The Most Fun Ever!

STUFF. Where, oh where, does it all come from? It's amazing how much stuff accumulates over a couple of years. Outgrown or no longer wanted clothes, discarded decor, obsolete electronics, my husband's weird childhood belongings that his mom sneaks into our car when we visit (actually, this has slowed down a bit---keep the rest, Nell!) etc, whatever the stuff is, we attract it. Our house, like most in this gotta-have-it-all, we're-into-excess society, is a stuff magnet, so every few years I try to have a yard sale to purge our house of some of the STUFF. Over the past few days, I've been spring cleaning our home and going through things to find everything we don't need or want any longer. In the process, I've discovered that I really, really love spring cleaning.

Really. I love the emptying out cabinets and arranging everything neatly only for it to be all messy again in two days. I adore cleaning the house from top to bottom: washing the windows, balancing on the step stool to wipe down the dust-covered ceiling fans, and struggling with the blinds in an attempt to remove the layer of dust off each blind. Fun stuff! Really. Using a toothbrush to get the grime that accumulates where the sink meets the counter is the best thing ever! Oh, and the food particles and other mysterious items that find their way underneath the microwave and the stove are awesome! Good times, man. Good times. Really.

Okay, so not really. I'm full of crap. Oh, shoot. I'm not supposed to say that anymore because I don't want my toddler say "Oh, crap" at Sunday school (or anywhere else). I meant to say, "I'm full of...full of...hmmm.... I don't really want him to say any of the possible synonyms, so let's just say, I LIED. Surprise! I don't love spring cleaning or collecting yard sale stuff, but it will be so nice when it's all done! I'll be glad to get rid of the pile of stuff that has taken over our office, and I'll be grateful for any extra cash we might make. I'll also enjoy a sparkly-clean house for as long as it lasts!

Sorry for whining today. I'm tired and grumpy. And grimy.

Ironically, I'm participating in "Friendly Friday" today. Follow the link to visit other bloggers, that are probably more friendly than me!

Dust, Dirt, and Mysterious Gray Crud

Just in case you were wondering, July 20 is Ice Cream Day, October 26 is Mother-in-Law Day, and December 12 is Gingerbread House Day. The first week in December is Cookie Cutter Week, the first week in February is Pancake Week, and the first week in May is Be Kind to Animals Week. I am able to share this obscure information with you because I have a way cool planner that informs me of all kinds of strange holidays. It's kind of a bossy planner because it tells me to do things like watch Charlotte's Web on July 11 (E.B. White's birthday) and play croquet on May 25 (Backyard Games Week), but I love it anyway.

Last Monday, I noticed in my handy dandy planner, that it was national cleaning week. Of course, I resolved to have my whole house spring cleaned from top to bottom before the week was out. All those things that only get cleaned once or twice a year (or not in the entire four and a half years that I've lived in this house!) desperately need a good scrubbing. The ceiling fans are dusty, the blinds are atrocious (that's one of the things I'm afraid I've neglected), the windows are dirty, there's a mysterious gray crud on the seal of my refrigerator that I'm fairly certain is mold (eww!), etc. etc. etc. My house isn't really in that bad of shape I guess, but I'm not going to invite any white-gloved cleaning inspectors over. Did you notice the verb tense? Yep, all those things still need done!

It's not that I didn't try to deep clean the house. I did. Sort of. The problem is, for some reason, I think the house has to be clean to clean it. Does that make sense? Probably not. I think it's one of those crazy ideas that I got from my mother. Kind of like how I only use the "good" towels--the big, fluffy ones that match the bathroom stuff--whenever the old, too-small-to-get-any-decent-coverage, bleach-spotted, should-be-rags, dollar store towels I bought in college are all dirty. Kinda weird, huh? Anyway, all my cleaning time this week was spent doing the regular cleaning and nothing extra at all. Except I got two bathroom cabinets cleaned out. Yippee! What progress! I did, however, get my house clean so I could clean, four times. And Colter and I got lots of playtime in, and that's more important anyway. :)

As you can see, Colter doesn't have my cleaning procrastination problems. He cleans off his book shelf everyday! Isn't sweet how he tries to motivate his mommy? He also takes all the baking pans out of the cabinet, so I can clean the shelves and reorganize. What a big helper! I wish I was as good a housekeeper as my sweetie pie.

Aww. He's thinking about how much he loves story time. Or is he planning his next disaster?