i went to put everything back in, i did notice it was cleaner & it did look much better too! that made me feel good. not sure when i will tackle the toilet, was thinking i'd do it tomorrow but will be out at my market gardens for most of the morning, perhaps i will wait & see how i feel when i get home.
sorry to bore you all with my cleaning inability but i just had to write it down somewhere & i will probably bore you all with the next room on the agenda too cheers
 |
| Purple Moon |
thanx for visiting
It's not boring Selina, it's real. One of the reasons I started my blog was so I would have an archive of my ideas and the things I wanted to incorporate in my life and in this way it also serves me as a reminder and a prompt - and I need both reminding and prompting! Honestly even with my post today, I had to re-read it to remind myself to live in daytight compartments as I was feeling completely wrung out from work. Since I started back at work (I am still on two days a week at the moment) my housekeeping routine has gone a bit haywire. I had really bad fatigue all February and while the fatigue is reduced this month I realised I better get working on my permaculture course, as the fatigue meant I didn't get as much done as I needed to.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be nice to have a housekeeper, like Alice from the Brady Bunch?
I used to have a purple moon rose bush, it does produce a gorgeous flower.
fatigue is a bitch, suffer with it & depression on & off, just doesn't want to go away. yes, i re-read all the time & preview it nearly after every paragraph! it's good, am trying to use the blog as reminders too
Deletethanx
I agree with Sherri, this is a real life post. This post will help you to focus on what it is you want to do.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't shoot for perfection anymore, there is no such thing.
Also my blog is more of a journal for me as well. Something to help me keep track of the things I will accomplish in the yrs to come.
Be gentle with yourself, pick one spot or area every day and clean it up. Even if it is just one drawer. By the end of the year you will be able to look back and see how far you have come.
you are right, it's real, thanx for the reminder (both of you) am doing the rest ares first cos they are the worse rooms to clean, have to do the toilet this arvo, so better get to it
Deletethanx
Oh, I have had my spells of being a good cleaner and well not so much. :) When I first married I was awful. I was young and was glad mama and daddy could not make me clean. My house was a wreck. Then I had a rountine, once i started having children. When my daughter was diagnosed with cancer at 3, I became an insatiable cleaner. We would come home from the hospital and while everyone else rested, I cleaned. I guess it was one thing I could control in a world of pediatric cancer that I could not control. Now, my boys help a lot and my routine is much lighter. Many hands make light work! I think sometimes how it will be when they leave home and it is just me, my husband, and my daughter. The workload will shift once again. I guess your posts brought out a lot of thoughts on cleaning for me today. It was by no means boring but inspirational.
ReplyDeleteglad it helped, you have given me more inspiration now too.
Deletethanx
I'm the same, Selina. I used to keep the house really clean when I was younger but it is so hard now with the high ceilings and VJs. It is just overwhelming most of the time and I tell myself to start off with the toilet walls which is the smallest room in the house and go from there. A maid would be very nice I must say. :-)
ReplyDelete