Saturday, April 2, 2011

Sympathy for Cinderella

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Today the temperature is supposed to reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which means it is time for Spring Cleaning.  I made a list (of course I made a list) of everything I need to accomplish this weekend, given my lack of free time over the next couple of weekends.  The list includes lots and lots of cleaning.  The list ended up being two pages long…single spaced.  We moved into our fixer-upper house four or five years ago and for the first year or two, we were remodeling room by room.  So during those years, the house cleaning was not a priority, as the construction work was just going to make everything dusty and dirty anyways.  After that, we started our infertility treatments.  I never dreamed it would take so long to get pregnant, so I kept telling myself it was okay to just do maintenance cleaning during our cycles…that I would do the heavy duty cleaning post-pregnancy and pre-baby’s arrival.  Fast forward three years…and my house has now not had a REALLY good scrubbing for five years or so (not to mention that we bought the house from crack dealers who were attempting to out-run arrest warrants, so it probably hadn’t been cleaned too well when they were here, either).

I started cleaning three hours ago, and decided that the formal dining room would be the best room to start with.  If the dogs go potty in the house, the dining room is the room they do it in.  So, that is the room that I clean the most often (maybe third most often…bathroom and kitchen being first and second).  I thought I would start out easy.  Dusting the ceiling, molding, walls, light fixture, china cabinet, table and chairs first.  But when I started, I realized my husband had piled clutter on top of the table, so I had to clean that first…which then led to me opening mail and doing bills, budgeting, etc.  I’ve finally gotten through that, washed down walls, etc., and swept and mopped.  The room is as clean as it can be (with the exception of window washing which it is still too cold to do).  But I am dying.  The pain I’ve been having is so bad, and the bleeding started up again.  So, I am sitting, waiting for a pain pill to kick in, and wondering how I am going to get further into my list. 

I don’t want to go into this cycle with a dirty house.  As I’ve previously mentioned, I’m beginning to feel like everything in my life keeps being put on hold because of the infertility and endometriosis and I am sick of it.  I really think a clean house would make a big difference in my emotional outlook.  When I opened the curtains and the windows this morning, I had visions of a crypt being opened for the first time in centuries.  As the breeze rushed in, it made me smile.  I really missed the sunshine and breeze and my house needs a little “mood lift.”  I need a little “mood lift.”  Failure is not an option this weekend…I just don’t know how I am going to achieve success.  Cinderella I am not (although in fairness…she had birds and mice to help out, and my pugs just stare at me while I work). 


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What about a cleaning lady? I know they can be pricy, but given the situation, $!50 would be well worth the price! We have one that comes in every 3 weeks (not for $150) to do the nitty gritty stuff (cleaning the blinds, windows, baseboards, hardwoods on her hands and knees) and the normal cleaning. I love it because then once a week I can just run through and do maintenance work. We think it is well worth the cost; C definitely does bc since he writes the check, he thinks thats his contribution to house work!! haha

DandelionBreeze said...

Spring cleaning is like nesting... I always feel better after a good clean too but be gentle on yourself - don't push yourself too hard. Hope the mood lift keeps up for your cycle. Love always xoxo

Princess Wahna Bea Mama said...

It's funny that you should mention a cleaning lady. I was looking at prices for Merry Maids last night because I don't think I can pull off the major cleaning on my own right now. I can afford to hire one (for a couple of days), but there is an enormous list of things they will not do...and a good portion of the things I need done are on the "will not do" list. My new strategy is to just try to spread the cleaning out over today and the next week...as I don't have many evening activities this week. We'll see how it goes.