August 11, 2010: The Big Clean

I know what you are thinking. "If that is clean, then WHAT is dirty?" Let me make my case here, though. A year ago we started a huge painting/remodeling process throughout the main level of the house. I knew it was going to be at least an 18 month, maybe even 2 year process. I know this because I am realistic (sometimes) about who I am, who Dave is, and how lazy we really are.

This past week, mostly driven by anger and hurt feelings, which is when I tend to clean and clean with a vengeance, I went into overdrive on the house. I figured that we couldn't continue with the projects until things are clean enough to do just that! So this is what clean is to me right now. Not perfect, not ideal, but, I threw away about five large black bags of stuff and my trash won't hold more than that so I need to wait until next week to do more. Right now I would say that things are in working order, and most important to me - I know where things are.

This is our bedroom from the doorway. I need to get a new comforter, and I know which one I want. I just don't want to pay for it yet. I'm going for a blue, white, brown theme (if you couldn't tell) and will do splashes of color here and there - pillows, a tapestry on the wall over our bed that used to be in our entryway, etc.

Since Dave works from home once a week, we set up a desk for him in our bedroom. He doesn't use it. Instead, he takes up space on my dining room table. I am hoping if the room is clean he will move back to our bedroom. I know he reads this. The pile of jeans is going to turn into a denim quilt sometime when I am too old to sit on the ground and use it. The rocking chair and the clock were both built by my fabulous brother-in-law, Kelly. The rainbow calendar was from a Kindergarten project.

I am not responsible for the banana peel in the garbage can. That would be the work of my children, who are not supposed to eat anywhere but the kitchen. I find food wrappers in my garbage all the time. I bought this matching dresser for about 1/3 of the price that it originally was because the whole set has been discontinued. Dave and I were discussing today that we still really love this furniture after all these years (6) of having it. That's a good sign. The baby sweater hanging on the wall with the bonnet and lei around it are special to me and I always want them hanging where I can see them in my room. Especially those crappy days when I am wondering if I really have any friends. The sweater and bonnet came from my dear friend Ginny. Ginny is an only child and the bonnet was hers as a baby. When Clara was born she sent it to me because she wanted a baby girl that she would love to wear it. When her son has a baby girl, I will give it back. The sweater she found at a thrift store. The day before I had Clara, I got a huge package from Ginny with all sorts of stuff that was meaningful for our friendship. She's a friend to grow old with.

The curtains need to be lowered, but that ain't gonna happen. The cedar chest was my mom's and was in my bedroom growing up. It stores my sweaters sometimes.

The dumbest thing we did was not get a double sink when we built this house. I don't know what I was thinking that day, and have regretted it ever since. I guess I thought we could just put one in later. Well, six years later, we haven't. Will it get done? Probably when we are getting ready to move because who would buy this house without a double sink? It's annoying.

I gutted the closet and have a huge black bag of clothes to take to D.I. this week. Or next week. Whenever I can get around to it. I love how organized this is now. I can find things.

This is Dave's corner. He only needs a corner. He only wears polos and long-sleeved plaid shirts. Maybe a boring wardrobe, but, if he's happy, I'm happy.

We have too many random t-shirts and when they were all hung up they took up too much space. I got this idea from a house for sale that my mom and I toured in Midway last week. Just roll them! Now I can actually find the ratty t-shirt that I want instead of rolling through all of them. And since they are high up and I really need a stool to get to them easily, I tend to wear my nicer stuff first. Kacy would be happy about that.

This is Clara's lame bedroom. You would think that I would be all hyper about making it cute since she is my little girl and that is what moms of little girls are supposed to do - make their stuff cute. The bedroom is actually a very pale yellow that I hate, and I plan to paint it pink and do beadboard and all that stuff someday (probably the week she graduates high school), but first she has to stop doing this:

Maybe we will do it when she is in school all day and has another creative outlet.

This is the third time I have rearranged my office since moving into Josh's old bedroom in January. I think I have it right now. I plan to get two more file cabinets and shelving units to go along this wall. One cabinet for my business, one for Dave and me, and one for the kids'. That's the plan. I'll let you know when it happens. The pile of stuff in the middle of the room are magazines that need to go downstairs in the magazine piles I have created. Actually, a lot of this stuff needs to go downstairs because that is where I have decided it belongs until I decide on its final resting spot.

This is now where my desk is. I can still see out the window, which makes Lou happy. She even came over to help me move stuff and said that as long as I can see that she is alive, she is fine with where my desk is. The "Heidi" thing on the wall was painted by my dad when I was a baby. The Christmas box under the desk is filled with all of the Christmas cards that I have gotten over the past few years along with pictures. Also cards from Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.

All of my scrapbook stuff is now in this closet, along with the kids' craft stuff. The green boxes (ikea) are full of cds. The big green box was dumped in there by Josh yesterday because he had been packing his stuff up to go to his Ama's house and changed his mind (hence, the reason I can't ever keep the house clean). The white boxes will go in the file cabinet drawers. The purse needs to be gone through and then tossed because the strap broke. The picture on the wall is of my beloved Washington, DC. I miss Virginia.