House Cleaning

Off facebook, a a running account of house cleaning, not because I find it interesting. Au contraire.

It was snowing when I got up, and the snow continued all morning and into the afternoon. So this is house cleaning on a snowy May day.

I find the best way for me to do housework, which I do NOT enjoy, is to do it slowly, with many breaks to do things such as go on facebook. This doesn't work if you are pressed for time. I also find it helps me to NOT be systematic. For example, I have started in the bathroom and then decided to clean the top of the refrigerator, which was terribly dusty. Once I climbed a step stool to work on that, I realized that the built-in wine rack above the refrigerator was also terribly dusty. We never use it, though I suppose we could store bottles of mineral water up there. Anyway, I dusted both, then tried racking the Pellegrino. It doesn't work. The bottles aren't the right shape. Back to the bathroom now. It is still snowing.
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The snow continues, though it's falling more lightly, and there is no accumulation. Another house cleaning tip: have plenty of thick, white, cotton bar cloths. They are super for dusting and drying
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Another tip: Be curious, but not obsessive. What is in the medicine cabinet? And while you are in there, clean the shelves and also the dust which has piled up on all the fragrance and lotion and soap samples you have collected, but never used. But if the goal is general cleaning, do not dive into a closet which is going to take hours. Files will probably require a day of their own, also cleaning out the computers.
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Bathroom is done. Furniture moved from living room, so the roomba can vacuum. First load of wash into dryer. Now on to the kitchen...
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I have finished the kitchen, more or less. The living room can't be dusted till the roomba is done. The hall can't be mopped, because the living room furniture is in the hall. The clothes are not dry yet, which means I cannot make the bed.
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Two more tips for house cleaning. Stop when you begin to get tired and frustrated.

Tip number two: always begin house cleaning several days before house guests or a party, so you can stop when you begin to get tired and frustrated and still have time to get the job done.

Tip number three: Consider whether you want everything you found under the kitchen counter. All those plastic bags, most of which are not large enough to be used in the garbage can. The wrapping paper that gets used once a year. The reusable grocery bags sent by grateful good cause organizations. The broken down cardboard boxes, saved for a reason you cannot remember...

The snow has stopped. Per NOAA, rain will follow.