Monday, January 12, 2004
Clean Freak
It is truly amazing how good it makes me feel to have a clean house, apartment, living space, what have you. This weekend was another big cleaning weekend, and it seems like every time we have one, the shape of the apartment moves a few more significant steps toward finality. The Christmas tree is gone, which is good, since the auto-watering bottle didn't really do its job properly and the tree died while we were traveling. The lights are all put away neatly in a box, as are all the ornaments. I discovered all sorts of extra storage space in the sides of the linen closet. The mirror in the bedroom is finally actually hung on the wall, as opposed to resting on the dresser. The very last box that hadn't really found a place when we moved in is unpacked, all objects put away, and the empty box thrown away. Mark's desk has reached a stable incarnation, with the shelves painted black, to match the new flat panel monitor, cordless mouse, and printer. We can see the floor in all the rooms, and it's all been vacuumed. New flanel sheets adorn the bed. The laundry is all put away. And correspondingly, my mind feels more ordered, and I feel far more ready to take on the task of organizing teaching class this semester than I ever did last semester.
It's not something I ever realized before I lived on my own, but I truly do like having things in their place, or at least knowing there is a place to put them, should I get around to it. When I lived at home, I was greatly in favor of the pile system of organization, but then again, I kept it all in one room, and I knew exactly where things were within those piles. When I went to Grinnell, I had a limited amount of stuff and space, and to stay sane, things had to be in their own place, because there wasn't anywhere else for them to be. I got a reputation for having a very clean room, an idea which I'm sure my mother would have scoffed at. In Japan, I started feeling the beginnings of "I need this to be organized, it's driving me nuts." Hopefully, before this year is over, this apartment will have reached a point of static organization, and cleaning will not have to be done in such marathon weekends. Of course, if that happens, I won't have weekends ending on such a note of exaltation.
Here's to organization, within and without. A goal for the year, no doubt.
-PS - I have not forgotten about the wedding, I'm just waiting to get the pictures up before I write about it.
It is truly amazing how good it makes me feel to have a clean house, apartment, living space, what have you. This weekend was another big cleaning weekend, and it seems like every time we have one, the shape of the apartment moves a few more significant steps toward finality. The Christmas tree is gone, which is good, since the auto-watering bottle didn't really do its job properly and the tree died while we were traveling. The lights are all put away neatly in a box, as are all the ornaments. I discovered all sorts of extra storage space in the sides of the linen closet. The mirror in the bedroom is finally actually hung on the wall, as opposed to resting on the dresser. The very last box that hadn't really found a place when we moved in is unpacked, all objects put away, and the empty box thrown away. Mark's desk has reached a stable incarnation, with the shelves painted black, to match the new flat panel monitor, cordless mouse, and printer. We can see the floor in all the rooms, and it's all been vacuumed. New flanel sheets adorn the bed. The laundry is all put away. And correspondingly, my mind feels more ordered, and I feel far more ready to take on the task of organizing teaching class this semester than I ever did last semester.
It's not something I ever realized before I lived on my own, but I truly do like having things in their place, or at least knowing there is a place to put them, should I get around to it. When I lived at home, I was greatly in favor of the pile system of organization, but then again, I kept it all in one room, and I knew exactly where things were within those piles. When I went to Grinnell, I had a limited amount of stuff and space, and to stay sane, things had to be in their own place, because there wasn't anywhere else for them to be. I got a reputation for having a very clean room, an idea which I'm sure my mother would have scoffed at. In Japan, I started feeling the beginnings of "I need this to be organized, it's driving me nuts." Hopefully, before this year is over, this apartment will have reached a point of static organization, and cleaning will not have to be done in such marathon weekends. Of course, if that happens, I won't have weekends ending on such a note of exaltation.
Here's to organization, within and without. A goal for the year, no doubt.
-PS - I have not forgotten about the wedding, I'm just waiting to get the pictures up before I write about it.
