I've been doing a spring clean of our house the week, not only the usual dusting and fluffing, but an intensive clean: vaccuming fans (i'm so unfamiliar with the activity I'm not even sure I'm spelling "vaccuming" correctly), cleaning windows, reorganizing drawers, cupboards, and closets. It's like I've given the house a dose of prozac (possibly washed down with a vicadin and a vodka martini), it's so much happier and grateful.
I honestly didn't realize how much light the dirty windows were blocking until the sunlight almost blinded me this morning as I walked downstairs into the dining room, a room I usually have to light with lamps even in the daytime. And since I've created a pantry in what was my china cabinet and organized the kitchen cabinets in a more logical and user friendly way, cleaning the kitchen after meals has been much faster and easier. In fact, my partner's brother's girlfriend walked into the kitchen the other day and said, surprise clearly in her voice, "Why look how clean the kitchen is." Bitch.
The problem is, I just hate housework, and I'm not good at it (though, according to my friend, the vamp, there is no secret to cleaning: all you do is to find a dirty spot, rub it with a rag, mop, or sponge until it is no longer dirty, and then move on to the next spot...I'm holding out with my theory that cleaning involves a difficult to master skill set.) Add to that dislike the fact that I'm the primary cleaner in a household that involves 3 adult males, 2 indoor cats, 1 indoor/outdoor cat, and a 100 lb dog, you can see that I have a lot to clean up after. Every single day. However, I do love a clean house. That's what I most envy my clients--not that many of them have homes and furnishings I can't afford--I envy them the fact that most have maids, housekeepers, or time to clean.
A maid isn't on my immediate horizon...I have to use my money for trifles like food, gas, and taxes. Therefore, I'm trying to embrace cleaning--to see it as a necessary and possibly enjoyable exercise in homemaking, not just an evil necessity that must be gotten through. If I do want to achieve my design resolution of having a magazine worthy home, it's not going to be enough to decorate it a certain way...I'm gonna have to maintain it.
I guess I'll try to learn to clean fifties style....with focus, planning, daily commitment, a string or pearls, and lots of martinis and tranquilizers.
