Home Adventures: I'm Gonna Need to Pull Out My Spring Cleaning: The Musical! Sheet Music
Ah, yes. Spring is (trying to at a glacial pace) arriving fairly soon. And I've got the itch to do The Big Clean.
I do what I call the big clean twice a year: once in the spring to clear out what got built up over the winter, and in the fall to get ready to close up windows and hunker down. It's a top-to-bottom clean and meant to be my big hurrah.
I started doing this as a way to combat my difficulties with keeping my own room clean. I struggle with keeping things tidy when I have so much to do and it's very easy for me to get overwhelmed with dealing with...that. So I began scheduling it for an entire month to spread things out. Dusting, cleaning my windows, vacuuming out whatever dog fur my late dog Lexie left behind (It's the gift that keeps on giving).
This year is a bit bittersweet. For those who know, Lexie passed away last year and the anniversary of that is coming up. So for the year of 2024 it was very hard for me to do anything but just the motions. I have a ko-fi post about that and won't go into detail here, but a lot has been happening and motivation is hard to come by.
I started already at time of writing this by doing a clear out of all the laundry that has been building up. Laundry for neurodiverse folks is hard. My problem is finding time to do the laundry. I tend to prioritize my mother's over my own so she can get her stuff for the week. In the past, I would take everything to a local 24 hour laundromat and spend a few hours there. I talked about this on bluesky, but I liked going. Why?
I got out of the house, the sounds of the machines was comforting for me, and I got a lot done. At the time, I would budget $60 for coins, soda/snacks, and anything else that came up. And everything got done in one shot. My family would be so frustrated with me. We have a washer at home, so why do that? And it makes sense. I would do it at home, but given the fact things would either sit or Lexie would find it and call it her bed for a time I had to really clean everything. So a speed wash was not gonna cut it. At my childhood home the laundry/boiler room was small. And with other folks needing it and me needing things to just get done I figured it made more sense to just do it all in one shot.
Now that Mama Shears and I are in the current home, our laundry room is much larger. But there are some things I would love to do/have. A folding station is top priority for me. It makes more sense for us to have a station in that room so we can bring things up and put them away. I eventually want to pretty it up so it's not so dreary in there.
But back to my tidying up.
Since moving in, I have repurposed the area rug from the dining room for my room. It's nice, browns and greens to complement the bright walls and my feet don't feel cold in the mornings. And more importantly, it makes cleaning easier.
Before anyone asks, hear me out!
Rugs and carpets are a pain to clean, but when you have dogs it is the perfect magnet. I'd rather vacuum than to have random dust bunnies of fur around.
So vacuuming had to happen. Then the moving of dirty laundry and airing out the room had to happen, as well. Why the airing out? Well, I was moving around and housework always builds up a sweat. And fresh air after months of not being able to was a welcome change. Got the dust out, too.
The main focus right now is to get laundry washed, mended, and put away. Once things warm up it'll be time to swap out my seasonal wardrobes. Some things, like sweaters and certain shirts, will stay. Others will be washed and put away for the next Fall/Winter season. I will give my windows a good cleaning and see if I can repaint the sill. If not, I'll get some mats to keep the dust at bay.
So what are my goals for The Big Clean?
One: Get laundry under control. I want this to be something I do where even if it's small I wash it immediately. I only wear the same five things, so anything close to skin will get a wash and prepped for the next day. I've already moved my laundry basket away from my door to avoid it from becoming a drop zone for stuff.
Two: Dust Everything. I am going to have to get things under control. Mental health was not very good in the last few months, and all I wanted to do is just sleep. I have hurricane lamps that were my grandmother's and they need to be dusted/cleaned. Same with the furniture. I've done myself a favor and put down pretty mats to cover the tops of my night tables/dressers to protect from dust. But I also will have to take some wood polish and furniture wax to them to keep them looking their best.
Three: Take Back My Closet. Since moving in, I've not had time to properly organize my closet the way I want to. I have wanted to make it more my own, but time and money was at a premium. Still kinda is, but I would love to organize it in a way that makes sense to me. And perhaps put in new sliding doors.
Four: Shelves and picture rails. I want to put up shelving so I finally can put up all the books I have collected over the years. And not some flimsy shelving, I want the sturdy floating shelves I had as a kid that were bolted to the wall. There's a lot of opportunity to make it look like a magical Tumblr Attic Loft and I want to put in picture rails so I can hang up my artwork and change it out on a whim. The Shelving is so I can go in and just relax, read, watch TV, or whatever I want when I want to. The picture rails I'll just paint the colors of my wall, but the shelves I want to match my furniture. Bright walls and dark furniture makes the brain go Brr in the best way.
So that's the feasible goals, the ones that may take time would require more money and time. I would LOVE to have a smaller bed to not make the room look so small. I also don't need that big of a bed; just a Full sized one would be enough for me. My current is a queen and it's too big for its own frame. A murphy bed would be awesome, but unfortunately concessions would have to be made. So for now I'm just waiting for the washing machine to finish and get a move on with laundry.
