Day 1121 Staging Area

 

Another full day of cleaning—ugh! Having a three‑story house is fabulous in many ways, but when it comes to tidying up, it’s the worst. As soon as I finished the first floor, I headed down to the basement and got to work in that zone. Without an upstairs bathroom, Tim has claimed the basement bathroom as his own, which is fine—except all his clothes are upstairs. Instead of climbing two flights of stairs each morning, he’s declared our family‑room couch his clothes “staging area,” as he calls it.

He piles clean clothes there, drapes items he’s worn once but might wear again, and at times—disaster strikes—throws dirty clothes into the mix. Then I waltzed in, dampened his vibe, gathered up all the pile, washed the dirty clothes, and carted the rest upstairs for him to (maybe someday) put away. He was off watching football with a friend and wasn’t thrilled to see the family room clean, with our white couch disturbingly free of laundry. All those clothes effectively protected the couch—but I’d prefer a place to sit now and then!

One of the best unsung benefits of a regular cleaning lady is the pre‑visit scramble we’d have to do before each appointment. I might not need a cleaning lady anymore—but I sure do need the looming threat of her visit! I sacrificed my weekend to clean, and I’m not done yet. All those piles I hauled upstairs now need to be put away—and I haven’t even started on that floor! I'm sure I won't have any drop‑by company—funny how they only show up when the house is a mess. Now that it’s sparkling clean, I suspect it’ll be weeks before I see anyone at my door. At least I’ll enjoy it… though Tim has already said he doesn’t like it. He prefers his mess right where he can see it!

Hopefully my cleaning momentum will continue long enough for me to effectively clean our upstairs, but Monday sure does come creeping up fast!