The
weather may still be cold in most of the country, but here in Arizona we are
beginning our spring season, which, of course, brings thoughts of
spring-cleaning. Yes, that time honored
tradition of deep cleaning that every house desperately needs after a long (or
in our case here in AZ not quite so long) winter season.
It
is no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am not very good at cleaning. I like to describe myself as domestically
impaired, so this whole spring-cleaning craze is very stressful. I want a nice clean house; I just hate having
to do the actual work to get there.
One
of my big challenges is the amount of clutter that seems to accumulate
everywhere. Everywhere I look there are
piles of books I plan to read, a drawer stuffed with bills, receipts &
important paperwork, another pile of notes and ideas for writing, a random pile
of clothing items that I need to repair (and yes, domestically impaired
includes sewing).
My daughter teases me about being a
pack rat – so I am trying to ‘get rid’ of some things, but how do you choose
what to keep and which ones to throw in the trash. I really am trying, but
for me it is hard work. It can be tedious; I do not like to let things go
easily.
I have lived in the same house for
almost 25 years. Thinking about 25 years
worth of special childhood memories of my daughters, 25 years worth of
professional and personal paperwork. It
is really difficult to know
what to keep and what to give or throw away.
I
have done a much better job in the past few years of sorting through my
possessions and purging items that I no longer need. I still have waaaay to many things, but each
trip to drop off items at Goodwill gets me a little closer to my goal.
Hearing that you're experiencing spring weather makes me jealous. LOL. This has been the coldest winter I've experienced in Maryland in ten years. I have a love/hate relationship with cleaning. I love the finished product. Sometimes I hate the process of doing it but then other times I find it a comforting stress reliever. It really depends on my mood and I think I enjoy it sometimes because it's something I have control over and I think it calms my anxiety when things are spinning out of my control.
ReplyDeleteAngela @ Stepping into Motherhood
Thanks Angela, I think the hardest part of cleaning for me is the fact that it never stays clean - so all my effort just feels futile. I do know what you mean - when my house gets too messy I can feel my anxiety rising, and looking at a clean house always makes me feel calmer.
DeleteLaurie, I am right there with you. And since I also live in Arizona and have my doors and windows open it makes me want to spring clean. We have been in our house for 3 years now, I downsized from extremely large to very large to now just large and then add in my new husbands house of stuff and we are full. We did well at the beginning not bringing anything into the house as we moved in unless we knew exactly where it was going. Kept the house very neat and orderly but the 4 car garage was stuffed and no cars would fit LOL. 3 years later we still have a full garage but have managed to get two cars and all the off road toys in there, but purging and getting rid of stuff in the house is still a chore that needs to be done. It is overwhelming at times so I don't know where to start so I simply don't start :( We did invest in a Neat scanner this year and so far I have scanned and shred 5 tall kitchen trash bags worth of stuff! hey its a start. When you figure out how to let things go be sure and share the secret! love your posts keep writing my friend.
ReplyDeleteDonna@witheverystep.com
Thanks so much Donna, it is amazing how much 'stuff' we all seem to accumulate, and it takes a lot of time & motivation to tackle a big project like that.
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