Cleaning up

I'm not sure I'd pass this test
But at least I'm closer
Hopefully I won't need to clean again for a while

I wouldn't say that I like cleaning, and I wouldn't say that I'm very good at it. I would say, though, that I recognize the importance of tidying up from time to time. And, while I love living alone, I would certainly admit that I was a more frequent cleaner when I had a room mate. I suppose this is a fringe benefit to living the bachelor life.

Living alone, I clean only when the spirit of disgust moves me, or when my feet start sticking to the kitchen floor, as they had been recently. Of course, it took me about a month to go from acknowledging that I really should clean up a bit to actually doing any cleaning, but with no racing this weekend, and a relatively light riding schedule, the conditions were perfect for cleaning.

Although I was home from my ride and fed by 2 p.m., it was 6 p.m. by the time I quit procrastinating and actually got around to clean something. Most of my cleaning was focused on the two rooms that are easiest to clean, the kitchen and bathroom. Once the tub, toilet, mirror and vanity were nice and shiny, I moved over to the kitchen sink, counters, and cook top. And that was enough for Sunday. With a little Bar Keeper's Friend, I'd discovered that there was a relatively shiny sink underneath a layer of grime in the kitchen, and that my bathroom faucet was easily relieved of dripped toothpaste. So that was all good.

Today, I spent a while cleaning the floors, which are most decidedly no longer sticky, and returned to their former linoleum glory. And that was enough for today. Depending on whether or not I can motivate myself for a third day, I'll break out the vacuum, but I wouldn't want to get too crazy all at once -- and I may need something to look forward to this weekend. If only I didn't have carpets, I'd have had this place swept up already. So it goes.

I also managed to get rid of a lot of paper that was hanging around, and moved two extraneous bikes back to the office. The trouble with cleaning, of course, is that I feel really good about how this place looks right now. But cooking dinner tonight already undid some of my hard work, and little bit by little bit, the place will once again need cleaning. The great cycle of life?

I would point out that I'm much better about more day-to-day cleaning responsibilities like laundry and dishes.