Out in the yard

Sorry for the lack of cruising other blogs during the last few days. I've been working up a sweat in the yard, raking and sweeping and tidying things up. I wrote several posts ahead of time, which is why they're so nicely appearing every day for your reading pleasure.

It's supposed to rain all day today, so I might be forced indoors to clean, decorate, and blog. How horrible! :)

Like crack for my OCD

I stumbled upon Organize.com while cleaning out the fridge. I want to store all the eggs we have (from the store and from Pete's mom and friend) in something besides the flimsy plastic containers eggs come in. Anyhow, I was looking online for storage stuff and found Organize.com's website. I almost started shaking in my seat. I know if I start browsing now that I'll never get around to cleaning the fridge out, which is what I'm supposed to be doing at the moment. But I'll just say that if you have fantasies about perfectly organized and compartmentalized living spaces like I do, you might want to check it out.

Trapped in the spare room

Certain cats like to frolic inside/underneath the dining room floor when Pete is working on it and has his back turned, so these particular cats had to be properly contained. You'd think they were being sent to prison or something, the way they were looking so confused and hurt.

Sorry about the icky windows, I'm in the middle of renovations and cleaning and job hunting, and I have yet to shine them.

A moratorium on Dove

That's it. I've declared a moratorium on the usage of bars of Dove soap in our house. It's reached an insane level, and I have to put a stop to it. While cleaning the bathroom yesterday, I found not fewer than four bars of soap, all in various stages of use, from fresh out of the box to almost a sliver. And it's no better downstairs at the kitchen sink. I discovered that not only is there a fresh bar in my rabbit soap holder (which is being used as an ashtray by someone, which is infuriating), but there's also a slightly slimmer bar on the other side of the sink, resting on a scrubbing pad. And I'm sure there's another bar or two in the downstairs bathroom, which we don't use, since the toilet broke a while ago (we're renting).

Why? Why all the soap? I don't understand it. I admit, I don't like using soap when it's in that super thin, about-to-snap-in-two stage, but I pretty much use it up til that point. And why the multiple bars? Especially when I find two or three in one soap dish, and another two or three in the shower? I just don't get it, but it's certainly starting to rub me the wrong way (ha ha).

So I decided I'm going to put the remaining stock under lock and key (i.e. hide it) until the current bars are properly used up. The stuff ain't cheap, and there's nothing more annoying than getting in the shower and having all these bars of soap fall around your feet as you attempt to dodge the little toe-seeking blocks of cleanliness.

Scrub-a-dub-dub

One of my goals this year is to tackle the cleaning and organization of my entire home, bit by bit. I need to get it into shape so that it is spruced up and ready to go, in the event that we need to be move-ready. Not only that, but it's sorely needing a good cleaning and organizing, and I figure doing little chunks like that will be easier than facing the entire house head-on.

So I thought I'd start with the upstairs bathroom. It's horribly grungy and gross, mainly due to pet/human hair deposits, soap scum, and lots and lots of dirt, via Pete. Pete is a sheet metal worker and comes home literally covered in dirt and debris, and of course goes upstairs to wash when we get home. The resulting mess is scream-worthy, with dirt-caked bars of soap, splattered filth on the shower/bathroom walls, and super grubby bathroom tile. I try to keep on top of the mess, and he tries to keep things clean, but it doesn't seem to work out that way.



Anyhow, today I thought I'd do the bathroom, and I'm about two hours into scrubbing out the tub. THAT'S how dirty it is! I'm literally shaking from the effort, which is bad, because I tend to start feeling well and overdo the physical stuff, and then I pay for it the next day. But I'm almost done, thanks in no small part to the magical powers of Kaboom. This stuff is like a miracle worker for women like me, who have to excavate their bathroom fixtures from layer after layer of crud. Granted, it's taking more than a few rounds to get the shower done, but it's rather nasty in there, and I don't fault Kaboom for not miraculously cutting through so much grime. I highly recommend you get yourself some (the spray and the scrub are both awesome). I've never used it on my floors before, but I'm thinking I might try. They're pretty dingy.

Well, I'd better get back while I still have some energy to devote to scrubbing. Sigh...