Kicking the Can on Cleaning

Up until last week, I have avoided hiring someone to come in and clean my home. Every person I know has someone do this, and every person stares in disbelief when I tell them I don't mind cleaning, and it makes me feel very virtuous. Strange, I know.

But about a week ago, I realized I had hit my limit. A couple of months ago, Ed and I did a major toy declutter, which was so fantastic I can hardly express it in words. That was followed up with the semi-annual consignment sale I participate in which allowed all those toys to find new homes. We have gotten rid of so much kid related clutter it's amazing. And as soon as the truck that comes around our neighborhood shows up to take more stuff away, we'll be in great shape.

This should have created time for regular cleaning of things like ceiling fan blades, floors, and general dusting - but it didn't. Instead, I immediately filled that time first with doing more handwork, and then with yoga classes a few nights each week. And I love my handwork and my yoga, so it's not a bad thing. But at some point, I needed to realize that something that annoyed me a week ago (everyone else not doing as much cleaning as I thought they should do), annoyed me several months ago, and annoyed me a year ago.

If my kids had a pattern like this, I would tell them to get rid of the annoyance. So I did. I hired a small army of people to clean all the nooks and crannies and I'm promising myself to give it through the summer because mostly, I keep thinking "but I can do it!", but I'm not doing it. And neither is anyone else.

In my last burst of attempting to clean, I received a box of cleaning products from Green Works. Thank you, Green Works, for loading me up with cleaning products. They did, in fact, inspire me to clean for a few weeks, and I loved all the products. And because they're environmentally friendly, I didn't even feel that bad letting Helen use them as she "helped". When I handed the products off to the woman who owns the cleaning company she was a little skeptical, but after using them once, she's in love. So, your cleaning products get a thumbs up from someone who knows cleaning, and I have a clean home. I can attest that my home does smell lovely and it's awfully sparkly. Now...I just need to figure out how to keep everyone outside so it doesn't get dirty again!

Elaine