Confession #26 I Don't Really Do Spring Cleaning

I'm an organizing junkie. I love watching the organizing shows. I love purchasing containers of any sort. I love being able to divide things into categories...even if it is a "Miscellaneous" category. I love my label maker. I love having things color coordinated. I don't have to do this kind of stuff just in the spring, either.

I'll admit that the nicer weather gets me more motivated to get moving, but I would rather be outside than inside cleaning! I like to think that I can do my cleaning all winter. Except I don't really. There are a few things that I can keep up with really well...the kitchen, the laundry, and generally everything has it's own place and is usually in it. There are a few that I'm not so good at. These are the things that many people would consider their Spring Cleaning.

Dusting is terrible here. I can't even count the number of cobwebs that I have seen lately. The thought, "Just get a duster and get rid of it!" crosses my mind every time I see one. But do I actually go and get the duster. Nope. The duster is never close enough to me. It's always downstairs in the laundry room. And when I see a cobweb, I generally am doing something else and don't have the time to stop RIGHT NOW and get it.

Another one that is terrible here is my mini blinds. Every day when I open my blinds I notice how dusty they are. But I never manage to take the time to set a day aside and clean them. I've heard of putting them in your bathtub to clean them, but I guess I'm just not smart enough to figure out how to get them down. The ones in the kitchen right behind the sink are the worst.

The other one that I don't manage to do is to shampoo my carpets. Sure, I get out the carpet cleaner when there are obvious stains. But they never get really clean. I'm too cheap to pay for it...and good grief. I'M RENTING! (But we've lived here for 4 years and the carpets haven't been cleaned yet.)

So now I'm curious. Are you guys into Spring Cleaning? And do you really get some of the nitty gritty stuff done or is it mostly dejunking (which I do all the time)?

Confession #14 I Haven't Vacuumed for a Long Time

I think I have a really bad relationship with vacuums. They all seem to hate me. Because my last one pretty much died on me, I got a new one less than a year ago. I did some research and ended up getting one from Costco...right down the middle of the line...not to expensive, and not the cheapest (despite the fact that Peter would have gotten the cheapest no matter what...You cannot always sacrifice quality for cost).



We brought it home, put it together, and it worked fantastically. We loved it! For about a month. Then we started noticing that it just wasn't getting all the stuff off the carpet. The hose was filled with carpet fuzz. So much that we had to literally push a broom handle through it to get it all out. Then it worked great for another little while. Then on Halloween night, Peter was vacuuming while waiting for Trick or Treaters and you would not believe the burning rubber smell that came from that thing. It was so bad that you could feel it in your eyes. I took it in to a vacuum repair shop because surely it was worth fixing it rather than buying a new one! Right??



Well, after replacing a part that had melted, it worked fantastically again! But a couple of weeks ago when I vacuumed, I noticed another problem. It sucked things off of the carpet, but the smell that lingered was terrible. Maybe not as bad as the burning rubber smell, but it smelled just like all the dirt had been picked up, stirred into the air, and left there to settle back down on the floor again. I could hardly breathe because it literally smelled like a dust storm.



So, now what do I do? I don't have the money to get a new one and at the rate we are going, I don't have money to get it fixed again. I have taken this thing apart and to my untrained eye, there is nothing I can do. So I do nothing.



But that only lasts a little while. Last night I did some yoga after the kids went to bed and it was terrible being that close to the floor where I could actually see the dirt and grunge that has accumulated. And I shudder to think that my kids are playing on the carpet the way it is. My only consolation is that at least they are old enough not to put things in their mouths, but still, I hate the idea that they are playing in it.

Confession #1 -- My Dishes Are Not Always Done

Some people may think that when they come to my house, the dishes are always done. Little do they know. If I know someone is coming over, the first thing I do is clean the kitchen. Why? Because doesn't the kitchen reflect on all of our skills as a woman, a mother, and a wife? Sometimes I bend over backwards to make my kitchen spotless. Even if someone is just planning on dropping something off, you never know when they are going to need to come inside. I feel the need to make a good impression.

Although I, with Peter's help, try to have the dishes done before we go to bed, this doesn't always happen. And when it doesn't happen, the next morning doesn't go so well.

You see, when I first wake up in the morning and trudge downstairs to the kitchen...the cold kitchen, I might add...if I see that the dishes aren't done, it practically ruins my entire morning. I start off the day grumpy and it goes downhill from there.

So there you have it. My first confession. I know, I know...Most peopple don't get their dishes done all the time. But I had to say it...or at least type it...because awhile ago I had a friend comment on how clean my kitchen was every time she came over, and it just bugged me.

Nope, I'm not perfect, either.