Day 2138 Tidy

 

Ahh… so clean! I spent eight hours with my sleeves rolled up, deep cleaning, and only made it through three rooms. I started with the living room, sadly, our most underutilized space. It’s a pretty room and the first one you walk into from the front door, so it should be tidy.

When my youngest son lived at home, he played the piano daily, and the room served beautifully as his music room for many years. Now that he’s moved out, the piano sits unplayed, and the room doesn’t get the attention it deserves. I understand it during the winter, it’s also the coldest room in the house. With old houses comes a lack of insulation and plenty of drafts. But in the spring, it’s a lovely space.

I cleaned and cleaned, down on my hands and knees scrubbing baseboards, climbing on furniture to wash all the windows, and discovering whatever items I’d squirreled away under furniture and promptly removing them all. Tim did his best to avoid me throughout the day so as not to be recruited into my mission. Smart man.

Starting with the living room always makes sense. It’s usually the cleanest room anyway, why not ease into the mess? By the end of the day, with three rooms spic and span, I laughed thinking how clean it all is and how my company just left… they had spent their week here in the middle of my mess, but didn't seem to notice (or at least didn't call me out on it).

I’ve always had an open door policy. Guests might find the house spotless or chaotic, but they will always find a warm welcome....after all, they're here to see us not our house! 

I still have the kitchen to tackle, then the basement family room. The upstairs will have to wait for another month. I’d call it spring cleaning, but once the sun is out and the warmer weather arrives, I’ll be far too busy enjoying the sunshine to bother with housework....so I’d better make good use of these winter months.

Maybe 2026 will be the year I finally get the house in order. Imagine that. I might even continue on and dip into the dreaded junk drawer… crazy! The funny thing about a clean house is that you can almost guarantee a drop in visitors when it’s clean, somehow, they always know to wait until you make a mess.

One thing I’ve always done after a big day of cleaning is buy myself a big bouquet of flowers. I place them prominently on the dining room table as a reminder of my efforts....and as proof that even the messiest days can end beautifully. 

“The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson