Cleaning

 While sorting out some books I came across some of my old diaries. These were from when the kids were in school. I would write about things we did together, days out, or special meals. The problems the kids were having at school. My thoughts and feelings about what was happening in my family or the world. One constant theme was cleaning!

A typical entry would state that I had cleaned the kitchen but the living room needed doing. Or I got one bedroom done but the others were a disaster.

After Hisao died a lot of entries said that the whole house was a disaster!

I don't think I've had every single room completely clean at the same time. Maybe just before going to England for a few weeks and then it was by sheer hard work!

Why can't I clean? I don't think it's just laziness, although that plays a part, when the kids were little I would rather spend time with them than washing dishes.  I always thought that once the kids were older the house would be clean, but now I have cats! It wasn't because I worked, I did but I worked from home and used to pick up flutters in between classes.

I think I lack organization! I remember my Mom had certain days for certain jobs. Until she got an automatic washing machine Saturday mornings were wash days. It didn't matter what the weather was she would pull out the twin tub and do the laundry. She would get it dry and ready to iron by Sunday afternoon. Monday morning we would have clean clothes for school.  

I do laundry almost every day. It gets washed, dried, and dumped in my room. I have a mountain of clean clothes at the foot of my bed. I keep asking the kids to collect their clothes and put them away. Every few weeks I spend an hour folding and putting away clothes. 

I keep on top of the daily chores, floors swept, vacuumed, and mopped but the dirty dishes seem to multiply by themselves!  The other week I spent two hours just washing dishes! 

I've read books about cleaning and household organizing.  Some of them stated the obvious, such as wash your delicate tableware first then the more dirty dishes, and dust before vacuuming.  I know those things, kind of common sense but how to get it done, a checklist of priorities, finding the motivation.  This is what I need.

Reading these books, and watching TV shows about cleaning made me wonder how did my Mom and millions of other Moms cope without these resources.  I think my Mom would tell me to stop reading, get off my fat backside, and do the dishes.  

And maybe that is the secret, just doing something every day. 

The next few months here are going to be chaotic. I have boxes stacked in my bedroom, the corridor that runs behind the two tatami rooms, and the cupboard in the teaching room. As I box up things I'm cleaning shelves and drawers, basically dust that has built up over the years, my allergies are getting bad!!  I've decided that in the other house, I will keep it clean. I'll organize myself to do chores every day. I want to make videos of recipes that I try out, so I'll need to keep my kitchen spotless.  I really want to have a nice place to live in. I don't like the layout of the house, lots of dead spaces, but I think by adding touches that reflect me and keeping it clean I should be alright living there.

Cats in a box

It's hot, even in the evening it's about 31C but the cats still find the smallest box and get in together.