Clean Closet!

Sunday: Any guesses on when the panic sets in?  I'm thinking Wednesday.  I told mom I was going away for two days. She just said "oh".   

Monday:  it started. First thing she wants to run to the doc thinking she has another UTI, or the original one hasn't gone away.  She handled raw meat on Sunday.  I'm thinking she has trouble remembering to wash her hands.

Took her to PT and ... she just isnt getting any better.  After PT she can barely walk.  Her DPT asks her over and over if she's having any pain, and she says no.  But something isn't right. 

I cleaned my hall closet today!  I'm breaking thing down slowly. One room or area at a time. Clean. Organized. And thinned out.  Less stuff is better for me right now.

That's part of my commitment (word of the year), taking care of me and my house.  While taking care of mom is the rest of the commitment. 

Its been a year of struggles so far.  May the second half of 2025 be better!

Spring Cleaning: A New Way

 When it's spring, when skies are blue and weather is warm, the urge to do some spring cleaning seems to claim us all.  Open windows, fresh air and a clean house seem to go hand in hand.  That was me today. Although, truthfully, it's supposed to be up over 100 degrees today here in the Valley of the Sun.  Which is why I was "up and at 'em" at 6am.  lol   

I don't mind most spring cleaning chores, but the one that I tend to put off over and over is the bathroom - specifically my walk in shower.  Sure, off and on I do little scrub downs, but I'm talking major spring cleaning.  I decided not to put it off any more and began tackling it.  One of the things I discovered that makes it very easy is to remove the shower doors, take them outside and scrub them down, first with a bit of CLR.  I lay them out, squirt on the liquid and swoosh it around with a broom that I use only for my showers.  After hosing them, flipping them over and doing the other side, I then scrub them down with a little Dawn dish soap.  They come out real shiny! 

As the doors are drying in the morning sun, I got in and tackled the shower itself:  squirt Dawn across the walls and floor then swoosh it all over with a little water using my broom.  I know, it sounds just a little bit crazy, but it works great!  After rinsing it all off, what I noticed most is how fresh and clean it smells.  That's what sold me on it the most!

What I came to realize is that washing the bathroom with all those strong chemicals to get things clean, there was an after-smell that would carry on for a day or two, no matter how many windows were opened, how many fans were blowing to help, you can't escape that chemical smell.  Which is one of the reasons that I would put off the heavy duty spring cleaning!  And if my shower can come out clean and shiny without that smell, well, from now on I'm using Dawn every time to clean the shower!  

Purging

A little purging every day. 
That's what I'm striving for this week.

Everyone has "stuff" -- things we don't use, things we thought we liked, things that are worn out -- and yet we still hold on to them.  If we're not using them, why not recycle to someone who can actually use them?

Sure, there are some things we can't part with.  And some things that may become useful in the future.  About six months ago, I got rid of a set of pots and pans.  Why?  Because I don't cook for a family any longer.  When I got the set, I was cooking for a family of 8 (or more! if the neighbor kids stayed for supper!!)   Then it was just me and Brian.  I haven't used those pans since I moved into this house in 2009.  So why was I holding on to them?  I bought a 3 piece set to replace those 15 others, and I'm very happy with them.  (Talk about making room in that one kitchen cupboard!)

Today, I cleaned out a drawer of DVDs.  I own the entire series of Sex and the City, I don't need the others that were a "collection" with a theme.  And old movies that I'll never watch again.  Library donation, I think.  But yes, I did keep some of the ones that I know I will watch over and over again:  Pillow Talk, Father Goose, Ugly Coyote, Shawshank Redemption, Bridges of Madison County ... you get the idea. 

I know that I know that I know that I don't want my daughter to have to go through what we have been through with Brian.  Closing someone's "estate" is painful.  And there's so much *stuff* that ... well, it's hard to know what you'll want to keep and what you'll want to toss.  Pictures and written things are definitely kept.  The rest?  *shrug*  The things I have that are antiques, I'm putting a note on them so my daughter will know to at least try and sell rather than give to Goodwill. 

It's not a fun place in life to be.  But if I can get things down to just necessities ... life should be that much easier.  As long as I resist the urge to buy things I don't need!  (And what woman can do *that*???) hahah

I miss my son every day, and in some ways I'm sad at all the things I had to get rid of, but you can't keep everything; you can't leave his room the way it was so that it becomes a shrine.  He wanted us to be happy, to keep living.  Yes, I kept his guitars hanging on the wall, under one guitar poster.  The rest are gone.  I framed six of the logos from his fav tshirts, and they are hanging on the wall as art.  It looks pretty good, and since there are now other non-Brian photos hanging in there as well, it's not a shrine.  Just a few good memories.

Closet Cleaning

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time getting rid of things I "might need" at some point in the future.  I tend to hang on to odd things.  Maybe I'll toss a bottle of shampoo that I dislike, but I'll hang on to several little samples of ones I'll probably never try!  hahaha I'm just weird that way.  But it feels really good to toss them and be rid of them forever when you get up the nerve to actually do it!

Yesterday, I spent some time in my closet -- yes, again!  I pulled out clothes that I haven't worn in two years, clothes I'll probably never wear again.  I was prompted by this on Friday -- reminded, actually, that I have things in the closet I don't wear for good reason.  Being down 20 lbs, I found a pair of pants to wear to work, slid into them, happy that they fit.  But about an hour into work, and I realized why I didn't wear this particular pair.  Not necessarily because they didn't fit, but more because they were a lousy cut in the first place.  While being made for a woman with a big butt like mine, the thighs were cut too narrow, and they just didn't feel comfortable.  Not because they were snug in the thigh, but more snug around the knee part, and ever step felt like the next step would have them sliding off my rear end!  Not a good look for work!! 

So yes, those are going in the Goodwill pile.  I ended up pulling out a garbage bag's worth of clothes I decided wouldn't be in my closet any longer.  And given that between work and the khaki pants, navy blue tops I am required to wear, and the gym clothes I wear after work, who needs the rest of the clothing??  Lets face it, unless I get some kind of serious relationship going, I sure don't need a closet full of other kind of clothes that don't get worn.  I should decide on a number.  Like 10.  That's a nice round number.  Pick out 10 nice tops, and two nice pants, and chuck the rest.  Hard to do, though.  I have a few nice dresses,  few fun pieces, and some... well, maybe because there are memories attached.  Maybe I'll just try them on, snap a picture, and then put them in the Goodwill bag.  Memories are just as good in pictures as they are holding on to the real thing.  :)

They say in Feng Shui "things  you haven't used for a year don't attract positive energy."  And maybe that's the change I need.  I'm practical, however, and will keep things if I believe they will become useful.  So it's not always an easy line to draw.  But here's an example:  I used to be a Girl Scout leader.   And as a leader, I had a t-shirt I wore for meetings and events.  I've been hanging on to it, its full of memories for sure!, but now I'm going to take it out of the closet, put it into the "gym wear" drawer, and wear it for workouts.  Let's me keep the memories, and still useful too!  There's always a way around throwing something out, if you just repurpose something!!  But that means really using it, and not just leaving it tucked in a drawer, or hanging in the closet!