March madness

Of course I started picking up my hall bathroom at 1 AM. Doesn't everyone?

As kukkurkurat rightly surmised, I used the time-honored method of sitting on the throne and doing a reach-and-sort. Gathered together an absolutely ridiculous quantity of 'zines, which hardly scratched the surfvace.

I thought I'd sequestered all the Mary Engelbreit Home Companions the last time I got a wild hair going in there, but clearly not. Another dozen or so have surfaced, and a couple of Belle Armoire. I really wish I knew what I did with that package of page protecters, they'd come in very handy. Especially since I found a couple of pristine looseleafs while burrowing in the middle room.

Got a full kitchen-sized bag of trash out of there---empty cardboard rolls, empty tissue packages and a lot of assorted 'zine subscription cards. Found three pennies in an otherwise empty tote bag. Another tote yielded a vinyl accordian folder, a VERY old, very limited MP3 player,and 4 brand-new AAA batteries still in the package. Shazam. I'll be able to play with my better MP3 player without being as miserly about conserving batteries. (I put a fresh one in the other day, and I had one other left. Now I have five.)

Found a sweatery-blazerish thing...I *think* Kat gave it to me, must've been ages ago, 'cause I'm not sure. At this point, I can just barely get it on and button it. I wouldn't say it fits---but it's only a size large. There's no doubt in my mind that when I received it, I smiled and thanked her politely and set it aside convinced that it would NEVER fit---and now it almost does!

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March madness

Of course I started picking up my hall bathroom at 1 AM. Doesn't everyone?

As kukkurkurat rightly surmised, I used the time-honored method of sitting on the throne and doing a reach-and-sort. Gathered together an absolutely ridiculous quantity of 'zines, which hardly scratched the surfvace.

I thought I'd sequestered all the Mary Engelbreit Home Companions the last time I got a wild hair going in there, but clearly not. Another dozen or so have surfaced, and a couple of Belle Armoire. I really wish I knew what I did with that package of page protecters, they'd come in very handy. Especially since I found a couple of pristine looseleafs while burrowing in the middle room.

Got a full kitchen-sized bag of trash out of there---empty cardboard rolls, empty tissue packages and a lot of assorted 'zine subscription cards. Found three pennies in an otherwise empty tote bag. Another tote yielded a vinyl accordian folder, a VERY old, very limited MP3 player,and 4 brand-new AAA batteries still in the package. Shazam. I'll be able to play with my better MP3 player without being as miserly about conserving batteries. (I put a fresh one in the other day, and I had one other left. Now I have five.)

Found a sweatery-blazerish thing...I *think* Kat gave it to me, must've been ages ago, 'cause I'm not sure. At this point, I can just barely get it on and button it. I wouldn't say it fits---but it's only a size large. There's no doubt in my mind that when I received it, I smiled and thanked her politely and set it aside convinced that it would NEVER fit---and now it almost does!

.

WTF?!

Two and a half cartons of 'zines in the hall bathroom. That's not including the things I tossed, like outdated Fire Mountain Gems catalogs from 2003, or the MEHCs (I found two more *headdesk*) or the books (desktop encyclopedia, circa 1955, Video Movie Guide). I foresee a lot of tearing and cutting as I go through them.

And the bathrooms are only one item on my "ToDo" list.

24 hours and counting down....

.

WTF?!

Two and a half cartons of 'zines in the hall bathroom. That's not including the things I tossed, like outdated Fire Mountain Gems catalogs from 2003, or the MEHCs (I found two more *headdesk*) or the books (desktop encyclopedia, circa 1955, Video Movie Guide). I foresee a lot of tearing and cutting as I go through them.

And the bathrooms are only one item on my "ToDo" list.

24 hours and counting down....

.

T-minus twelve hours and counting....

It's getting late. The bathrooms have taken most of my day. They're not quite done---the vanity in the hall is a foot high, and I think I'm going to dump it all into a clear trash bag and sort it later. My bath needs a few swipes with a Magic Eraser---it has some evil-looking rust stains I'd like to minimize. But my sink is accessable for the first time in at least a year, and vanity aside, the hall bath is orderly within an inch of its life.

I'm telling myself that even if I don't do another blessed thing, my house is still in better shape than it has been in at least five years. And yet, I'm already framing apologies. I honestly doubt GK is going to perform a white glove test. She may mention the dust; her family all has allergies, so she's used to more of a clean-room environment---and yes, there's real dust. It's been enough of a job to get the solid stuff dealt with. Even though she hasn't been in here in a while, she knows me.

You guys, I really can't thank you enough for all the support you've given me. You cut me more slack than I cut myself. I think one of the reasons I've let it all go for so long is because I'll never live up to my own standards, so why bother? Maybe because while cleaning may not be pleasant, living in a tidy environment IS. It's nice coming home and having room to set things down and not have to walk a tightrope just to get three bags of food to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I've come across a half-dozen more cans, a shirt and tank I'd lost track of in my bath, while the hall bath has yielded a buffalo nickel, some porn, and a spray can of teflon-based household lubricant. IDEK.

I'm going to finish up the bathrooms, hit the shower and go to bed. I've set my alarm so I can take care of loose ends that I'm too tired for tonight.

GK sent a copy of the schedule for the RenFest. There's a kilt competition. Be still my heart!

.

T-minus twelve hours and counting....

It's getting late. The bathrooms have taken most of my day. They're not quite done---the vanity in the hall is a foot high, and I think I'm going to dump it all into a clear trash bag and sort it later. My bath needs a few swipes with a Magic Eraser---it has some evil-looking rust stains I'd like to minimize. But my sink is accessable for the first time in at least a year, and vanity aside, the hall bath is orderly within an inch of its life.

I'm telling myself that even if I don't do another blessed thing, my house is still in better shape than it has been in at least five years. And yet, I'm already framing apologies. I honestly doubt GK is going to perform a white glove test. She may mention the dust; her family all has allergies, so she's used to more of a clean-room environment---and yes, there's real dust. It's been enough of a job to get the solid stuff dealt with. Even though she hasn't been in here in a while, she knows me.

You guys, I really can't thank you enough for all the support you've given me. You cut me more slack than I cut myself. I think one of the reasons I've let it all go for so long is because I'll never live up to my own standards, so why bother? Maybe because while cleaning may not be pleasant, living in a tidy environment IS. It's nice coming home and having room to set things down and not have to walk a tightrope just to get three bags of food to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I've come across a half-dozen more cans, a shirt and tank I'd lost track of in my bath, while the hall bath has yielded a buffalo nickel, some porn, and a spray can of teflon-based household lubricant. IDEK.

I'm going to finish up the bathrooms, hit the shower and go to bed. I've set my alarm so I can take care of loose ends that I'm too tired for tonight.

GK sent a copy of the schedule for the RenFest. There's a kilt competition. Be still my heart!

.