I'm Cleaning Out My Closet

note: readers are required to hum the Eminem song "Cleaning out my closet" while reading this post.

mom, no offense, but let's be honest, cleaning in the Lenhoff household has never been something that we've regarded as a priority. sure we had chores, but we're a "clutter" kind of family, wouldn't you say?

too much clutter can drive me up the wall eventually, but generally speaking i have this philosophy that as long as you don't have stuff lying on your floor in piles, garbage isn't spilling over the sides of the can/bin, and there are no visible dead animals--your house is as clean as it needs to be. i found out during uni that others have different philosophies.

so today has been designated as spring cleaning day at Harry (16 Hereford Rd). AND SERIOUSLY...i felt a little like i was in the cleaning olympics. we met at 10am, made an EXHAUSTIVE list of what had to be done in each room (that in and of itself took an hour), were assigned to a room, and then we set off to our designated rooms and the cleaning commenced.

i must say that i woke up less than thrilled to partake in the cleaning marathon, but actually, don't tell anyone, but after five hours of cleaning our family room top to bottom, i'm really, really pleased with it. i dusted EVERYTHING, including the crown molding. i vaccumed and mopped. i cleaned out drawers. i even washed the windows both INSIDE and OUTSIDE.

after completion i found myself coming into the front room over and over again to look at the windows, to feel the dirt-free hardwood floor under my barefeet, to look at the symmetry of our shelves and furniture. it was euphoric.

i felt ashamed of the newly discovered joy in intensive cleaning that was revealed by the cleaning olympics, and i suppose i felt a little surprised as well. but it makes sense if you think about it. whether it's a shower after we've gotten grimy due to a hot day, or whether it's brushing our teeth after waking up with that "morning" kind of taste in our mouths...we like to be clean. i don't know why it would shock me that this concept can be applied so universally.

it's funny how being clean makes you feel, isn't it? like everything is just as it should be. i like it. i think i'm going to go and sit on my vaccumed couch, to look out of my freshly windex-ed bay windows...again.