Thursday, October 25, 2012

Cleanliness Is Godliness

If this statement is true I belong down in the Sea of the Dead with Hades.

I have never confessed to being a great housekeeper, or even a Domestic Goddess. I may have confessed to wanting to be a Domestic Goddess.  Although since reading 50 Shades of Grey the word Goddess doesn't appeal any more ... "My inner Goddess sat back and purred ..." ... yeah not cool any more ...

Anyway I digress ....

So I opened the shop and everything has been great. I sit in the shop and craft and go get the kids and play and waste time on the Internet chatting with my friends and stalking catching up with old friends. And my house was neglected ... BADLY neglected. I mean seriously when it is freezing cold wouldn't you rather sit in front of the fire with a book or curl up in bed with a movie in the evening than do the housework?
Oh Heck Yes! And that is what I have done .... ALL winter.

My house has suffered. Poor thing. It is awful. Not just messy but creep me out gross. I am terribly ashamed to admit I can't remember the last time I cleaned the bathroom. I wouldn't be surprised if my kitchen got an F from the Food and Hygiene people.

I have never let my house get this bad ... ever!  It's hard when you have no one to be accountable to except for yourself.  The kids don't care. I can't be bothered. So I get away with it. I don't really have anyone visit the house any more, they come to the shop. So I have no reason to clean

Lately the weather has become nicer. I am feeling better within myself. And I am looking around going "this is NOT ok"

So I started to do something about it.

My Mum came and helped me sort out the library which was a dumping room. She helped me start to sort out the Craft Room which is turning into a spare bedroom. We put all the stuff I dumped in the Library (from the living room renovation) away properly.
Yesterday I finished a project that had been sitting around for a good few months.
Today I decided it was time to clean up inside.

I was planning on giving the place a good tidy up. Put things away where they belong, clear benches and tables and piles of stuff that have accumulated in corners.
I did not anticipate that once I started in the kitchen that I would go CRAZY and start doing a DEEP Spring type clean.
I have found the super large bottle of jiff and poured it EVERYWHERE. I have scrubbed and wiped and cleaned like a madwoman. I no longer have a Herb and Spice Shelf on the kitchen counter because 99% of my herbs and spices had best before dates of 2003. That is the cleaning I am talking about!

I have been going hard all morning and so far I have finished .......

My kitchen bench. That is it.

This post is not going to have before and after pics. I am WAY too embarrassed to show the before and I am too afraid that the neat freaks will think that my massive scrub clean is only an average one!!
The reason I am writing this post is because I know that the percentage of Domestic Goddess (*cringe*) is tiny compared to the Domestic Slobs. Like me. And I am hoping that not too many of you let things get as desperately scary as I have, we are not alone.

So over the next few days, weeks, months I am planning on making my house a lovely place to live and be in again.

And once I am finished and my house is sparkling do I think that I will keep it that way?

Highly Unlikely!

7 comments:

Lyns said...

Love your honesty Tracy, and it's not like you haven't been busy anyway!!
I have a few corners that are screaming for attention, not to mention a spare room that has a total of 1msq clear space left in it, after we tidied the kids room and dumped most of the mess into it. Argh, our room of shame...thank goodness my parents are staying with my sister on their visit this weekend!!
Hope the cleaning bug is contagious.
x

Leonie said...

I am no domestic goddess either Tracy. I can SOOOO relate.
Good on you for getting stuck in.
You should be so proud of yourself, what you have achieved in the last year is INCREDIBLE!!!!
xx

Callie @ infinitemonkey.co.nz said...

Oh my goodness I can COMPLETELY relate to this post! Since embarking on a 'work from home graphic design' journey at the start of this year (note: many many months ago) housework has slid to the most remote bottom corner of the Things To Avoid Doing list. Bedrooms have turned into dumping grounds, the lounge is overrun by kids toys constantly, and yeah there's many areas of the kitchen and bathroom that could do with some proper elbow grease rather than a quick wipe over. *sigh*

You are NOT alone! :)

Anonymous said...

ahahahahahahahha LOVED LOVED LOVED this post...still has me chuckling. Its oh so true too. I LOVE cleaning and tidying up and having everything look really nice and everything have a place.....I just hate maintaining it, and they reckon thats the easy part so dunno what that says for me lol

mandyb said...

im am the same!!!!!
i live by myself so no one else to comment!!!
but in the middle of winter i had had enough!!! went to one room and cleaned it from top to bottom..then on and on!!
embarrassed to add my oven was terrible!!! but is now nice and clean!!! and i feel better for it!!!

GO YOU...you can do it!!

and hey with those windows...give the children spray bottles...they can do they parts down low!!!

lol

Debbie Buckland said...

Lol very cool post.
I clean regularly but the things that don't get much of a clean are my windows inside and out (about once a year job) and my oven (once every six or so months I think)....
The bathroom, kitchen and living areas are the only p,aces that really get cleaned and tidied every second day at the most. But I clean, play then clean, play, then clean, play this way my hubby doesn't go spack on me. LOL

Barbs said...

Oh that so could have been my story. Could have been if I had done the cleaning that is.......You have inspired me to do some housework today. Maybe find some rubber gloves and a nose peg and head into the kids bathroom.