26 May 2012

spring cleaning

Today is the sort of day when Mama used to open all of our windows and doors, letting fresh, sun-soaked air filter through the house. Birdsong echoed in the corridors; the sounds of cars, neighbours, children playing, settled in the rooms. Then she'd break out the vacuum, the mops, the dusters, the toilet bowl cleaners, some music and an apron, and get to work.

She'd put us to work too, of course. She'd write up a list of chores what needed to get done and my sister and I would divide the list in half according to type of chore and get going. I hated dusting the most. I'm not sure what Jenn always tried to avoid.

The only reason my flat is in a halfway-presentable state right now is because my friend Aisling is coming over for the weekend. Otherwise, I'd still be living in a pretty terrible mess--the carpet covered in little bits of crumbs and other detritus, every available surface covered in clothing or clutter, the bathroom layered in soap scum and spiderwebs. The kitchen... haha. Pretty much the only time I wash dishes nowadays is when I need to use one that is already dirty. Luckily, all the dishes I own fit in the sink with room to spare, so it doesn't get TOO gross. You can only make so much of a mess with three bowls, six spoons, two pots, one pan...

Mama might not believe this, but when I was in university I was actually a pretty clean person. When I had a kitchen, I cleaned it either every day or every other day, and was extremely intolerant of dishes festering in or near the sink. I'd tidy my clutter fairly often, and even wash my bedsheets and pillowcases from time to time. I'd even clean up after my roommates or apartment mates if they didn't clean up after themselves.

Nowadays, I don't clean jack. I keep things hygienic (no mould, mice, or bugs plz), but that's about it. I think that when I was in school, cleaning was a type of procrastination for me. It was much easier to potter around in my room organising my piles of clutter than it was to sit down and read a boring textbook or start writing an essay or something. And washing dishes is something that I tend to do a lot when I'm depressed or otherwise lacking in mental energy... something mindless that doesn't tax the brain but at the same time is productive and necessary.

I'd like to say that my excuse for not cleaning often is because I'm so busy doing awesome things and hardly spend any time in this flat. I am working full time and go out on the bike a lot, but I spend most of time here, on my computer, watching youtube or whatever. Sitting in my mess.

Ah, well. I've got the window open and I can hear the birds and it smells like spring. Summer, even. Too bad the minute I open my window my room fills with directionally-challenged flies.


pax.

1 comment:

  1. A writer once wrote that when she had an article deadline, she cleaned house . . . but when she needed to clean, she was inspired to write. Procrastination is funny, isn't it?
    Love you!
    ~Aunt Becky

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