(no subject)

[electricland]

I need to entertain more; it's the only way my apartment will stay tidy.

Let it be known, first off, that I am a crap housekeeper. I don't have the right habits and I can usually think of ever so many better things to do with my time, like reading or sleeping.

Also (and valancyjane will likely recognize the source of the quote) "I'd far rather sweep a dirty floor than a clean one. I'd see something for my labour then." I don't do maintenance well, with the result that usually the place gets right away from me without my noticing until I wake up one day to discover there's only one six-inch-wide path from my bed to the door, with a tributary off to the couch.

Living in the midst of chaos does bother me, though. I'm far happier and calmer in orderly surroundings. I think housework is going to have to be like going to the gym: I have to remind myself of the benefits, even when I don't want to do it. (I have gone so far as to write out some of the benefits; the problem is I don't usually look at the list.)

Anyway, our little tenants' get-together on Sunday pushed me to get the place in order (at least the public part). Fortunately Mary came over Sunday morning and watched while I cleaned; I seem to clean better with witnesses, it stops me slacking off. So I put away a ton of stuff, or at least put it into piles, and swept and vacuumed and recycled, and cleaned the bathroom sink (I find I can live with a lot if the sink is clean). I'm getting places. I am. I've started tidying up during commercial breaks as well; folding laundry goes well with TV, and I put away my summer clothes last night.

The problem is that I will probably get the place cleaned up, and I will be happy, and I will enjoy it for a couple of weeks. Then some cataclysmic event (like Christmas) will happen, and the place will be chaos again, and the whole cycle will start over.

There isn't really a point to all this, although if any better housekeepers than I would care to share their wisdom, that would be appreciated. Mostly, I guess I just want to memorialize this moment when the apartment is -- well, not PERFECT, but pretty much acceptable.

Comments

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, paralysis! I love that part.

Is a good philosophy, but yes, I struggle with it too.