The Path To Hell is Paved With Clorox

We've signed the contract to list our house with Century 21. I spent yesterday washing floors, chasing down dust elephants, polishing, dusting, organizing and trying to set priorities.

You'd never know by my house, but I'm an obsessive cleaner. It's not that I can't live with dirt, but once I start, I have a real hard time setting limits. An example, when the kids were little, the legos would stay scattered on the floor for weeks, but once I started, I not only picked them up, I would sort by color, shape and size and put them in zip loc bags. I couldn't just pick up their books, I'd have to alphabetize them. It would take an entire afternoon, and meanwhile, the dishes piled up and the beds remained unmade. I'll exhaust myself on one room, scrubbing every nook and cranny of the room, and everything in the room. On a good day I might finish two rooms. You'd think I'd have that wonderful feeling of accomplishment after, and I do, until I look at the adjacent space which now appears more cluttered, dusty and dull against the sparkling finished product nearby. I'm so sick and tired from the deep cleaning, that it will be a good space of time before I get on another roll, and by then, my freshly cleaned space from earlier is no longer fresh and clean.

Time constraints meant that yesterday I had to address the cleaning needs of the WHOLE house, the agent would be taking photos for the listing. This meant that I had to prioritize, and move quickly. Pick and choose, what to leave alone and what absolutely needed to be done. When it comes to cleaning this is very difficult for me, more difficult than the actual cleaning. Taking a mental inventory of the most essential needs, I developed a plan. Always the kitchen first, don't know why, but it sets the motion for the project. Removed clutter from counters (kitty treats which go in the drawer, dish soap which goes under the sink, and the never ending mail and catalogs from the breakfast bar...), bleached the stains and polished. Polished the stove top, cleaned the garbage, washed the floor, cleaned the seal of the refridgerator door (not essential, but I couldn't stop)....

Well, anyway. I managed to get the house in shape by 4pm, when the agent was due to arrive, with Paul's help. He took care of the downstairs. It bugs me, even this morning, cause I know I didn't dust the mantle, or the wooden ducks up there. Grateful as I am for Paul's contribution, (and it looks nice) I know he didn't wash the windows and door downstairs, or vacuum the brick wall. I didn't get any cat/dog hair off the furniture. There are still fingerprints on my kitchen cabinets....

And no time to rest on my laurels. With hopefully many viewings in our future, I will have to keep the house up. I see a tic developing in my future - an obsession taking hold. After peeing, I will reach for the toilet paper in one hand and the toilet cleaner in the other. I will be the clutter nag, "who's shoes are these???!!!" (like I don't know) "why is this glass on the counter???" Must be prepared at all times for a viewing.

Our agent is pretty optimistic about generating a lot of interest in the property. I hope so, cause I'd hate to think that what I'm getting ready to put my family through will be for nothing....

God, a whole blog about cleaning.

Peace