With fall’s rapid approach it is much darker in my little apartment and I am having a hard time keeping myself from turning on every single light! I’m making a conscious effort to instead move a little closer to the window, open the blinds a little wider, and focus on things that don’t require artificial light in the evenings (though watching TV may not actually be an improvement, since it uses electricity too).
I’m also trying to line dry as much of my laundry as possible, to not run the dish washer until it is full, and to turn things off when I am not using them. And it is finally below 90° in Los Angeles (for now) so I am not running the air conditioning.
None of my efforts are big. But they add up to make a difference. What will you do?
Last week’s challenge: Success! I only had to throw out those potatoes, which were just too far gone to eat. We used everything else except a few mushrooms which I believe are still good.
Next up: clean the car.
Oh boy, do I ever need to do this! My car is just a mess. The outside is practically black (it’s a red car), the dashboard is dusty, there’s food and dirt on the floors and stuff everywhere.
(If your car is spotless, don’t tell me! I know I am way too lax about cleaning mine, and I like to pretend everyone else is too.)
We’re not really beach people, but if you are there’s probably sand everywhere! And if you have kids, you too must need to clean up the cheerios and crackers and lollipop sticks. And I don’t know about you, but I’d like to only lug around my grocery bags, the umbrella stroller, and the first aid kit. All this other stuff has to go!
I’m so glad I decided to do these challenges weekly, rather than daily. I may have to do this in stages, for my own sanity. It’s hard to clean anything with my toddler helping (but SO worth it because he really is learning to help!) and if we go to the car he wants to GO! But having all week to do it makes it seem much less daunting.
When we moved to our first apartment in Virginia Beach, my husband did the sweetest thing for me on my birthday — he went to Pier One and bought me an adorable wicker chair and several throw pillows. He purchased some floor-length drapes in rich oranges and yellows. He put my chair in front of a window between two huge bookcases. He then hung the curtains in front of the bookcases. He put one of the pillows on my chair, and the other on the floor. He surrounded the area with my favorite books and flowers. That was my favorite birthday ever.
I just realized that I don’t really have a place like that here. A place that’s just mine, with all of my favorite things in it. I’m trying to figure out where that place would be. Maybe the back porch? Maybe the bathtub? There’s not really a whole lot of unclaimed space left in my house.
But I will forge some kind of makeshift hideaway today, and I encourage you to do the same. Ideally, it will be a small, cozy place with books or logic puzzles or some hand-quilting. Or maybe you’re cooler than me and you’ll have fashion magazines and an iPod. Don’t let anything in your space that has any kind of expectation attached to it. This space will simply be for “being” — not “doing.”
I don’t know why, but I really love Windex. Maybe it’s because I wear glasses and everything looks so crisp and clear after I use it. But I even love the squeak it makes when I wipe it off of something. It’s like the ultimate in immediate, sparkly results.
Today, we’re going to go on a hunt for glass objects. Mirrors, the glass in your picture frames, your tv, your oven door…make them all shiny and brand new. You don’t HAVE to do your windows, but you know…if you want to, I won’t stop you.
If you are really obsessed with this, you can go for your chrome faucets, too. And stainless steel or porcelain sinks. Windex even works great on bathtubs (that was always the secret “finishing touch” when I used to help my friend clean houses). Go crazy and Windex yourself silly.
We got a new toaster oven for Christmas. It’s one of those very trendy-looking ones, and I’m afraid it’s making our actual oven jealous. Anyway, I swore that I would be vigilant about keeping it clean. The glass door would always be sparkling and shiny. There would not be cheese drippings in the crumb tray. It would look fresh out of the box forever.
Sadly, I have gone astray despite my good intentions. So today I’m going to renew my toaster oven vows.
I, Sarah, do solemnly take you, toaster oven, to be my one and only convection appliance as long as we both appreciate hot toasty bagels. I promise to clean you and take care of you, through good toast and bad, through quick cook times and slow ones…at least for today.
