fresh

We've been cleaning the kitchen, and it feels good.  Washing down the walls, replacing the shelf liners, and rearranging the contents of the cabinets kind of makes it seem like we've acquired a brand-new kitchen.  We even moved the refrigerator.

This was all incredibly over-due.  My man generally does a pretty good job of taking care of the daily kitchen cleaning--see how I'm not even pretending to take care of business?--but sometimes you just need to make a fresh start.  This is my favorite kind of cleaning.  Not washing a dish--washing all of the dishes.  Not mopping up a spill--mopping the entire floor.  I won't lie; I have to be in the mood to get into a project like this, but once I'm there, don't try to stop me...

When I first moved to Seattle, I lived in a co-op--a group house where all eight housemates contributed to running the household.  Twice each year, we scheduled a day for everyone to pitch in and clean the house, top to bottom.  It might sound funny, but I really looked forward to Fall Clean and Spring Clean.  Maybe it was because we'd order takeout for dinner and sit around chatting when all the cleaning was done, but at least part of it was the cleansing--and cathartic--process of putting each room in order.

Now that it's just the two of us, cleaning the house is less like a big, messy party, but I still like it.  It gives me the--temporary--illusion that my life is neat and organized.  It makes me feel like I'm in control of the chaos.  And, in a way, it makes me feel like a successful homemaker.

Which, by the way, I'm not.  Lately, I've kind of turned into a slob.  I've blamed it on the stressful nature of my job and the crazy months of the wedding year, but now that I don't have those excuses anymore, I'm going to have to get my act into gear.  If I don't start pitching in, this marriage might turn out to be an incredibly short one.

I have good intentions.  I can spend hours flipping through the pages of Martha's Homekeeping Handbook.  (I don't have a hanging pot rack, but if I ever do, I'll know the proper way to clean it...)  I understand what a clean house looks like.  I just need to make a commitment and then stick to it.  

Sooner or later, I'll get around to straightening up my craft mess and organizing the closets, but for now, my commitment is to the kitchen.

Wish me luck.