Cleaning Jags
Those who have been to my flat will attest to its, um, somewhat chaotic nature. (Important things, such as keys and leash and purse, have their places and are always put neatly away, but the rest of the material universe that is mine is generally in a state of flux.) Usually, I justify this by the fact that it’s just Nigel and me to be bothered by the mess, and he’s reasonably tolerant of the stacks of books and CDs and DVDs waiting to be read or watched or put away. Even with my heightened tolerance, though, I occasionally reach a breaking point, and then will spend hours cleaning.
Such a breaking point occurred today, though if you hadn’t seen it beforehand, you might not believe me. It started in the kitchen — which is usually reasonably organized, except perhaps for a few dishes in the sink — as I was cleaning up after breakfast. Wiping down the counters and stove led to polishing the stainless steel fridge, which led to vacuuming the tiles, which led to vacuuming the entire flat* and then to scrubbing the floors. (Scrubbing instead of mopping, because there are few open spaces of tile or wood that are not mostly covered by the huge Oriental carpet, so it’s frankly easier to get down and scour the nooks and crannies by hand; you simply can’t get to everything with a mop.) Trash and recycling were taken out to the receptacles. Laundry was done. Futon mattress was flipped. Dishwasher was run and the clean dishes actually put away afterward. Valiant attempts were made to detach the Cuisinart’s whisk attachment from the work bowl pillar, but those were unsuccessful. (My dad may have to step in; he was the only person who could fix it last time it got stuck.) Dog was perplexed by and slightly anxious about all the weird and unfamiliar activity.
There is still disorder and chaos, but at least it’s clean disorder and chaos.
I lead such an exciting life. o.O
It may be that I had too much coffee this morning, because in addition to all of that, I also did a fair amount of baking: biscuits and tempeh sausage for breakfast (photographed for my Flickr page, now that my camera batteries are recharged), a chocolate walnut loaf cake this afternoon (currently cooling to the point at which I can glaze it — I think I can manage a glaze, if not actual icing), and an experiment in making seitan in my slow cooker. Beyond baking and cleaning, I also managed to clear out at least a little of my Lifehacker backlog on Bloglines: I was up to about 150 archived posts, dating back to November, and by dint of a couple hours’ effort I have now managed to get the backlog to under 100.
I know, not the most thrilling update in the world. Whatever. At least next weekend, I’ll have the Sisters of Mercy concert, which should be interesting. (More interesting than this, at least, even if you aren’t a SoM fan.)
*** ***
*Vacuuming the flat is no small undertaking, despite its small dimensions. Nigel sheds a ridiculous amount of hair, and my vacuum cleaner was chosen more for the fact that it dismantles for easy storage in a cabinet than for its capacity, so I have to stop five or six times during a session to empty the receptacle. I’d consider getting another one, except for (1) the expense, and (2) the fact that the dinky little vacuum is the only one I’ve ever found that is quiet enough not to freak out Nigel, who ordinarily is terrified of vacuums.