Today’s challenge is to keep your commitment to high quality toast by really giving your toaster or toaster oven the attention it deserves. Wipe down the top and sides before taking the crumb tray out to give it a good swipe. And then make yourself a waffle or something in celebration of your vigilance!
We actually did this yesterday, and boy…were we amazed at all of the old stuff that was festering in there. (Why do we put the heels of bread back in the pantry? Don’t we know we NEVER eat them? That’s my new resolution. Just throw them away already.) We had stale marshmallows, several boxes of cereal with just a little left in the bottom, old walnuts…it was pretty scary.
Today, I want you to do the same thing. Look in there and toss, toss, toss. If you have something that’s been in there since you first moved into your house, then it’s time to throw it away. If there’s stuff that you pass over time and time again for better options, just get rid of it. Make room for the good stuff, and perhaps you’ll even be inspired to create some culinary works of art this week.
Speaking of culinary works of art, I am in the mood for fondue for some reason. I’m just afraid that if I get a fondue pot, it will collect dust 99.9% of the time. Anyone have one? Do you get good use out of it?
I don’t know why I feel like dusting today. Maybe because I’m already sneezing my head off every few minutes…a little more won’t hurt.
A friend of mine opened her own cleaning business a few years ago. I helped her out one summer, and she taught me several things about dusting (actually, she taught me everything I know about cleaning in general).
- Use microfiber cloths (to be environmentally friendly) or paper towels. Sorry to all of you duster fanatics, but I’m not big on them. Dusters do not do a very good job, and if your house is more than a tiny bit dusty, you have to shake them out very frequently. Dusters ARE good for one thing though — blinds. The little feathers reach down into the cracks quite nicely.
- Pledge makes the house smell really, really good. I used to wonder what “that smell” was when I walked into clean houses. It’s most likely Pledge or Endust. Remember this motto: Air Fresheners Do Not A Clean-Smelling House Make. Or AFDNACSHM for short.
- Start from the top and work your way down. Ceiling, fan, windows, shelves, tables, baseboards. Actually, the baseboards can be saved for when you do the vacuuming, if you have the right attachment.
- Vacuum or sweep afterward. I know. Technically, the challenge was to dust. But if you stirred up enough dirt, this really might be a necessity. Think of it as an upgrade.
That’s it…dusting’s really not that difficult, unless you have a lot of knick knack-y type things. I don’t, but I do have a lot of DVD cases in my den. The funny thing is, almost all of them say Blockbuster on them — I think we end up accidentally buying half of the movies we rent.
Anyway…dusting. You are going to feel like such a diva when you’re done. Or a…what’s a guy name for diva? That’s interesting. I don’t think there is one. Well, I know there are some guys who read this too, so you’re going to feel like…umm…a hottie? A guy any girl would kill to get her hands on? We should make a t-shirt for you. It would say “I clean.” That’s it. The ladies would flock to you, I promise.
Procrastinate? What? Not you, right? Heh.
Today, I challenge you to get something done that you’ve been putting off for a while. I double dog dare you. It will feel so good to get that off your plate.
Oh, you want to know what I’m going to do? Well, I’m going to be submitting my marketing requests for some invitations and postcards that will be going out in April. Since I’m feeling under the weather, that shouldn’t be too taxing on me (it’s just an online form, after all). Everything else is kind of going down the tubes until I feel better.
Thanks for your well wishes yesterday. I am currently pouring on the fluids and becoming one with the couch.
It must be flu season again or something because everyone I know is getting sick. And I think I’m getting it. I feel like a perpetual sneeze is coming on, and my head is stuffy. I’ve got a headache. I just have that feeling. The feeling before the feeling.
So today I’m drinking my water. I’m taking vitamins. I am washing my hands a whole lot more than usual. Maybe it’s too late for me (how morbid does THAT sound?!) but perhaps you can ward off this evil cold by being nice to yourself. Any ideas for gracefully enduring a cold?
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