Home Improvement

Anyone else feel like housework is underrated and way too time consuming? Now I know why Roombas are so popular.

what have I done to myself

In the children's classic story If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, a small mouse gets a bit carried away after he receives his cookie, then asks for some milk, then a straw, a mirror so he won't get a milk moustache, scissors to trim his whiskers, a broom to sweep his trimmings, and so on.

Small vent: Just spent an hour measuring doorways and a hallway, cutting cable covers down to size, scrubbing the floor, and installing them. Then I decided to take out an old one that was peeling up and made more work for myself--see photo above. (The old one has to be cleaned, the floor beneath it has to be cleaned again, and I have to wait for some more double-sided tape to arrive before I can continue my tirade of reinstalling this old strip, again.)

But on the other hand, it will feel so much better when it's all done. Why? My boyfriend says that I have OCD. I call it Cleaning Enthusiasm and Fulfillment. What I enjoy about fixing up my apartment (and sometimes his) is a feeling of both catharsis and accomplishment, that I honestly think a lot of people (ahem, men I've ever dated) take for granted. It's like any other exercise or goal, but in more meditative and with immediate results.

Also, have you ever seen these vacuums? Boyfriend's brother bought something like this for their place and it literally makes cleaning fun. All the joy of mindlessly sucking dust and crumbs off the floor, couch, baseboards, nightstands, side tables... they have a lot of furniture. Without the cord!

beautiful

This all reminds me to just take (what I still call) chores day by day. Because I am definitely the mouse.