"Someday I'll Do Spring Cleaning"
Part Three: Final Polishing, Finishing Touches, and Something Fresh and New
I’ve been pushing this off because I HATE CLEANING and I knew I couldn’t post this final installment in the Spring Cleaning series until I felt like I was done, or at least done-ish. If you haven’t read the first two posts, Part One focused on getting rid of old/expired/unusable things and Part Two got into making tougher choices, and donating/selling things we might rationalize keeping. Both include helpful links to make this easier, many of which I used myself, and managed to clear a lot of stuff out of the house. But this final step, the actual cleaning (the worst part) and then the refreshing/redecorating (the best part) have tripped me up. First, I hate cleaning, and second, I have decision fatigue.
As for cleaning, I have a housekeeper that comes every three weeks for three hours. On those days, I’m tidying, cleaning, doing laundry, changing the 25 or so “dog blankets” that are all over the furniture, and cleaning my own bedroom. My part takes about four hours and I hate it the whole time, but I love when it’s done. The last time was about 10 days ago, but I wasn’t ready for the fun shopping part yet, because I was distracted with other things. And this week I’ve probably spent (wasted) at least eight hours online looking at art, and still haven’t purchased anything.
Last spring, I had my living room, dining room, and hallway painted a pale yellow, covering up a green that I’d tired of years ago. At that time, I gave away some framed prints that had hung in my living rooms since the late 1990’s. That wall is still empty, a year later. I also relocated some canvas prints of photos I’d taken in Greece in 2014, leaving another wall empty. Two prints that had hung in my dining room for years are still leaning against the wall, waiting for me to pound the nails and put them back.
It’s times like these that I’m more convinced than ever that this Substack is doing what I need it to do—getting me motivated and getting me writing. I HAVE TO get this shit done now because I’ve made myself accountable here, and I hope to help others get motivated too. So I’m going to hang these bastards up before I go any further here..
Now that that’s done, another thing I’m doing to spruce the place up is replacing my area rug in the living room. You can’t smell a picture, so I’ll have to tell you that after two years, the old one is a dead giveaway that two dogs live here. And it’s always nice to make a change, so I hit a sale and bought a new area rug and matching entry rug. Unfortunately, the way the area rug was rolled and taped left some wrinkles that I’m trying to flatten out before I make the switch. Since it’s been about two weeks since the floor was washed, I’ll have to do that too because I’m not putting something new on anything less than a freshly washed floor. As much as I hate cleaning, I can’t let that go!
After the painting last year, I replaced all of the switch plate covers for the lights and outlets in those areas, which I recommend as a reasonably inexpensive way to freshen things up. I also bought a new cabinet, mirror, and doorbell cover which brightened up this little wall (see pic below). There used to be a smaller, wood framed mirror, an open wood shelf that’s now in the living room, and a very old dingy looking doorbell cover there, so everything is brighter now. I sold the cabinet that had been in the living room, holding DVD’s, which are unfortunately still in my basement. I never said I was perfect! Perfect is the enemy of progress, right? Maybe next spring I’ll do something with the DVD’s, and I’ll report back.
As for the blank walls, I’m not going to force myself to buy something when I haven’t quite made up my mind. I don’t want to rush it. I’ve been down rabbit holes shopping for Paul Klee prints, canvas reproductions, and even looked at some originals at one point. I’ve had shopping carts full at three different websites, then second-guessed myself and abandoned them all. And now the Memorial Day sales are all over, and those walls are still bare. It’s funny that I’ve slogged my way through three Spring Cleaning posts, and now that I’ve gotten to the best part, I’m too exhausted to make the shopping decisions. I’m not worried about it because now that I have an idea of what’s out there, it’s only a matter of time before I’m in the right mood to spend money.
The one other thing I’ve been wanting/waiting to do is to frame some new pictures of friends, family, and dogs. Some of the frames have held older photos and it was time to switch them up. A couple of them formerly held wedding pictures, or other photos of my ex, and had been sitting in a box in my closet for years. Last summer I went through that and kept the frames. I also bought some new ones. The holdup is threefold: first I have to go through old photos, then I have to go through digital photos on my iPad and send those to Walgreens to print and purchase, and finally, I have to clean the frames/glass and place the photos. That’s a lot of sifting and making decisions, so, overwhelming.
But here I am to tell you that someday is today, and I’ve gone through a ton of old family photos and chosen some. Now I’m going to take a little break and look through my iPad to find photos for the rest of the frames I have to fill…ok, back from wasting a ton of time on the Walgreens app—what a pain in the ass! That took waaayy too long and now it’s going to be too dark to get good photos of my finished product, but I’ll update the online version of this tomorrow morning, so if you’re curious, take a look.
I’m going to leave it at that. I’m sorry if you expected any actual cleaning tips like “Baking soda and vinegar will get your stainless steel shining and remove those tea and coffee stains from your favorite YETI mug.” Ok, so there’s one. But I’m most motivated to clean when I’m making way for something new. Likewise, I hate doing laundry, but if there’s a new purchase I want to wash before wearing, I’m on it! If getting something new or making a change can help motivate you to clean, I recommend it. Do whatever you have to do! One last tip—treat yourself to fresh flowers when you’re done. I’m going to Trader Joe’s tomorrow after I finish framing the rest of my pictures and updating this post. For now, here’s a poppy from my backyard this morning to enjoy.
What are the cleaning, or other spring tasks you’ve been putting off? This is a shame-free zone, so feel free to post in the comments—especially if it will help get you moving. Of course I also want to hear about what you’ve gotten done this spring, so brag away! Finally, what does getting these kinds of tasks finished free you up to do? For me, it’s writing!
A SOMEDAY TIMES NEWSFLASH:
This is a great time to upgrade your subscription, because I’m going to start leading 60-minute generative writing workshops on Zoom in June. They’ll be for my paid subscribers, with a pathway for free subscribers to attend, and also a sale! All levels of writers are welcome. The first workshop will be on Hermit Crab Essays. If you’ve never heard of them, even more reason to attend!
Stay tuned for more information on this soon!
The last few years, I exerted all of my cleaning energy going through my late husband’s accumulation at the expense of my own. I think it’s about time I take care of my own.
Your house is much cleaner than my house even though you think you don't clean very often. I clean way less often...