I am taking a much deserved rest break on this Sunday afternoon to just chill on my bed. So far this morning I have:
I’m a wee bit tired now. I think I deserve to chill out on the bed for half an hour now, don’t you?
After all, I need to save some energy. I’m going to see Donavon Frankenreiter tonight with some friends.
It all makes sense now. When I was in primary/high school, my school holidays weren’t as fun as most. I would usually awake to a list prepared by my mother consisting of a full day’s worth of housework. There was no way I could get through it all, but as long as I did a fair bit I was in the clear. Doing none of it meant certain death.
Back then I thought it was just all a bit of a bonus for her. It meant that I would do the spring cleaning so that she wouldn’t have to. The list usually had one particular section of the kitchen that needed to be cleaned and sorted, or a particular appliance – fridge, oven etc. The task I quickly grew to hate was when it became time to sort the tupperware drawer. I perfected the art of swearing when it came time to find lids for all the various pieces of tupperware, because you just know that would be the one single piece that she would need to use next and if there was no lid then all hell would break loose.
Today, I had an epiphany.
Yes, the woman had her own selfish gains to making me do all the housework but she was also training me up for adulthood. Today I found myself on holidays doing the exact same thing – cleaning out the pantry at home.
By all accounts it certainly needed it. We had random types of food everywhere, multiple items of the same thing open, and spills everywhere. It wasn’t pretty. It also reminded me of my grandma’s cupboard when I found food that was 6+ months out of date. Ew.
2 hours later the shelves are now sparkling and there are designated sections for pasta, rice, cans, fruits, spices etc. I can actually find the soy sauce. I also found that we have 5 boxes of cling wrap. Overkill much?
Being an adult can be so boring sometimes. I love it.
I’m still not in any rush to have any kids, but when I do, and they’re old enough I’ll be sure to pass my mum’s little secret down. First they’ll need to learn how to get me a drink though. Priorities!
I just read an excellent article over at Unclutterer about how people sabotage their uncluttering efforts and thought it would be worth sharing with everyone. This is something my mum definitely suffers from, which has become completely obvious during my stay at her place. Now my challenge is to explain this to her without her feeling offended, or more likely, denial and more excuses.
Have a look if you’re interested in uncluttering your life but never gotten around to it, it’s worth a read.
Wow, what a weekend! Yesterday we had a diet blow out (in a MAJOR way) at mat’s sisters place while we watched the AFL grand final. Side note – not only does AFL say “well you missed the centre posts, but it was close enough so we will give you a point anyway”, but they also decided that if the game isn’t won by full time in the grand final then the two teams play again the following week. WTF?! I’m a soccer girl, and now I’m confused by AFL, but hey I’ll still watch the final and cheer on a team (due to bribery I’m a St Kilda girl in the finals).
Then today, expecting a hangover and not getting one, I went on a cleaning frenzy. I washed clothes, towels and sheets, washed the dogs, and generally tidied the house (vacuum, put stuff away etc). Then I went a little crazy, pulled out the Selley’s sugar soap and scrubbed our bathroom walls. I don’t recall the last time they were ever cleaned, so it’s fair to say it was pretty overdue.
I have a question though, how the hell do you keep a house organised? We’re in a tiny unit attached to a back of a house and that’s bad enough. It probably sounds like an excuse, but I tend to blame the “cluttered” feeling of our place on the fact that we have too much stuff and nowhere to put it. I’m in the midst of doing a big cleanout though, which has definitely helped with some stuff. But it’s the main things that I never seem to get around to doing. Washing the windows, washing the blinds, washing the curtains, weeding (god knows outside needs it). I wouldn’t say I’m lazy, though I’m definitely not the most active person in the world. Yet looking at the fact that I don’t know when the walls were last cleaned down makes me wonder what else I’m missing? Is there some sort of a “housekeeping for dummies” guide that I can buy?
I need to get my s**t together and really start getting this place organised and well cared for. I’m feeling a bit disappointed in myself at the moment.
I’m absolutely shattered writing this right now. The couch is calling my name, begging me to fall asleep on it until Mat gets home, when he forces me to go to bed. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and was up again early this morning. I made Mat & Nick some breakfast before they took off for the day, leaving me to my own devices.
Which is pretty much when I kicked into gear. I vacuumed, dusted, washed clothes and dishes and then vacuumed again (finding spots that probably haven’t been cleaned for a year). I went through my jewellery box and threw out almost half of it, stuff that was old and gross (and cheap) or earrings missing the other one to complete the pair. Then, I grabbed a statue that we got for our engagement party that has been occupying space on the coffee table in the living room, purely because we didn’t know where to put it. The statue now proudly lives on top of my dresser draws wearing all the necklaces I own and all my watches (all being only three). But I wasn’t finished.
I made my way back to the living room, where I began sorting through our files in the filing cabinet. To date I’ve only gone through about 1/3 of it, but I’ve already thrown out two shopping bags worth of useless paper (confidential items shredded). I plan on doing the rest tomorrow if I can.
I had a quick bite to eat before dashing down to the plaza to meet my Mum, Dad and my niece (photo of the day of my niece here) before rushing home again, showering and heading off to a friend’s place for the afternoon. I came home this evening to some crazy dogs who even after they were fed still acted like they were running on energizer batteries. They just wouldn’t stop! Two hours later and they’ve finally settled down to bed. I’ve posted my photo of the day, and I’m ready to relax.
Is this what weekends are for? Sorting out messes and rushing around? Tomorrow I go to Brisbane, so I still won’t have a day of pure “nothingness”. Hmmm…next weekend perhaps?