A Cleaning Spell

If any of you are like me then you have a tendency to let housework get away from you. I have to confess that I have spent every bit of my down time the past two weeks on the couch enjoying Netflix. I have often looked into the kitchen at the dishes that fill the sink and wonder why they haven't washed themselves by now. It also amazes me that the 4 bags of trash that are on our back porch haven't walked themselves to the dumpster. And about that 8 foot pile of laundry in the middle of the living room...why hasn't it folded itself and marched upstairs to claim residence? It's astounding. And I won't even talk about  the flooring choices made by my landlords. I know I've been on the landlords' case lately in the blogosphere, BUT I'm not sure that this tan carpeting was the best idea. It doesn't hide anything. To keep it clean I would quite literally have to vacuum after every person who stepped foot into the house. You know why? They bring in bits of mulch, crepe myrtle debris (UGHHHHHH), and leaves from outdoors. And if it's raining, the just forget trying to clean the floor until the next sunny day because it's not going to matter. I can't wait to customize my own residence one day. It's going to be dark, hardwood flooring and tile throughout. I will finally be able to put my Swiffer sweeper and wet jet to good use. Instead, the only dirt it's picking up is the dirt in the laundry room where it is housed.

This is actually after returning from Christmas break, but the apt looked much the same today

Okay, so now that I've described the disarray in which my apartment found itself this week, I will now brag on myself. After going to dinner with my sister and a few of her friends at the Grill, I came home and  got straight to work. I began with the pile of clean clothes in my bedroom. I have spent the past two weeks moving this pile in hopes of actually hanging the clothes up. 10 days later I am proud to say that they are safely housed in their respective closets. Do any of y'all every find yourselves making mini-piles of clothes on your bed in the morning only to throw the clothes back on the floor at night just so you can sleep? Yeah, I'm guilty of that BIG TIME. This also goes for books, papers, shoes, anything really. I don't know why I think I'll be more prone to put stuff up if it's on top of my bed because when midnight rolls around and I'm hitting the hay, the last thing I want to do is clean. So into the floor everything goes until the next morning.

After! All better!

So after the clothes were hung, it was onto the clean laundry. 3 baskets full thanks to my sister, the maid. She did make time to fold some of the laundry, but the baskets didn't make it past the front door until tonight. Both of us just looked at them all week long. Well now they're sorted, and I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.

At this point, the floor is clean and the bed is cleared off. The only natural thing to do next? Yep, you guessed it, strip the bed linens. I now have clean sheets, new pillow cases, and a comforter that is actually on the bed instead of on top of a pile of clothes. Amazing how 400 thread count sheets can make me feel like a million bucks. Thank you Ross Dress for Less for supplying me with new comfy sheets for only 19.99. 

Bedroom. Check. Laundry. Check. Closet. Check. What's left? The bathroom. DUM DUM DUM. My least favorite job in the entire world. I swear I just cleaned it like 2 weeks ago and it was already back in shambles. For my male readers, beware of sharing a bathroom with a female. You have it easy. You can take a 2 guard to your head and your hair is gone in 3 minutes and you'll still be socially acceptable. We, however, have to grow our luscious locks out in order to maintain a sense of femininity and style. So do not complain about the stray hairs that pop up. I heard somewhere that the average person loses over 400 hairs per day. Well I'd believe it, and I think I'm well above average. Gross I know. It grosses me out and it's my own freaking hair. EWWW. But anyways, now that we are sufficiently creeped out and don't want to share a bathroom with Brooke anymore, I will say that the bathroom is hair-free and the shower is clean and the smell of Clorox fills the air. So it's safe for anyone who may drop by for a visit.

When cleaning the apartment, I find it motivating to put on my Aretha Franklin Pandora station. If you do not have this station, I'm urging you to get it. And if you haven't had the pleasure of hearing me belt out my best Motown voice, then I am sorry to say that you have missed out on a fantastic performance, but if you're lucky you'll get to witness this sacred event sometime in the future. Just take a ride in the car with me or come to my house when I'm trying to get ready for an evening out. I am 100% positive that the Motown will be blaring through the iHome speakers. Here's a preview of the song that could be sung:

In closing, I believe that the apartment is never fully clean until I light that Tyler candle. "Diva" scent, of course. Nothing tops off an hour of cleaning like a candle. (This can also fool a lot of people. I'm guilty of lighting that sucker 15 minutes before having company only to watch them come through the door to say 'It smells SO good in here, Brooke.') Don't act like y'all don't do this too. Glade Plug-ins, candles, those scented stick things, potpourri, they all serve the same purpose...to make guests feel obligated to compliment the smell of your abode. Even if it looks like a tornado has come through your laundry room and scattered clothes everywhere. Even if you have 30 pairs of shoes laying in the floor. If you have something scented, guests are oblivious to the rest (unless it's my mother. She has a sixth sense for dirt, I swear.)

In the spirit of being clean, I leave you with this:

I'm off to snuggle in my freshly cleaned sheets! Until next time,

-BC