Guilty pleasure

I have to admit, I like cleaning. I like having a tidy, organized, clean space. Whether it’s at work or at home, I like nothing better than neatness, cleanliness and organization.

That’s why I love shops like Staples, where they sell everything you need to organize your office space. I love stickies, tags, folders, page protectors, binders, paper clips, etc.

At our new home, I find that cleaning things makes me get to know the house. There are nooks and crannies that are only revealed to me when I’m down on my hands and knees cleaning those skirting boards. And nothing like cleaning their frames to know exactly what personality each window has.

I particularly love things that are clean in the kitchen and I love the cleaning supplies that make it so. Right now, we have shelving units at one wall lined with cleaning supplies. They reflect my interest and…well, almost addiction to the things. I love commercials that show amazing cleaning products and love buying said items to give me better odds against my war on dirt. Nothing produces a happier sigh than the sight of clean counters and appliances.

Now our new house didn’t come this clean. We spent an entire day cleaning the kitchen from the top of the cupboards, to the doors, insides, counters, appliances (inside and out) and finally the floors. We also cleaned the bathrooms and the rest of the floors. We’ve done well since then, but, since this home is large and poky, there are still corners and things that need to be cleaned. Today, I’m washing the kitchen sheer curtains. They looked clean before, but now…I spotted nasty dirt on the white background and discolouration on the edges. They must be cleaned.

There is something so soothing about watching dirt disappear.

What the…

We’re selling our home. Last time we moved, we didn’t really pack until the movers were knocking on our door and it was an absolute disaster. The mere mention still causes me to shake with apprehension.

This time around, I wanted to be ready to go early. So I started getting rid of ‘junk’. It’s incredible how things collect around a house. Especially when one’s husband is afraid to get rid of anything.

My lovely hubby is a therapist and he doesn’t just have compassion for people in pain, lost animals or charities, he’ll rescue anything from an old school record to pictures of flowers.

I’ve found his dental records. From when he was 12. And paint, from our previous house. And tea lights…about a thousand of them.

Then there were the keys…

They seem like perfectly good keys and bring up the point: what do they open? We get in and out of our house and cars without their help so are they from our former home?

I wanted to throw them out while hubby was busy but that’s tricky. In my efforts to get rid of junk, I’ve thrown out valuables before. Once, we were almost stuck in Mexico because I threw out our papers to return–no joke.

Then there’s the fact that those keys will be useless if I leave them, but if I throw them out, they’ll open the safe with our passports or the next home we purchase. They might even haunt me or something.

No. It’s much better if I put them all into a little ziploc bag and leave them be. They’re obviously happy making their home with us.

My hubby would be proud…except if he read this post he’d also be suspicious.

I’ve thrown out those tea light candles.