Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Pre-Op for the House

In preparation for next week, I have been getting the house ready as well. Why on earth would I be worrying about the house at a time like this?
Well, I am the daughter of 2 packrats, and therefore I have packrat tendencies which drive me batty. I am also a neat freak, and I'm also a procrastinator. So what we end up with, are some rooms which I obsessantly make sure are clean (the bathrooms and kitchen), some rooms I'm overwhelmed by their clutter so I pretend I don't see it all especially when its not my crap (the home office), and some rooms where I have particular areas of the room that must be spotless where other areas are piled high with stuff (living room & bedroom).

So since I will be stuck at home for a few weeks, and I foresee times when I'd be staring at clutter which I may not be able to physically deal with and therefore it would upset me far beyond reason, I am deciding to go through that clutter now. Procrastination over.

Plus, I'm going to treat myself to hiring a cleaning service to come in to clean things like the kitchen floors and the bathrooms, so I really want to have that clutter under control.

So last weekend I went through all of my little spots where I stuff, pile, and throw stuff in the living room. I ended up with 2 trash bags and a small stack of papers (mainly wedding related). It took me all of an hour to go through probably 3 years worth of crap that I've just been making evil eyes at as it grew and grew.

And this weekend, I shall tackle my closet and dresser. Oh sure, most people put clothes INTO the dresser and hang clothes UP in the closet. But since the dresser is full of clothes that really don't fit anymore there isn't any room for the items I have since bought that do currently fit, and the closet somehow got overrun by stuff that just got thrown on the floor so I can't get INTO it anymore. So right now when I do laundry, or bring something into the room that should go into the closet or dresser, it either gets piled on top of the dresser or on top of the pile of stuff in the closet. (And yes, my wedding dress and Eric's suit is somewhere in the piles.)

This weekend will be full of being honest with myself. Honest about those jeans that I put aside because they don't fit but just MIGHT someday. Honest that the stash of button ups will likely never be worn again because really they too don't fit and the land of button ups, pencil skirts and suits is just not me anymore. And then there is my collection of chef coats... which may just go into storage because I love them and am not quite ready to give up that dream, plus they have my name on them so who at Goodwill will want those? But mostly they don't need to be taking up closet space anymore. And of course I also have those shirts which I have recently purchased, but because they fit and I really liked them, have worn and worn and must now admit that I should NOT be going to work in shirts with little holes in them.

Wish me luck! And wish the local Goodwills luck too!

8 comments:

Autumn's Mom said...

Think of all those lucky people who really need those jeans and button ups? :D You can always buy new jeans later, which is way more fun. I also think you should save the chef coats..for when you spend a day cooking or baking. Then you can throw it on maybe w/ a chef hat and pretend you are in your own bakery/cafe :D

Unknown said...

Oh, I totally know how you feel! I get that way too. There are days when all I want to do is de-clutter the entire house!!

The people at the local Goodwill are going to love you! ;) Have fun and don't work toooooooo hard!

xo

Karen MEG said...

Cherry, we're twins separated at birth (except I'm probably a decade older, minor detail). Funny thing is, you may actually manage to get into some of those jeans - never say never...I actually did! DH has 3 garbage bags full for Goodwill - he's making it a contest and I am losing terribly!
Good luck to you, don't over do it either, OK?

Beenzzz said...

I do the same thing before surgery or a vacation. The last time I had surgery (also female related) I went through the house like a mad woman throwing stuff out. Not only does it help with the stress of having surgery, but it does declutter stuff.
I wish you all the best with the surgery and speedy recovery too!! :)

Gina said...

I think it will make you feel a lot better to have everything cleaned beforehand.

Best of luck, my dear.

ML said...

It's good to clean out. Makes recovery easier on you not having to worry about clutter.

Anonymous said...

I always say to the girls a clean house a clean mind. But it never sinks in. Best of luck , but it will make you feel better.

Laura said...

I always try to do all the laundry in the house before I go in for surgery. It clears out my mind somehow. That and once my mother in law came over to "help" and told my husband that there were bugs in our laundry. In the years before, or since, I have never seen "bugs". Grrr... I am much as you. The bathrooms must be disinfected and the kitchen, but a pile of papers on the dining room table can hang there for awhile.

I wish you all the health, healing and happiness in the world. You will be in our thoughts.