Cleaning

I love when my house is clean! Is it ever clean? Ummmm, not often. Eric likes when it's clean, and he's a neat freak. Poor guy. He got stuck with me. Actually, I often wonder if my house would be cleaner if I had more room. We have a running debate about how large our house actually is. I'm sure he's right, but I always say it's 22' x 22'. He says it's 24' by 26'. Ok, does it really matter? You get the point. It is SMALL. There are 5 (FIVE) of us living in this house. our basement houses the girls. And the laundry room. And storage. And the freezer. And the tools. We have no garage. The main floor has my office, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room and a dining room that has a piano and a buffet and my home computer in it. For furniture we have a couch, a chaise lounge and a recliner. It's packed. Upstairs (we have a 1 1/2 story) is just our room (more storage really, with a bed in the middle) and a bathroom with a tub and toilet. That's it. It's cozy, to say the least. There are things in all spaces. We get by, we do. I don't mind the close quarters, most of the time. But there is no where for all of our stuff. The older the girls get, and the more they accumulate, the more stuff there is. EVERYWHERE.

So, today, Eric and I spent 4 hours cleaning together. I cleaned corners and dusted and cleared off all surfaces. He washed floors, walls, and bleached stains out of the carpets. I know, right? The man is amazing. Strange, but amazing. He said, and I will quote "How come I'm the only one that ever bleaches the floor and washes the walls?" I said, because you're the only that cares that much.... it's true!! Seriously. If there was visible dirt, grime, or marks on the wall, I'd totally wash it. (maybe not TOTALLY, but probably... maybe) If I catch the girls spill something, I'll clean the spot off the carpet. But, I will not take a pail of bleach water and crawl along the carpet with scissors and a rag and clean the carpet and cut out spots. He does this. The carpet is 15 years old, it's lived through 3 puppies, and 3 kids. When we redo the house next year, it's gone. But, he has pride. The man is a saint.

He made me promise not to lose the motivation when he went to work. Not to sit at the computer (oops) or take a nap (not yet) or get into some reality show (none on tonight). So, I should end this now and go find another place to declutter.... perhaps my office.

If I could have gotten away with it, I would have taken a picture of my wonderful husband on his hands and knees with the bleach and scissors trying to resurrect this carpet. Maybe next time!!