The Quest for Cleanliness

Hello again!

As we’ve hit a week later since my first post, it is safe to assume this isn’t going to be a daily blog. Maybe it won’t even be a weekly blog. For me it is all about keeping this fun and avoiding a burn out so while I hope to be consistent with this for now it will just be when I feel I have something to say. That being said, I have a few ideas about future posts and am also open to suggestions for things you want to know about!

But let’s get on with today’s topic!

Before we begin, I should set a couple scenes.

First, I have a confession. Upon meeting me, most people assume I am organized and have things pretty put together. However, if you are anything like the boy who tried to cheat off my tests in a Geology class (one of the only classes I ever received a C in college) simply because I appeared so put together, you know to dig deeper and take nothing at face value. So it is time I admit to the world (and finally accept it for myself) I am horribly unorganized and if I’m being honest, pretty lazy. If you have ever watched Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s ‘New York Minute’ then you might remember the opening scene. The one where one twin is prim and proper, uses a planner, and everything is in its proper place. That’s the kind of put together I ASPIRE to be. Alas, I am more the other twin. The one who’s bedroom looks like it exploded with piles of clothes and things everywhere…well, minus the snake.

The second scene is the current state of my bedroom which is the shining star of this post today. One October morning, I woke up with the strong and sudden desire to give my bedroom a face lift. At that point, my bedroom hadn’t been touched in a few years and was due for some fresh paint and a new perspective. So I searched Pinterest for ideas, called up my friends, and bought some paint. Eager to begin, I just tossed things in boxes and declared that we’d work around them. We made great progress in a weekend but they went home and I lost steam. Those boxes that I piled things into? They’ve been sitting in the middle of my room since October and I just sort of been manuvering around them and the clothing piles. I’ve always been like this. I start strong and rarely follow it to the end. I try to get things cleaned and organized but eventually fall into my same pattern until the cycle starts over. One of my biggest goals of 2019 is getting my bedroom in the best state it has ever been in and keeping it that way. Hence why it is the first one I’ve chosen to hone in on.

I still have things I want to do in terms of making over my bedroom that were never finished (and then begin working on the other room that needs redoing) but that starts with the first and most important step that I tried glossing over…cleaning. And I mean REALLY cleaning. I’m a pack rat that likes to hold on to absolutly everything and a clothing shopaholic who refuses to let go of things I don’t even wear. I have a good friend who is all about only keeping what means something to you and recently put minimalism to the test by moving into a tiny home. I’ve also been looking more into Marie Kondo and her methods. The more I watch, read, and research, the more behind that ‘sparks joy’ method I become. As of today, I’ve donated three trash bags full of clothes that I don’t need to a local shelter with fourth soon to follow (and I’m hardly through my clothes). My bedroom is also starting to become cleaner. I can see the floor and my loveseat now. It is still only the beginning but it already feels cleaner and less cluttered where I can breath a sigh of relief again. Those boxes I mentioned earlier? They are no longer sitting in the middle of the room. Their contents are now in appropriately labeled totes until the cleaning and painting is done when they can return to their proper places. Seeing this progress gives me a huge sense of accomplisment and a greater motivation to see this through.

My goal is to take you all along this journey to getting a cleaner space with me step by step as it happens. However, I will not be posting before pictures at this time. It’s one thing to admit my faults, it is a whole other thing to give them visual. I will be more open to sharing photos as I progress though!

I always go hunting for tips when I get the cleaning bug and most tend to be for people who have it mostly put together to begin with. You know the “sorry my house is wreck” when it is practically spotless type? Those don’t tend to help me and my mess…they actually just overwhelm me and make me feel guilty, if I’m being completely honest. So here is my process and what I’ve been telling myself so far.

1. JUST DO IT. STOP PROCRASTINATING AND JUST START ALREADY! (If you still want to procrastinate for a minute, now would be the perfect time to watch that Shia Labeouf video from a few years back where he’s yelling motivational things in front of a green screen.) For me, getting started is the hardest part. I’m faced with what do I do first? How do I start? And a million other anxiety frenzy building questions until I just don’t do it. Take breath. Pick a spot in the room or a specific task (like trash collecting) and focus on JUST that. Once you start and see the progress you are making, it makes finsihing the job more satisfying.
2. It will get worse before it gets better. This is where I’m at in the process. Granted, since I’m storing things away for renovation purposes, it is a little less frightening. However, I still find that I get one area clean and when I move on to the next, I end up putting something in my newly cleaned zone. My grandma always calls this “eating the elephant”. It’s daunting and at times discouraging, but you’ll get there in the end.
3. To do lists can be your best friend. I’m very visual and task oriented. Seeing what I need to do and seeing those items getting marked off bit by bit gives me such a thrill. This is not necessary but since I’m mega cleaning and renovating, I went out and bought a little $1 notebook with tab dividers. A scrap of paper would even work, I just simply like the visual and having diffent sections for different things. I have sections for cleaning, renovating, need to buy for renovating, and donate/sell/trash. The first three sections are kind of obvious what they are used for but the last is what I’m using to track my minimalism goals (how many items I donate, how much stuff I’ve thrown away, and a section for if i decide to sell rather than donate).
4. Speaking of friends, get them involved. I won’t let my friends step foot in my room to help me but that didn’t stop them from getting involved. To help us both stay motivated, a friend challenged me to a cleaning war. We both made lists, took pictures, set some stakes and a deadline for what we wanted to have done in terms of cleaning. If I lost, I put out there that I’d cover the ticket cost on a trip we are taking later in the year. You could even do it for just the glory of winning and thrill of competition. Either way, it is a funw way to enjoy the process and make it interesting.
5. Have some noise in the background. I have to have background noise for everything I do (even writing this, I have asmr videos playing in the background). Personally, I get sidetracked to easily with keeping my tv on when I clean so I stay away from that form. In the past, I’ve been known to blast tunes and use vinyls as a way of tracking my time and breaks. Since becoming a Critical Role fan, I log a lot of hours in podcasts and they are my go to at this point (I’m caught up on M9 and have begun listening to VM, for anyone that’s interested). They are typically anywhere from two and a half to 4 plus hours long so they are a good time keeping method as well and I find that I can both stay on task and lose myself in the story line so the time passes faster.
6. Take your time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. If you have a mess like mine, don’t pressure yourself into thinking it has to be done that day and it should only take you a couple hours. If you feel you can only put in an hour, put in an hour, come back the next day and try to go a little longer than before. The key is to not give up on it completely. Keep hacking away at it until it’s done.
7. Set reward goals. Whether that’s a nice treat, a hot bath, or whatever you have your heart set on when you meet your cleaning goals. I accomplished a lot today and for that I’m going to the store and picking up the vinyl copy of “…Baby One More Time” (one of my favorite childhood albums) from the queen that is Britney Spears. Not all of my goals will coming with buying things but that is something I’ve had my eye on for a while and I finally feel like I’ve earned it.

I hope this helps someone start their cleaning journey! If it does or you have any tips or stories of your own, please feel free to share! Or if you would like to take your own cleaning journey with me, I encourage you to begin and I’ll see you back (hopefully next weekend) with an update, moving on to the next step, and sharing more tips and lessons on my journey to a cleaner space!

Signing off and coming at ya with a slightly cleaner room,

Tori