Nesting

It's hit.

Prior to the last few weeks, I had no idea the amount of work a prego can get done when the inspiration strikes. I have a feeling the house is going to be cleaner than it has ever been within three months. And my guess is that it will probably never be as clean again.

Within the month of February, other than the general maintenance of the house and laundry, etc., I have accomplished the following projects:

* Cleaning and organizing the wet bar, which had been a catch-all (sort of a very large scale junk drawer) since the day we got a key to the place. Now it has potential to be used as storage (in the cupboards below) and a wet bar - or at least as an attractive part of the house, instead of pretending it's not there. I have visions of some shelves on the back wall, on which artwork or photos can be displayed.

* Cleaning the walls of what we have affectionately dubbed "earshot". Our orange cat had an ear infection which lasted for months, and part of the fun of said infection was that when he would shake his head, often there would be stuff flung in every direction. It landed on walls, furniture, doors, you name it. It was pretty nasty, but a losing battle until the infection was cleared up.

* Setting up and beginning to fill a "Costco overstock shelf" in the garage. We go to Costco and buy large amounts of things which somehow must find a home. Finally they have a shelf on which they should belong. Of course, to make room for the shelf, I had to find homes for other things that were haphazardly put there.

* Cleaning the washer and dryer. Well, they were running while I wiped them down with cleaner, but they have been cleansed of 2 years of dust and dripped laundry soap. I also moved some of the random things that landed there into places that make more sense. Not much more, but a little more.

* Reorganizing the small bookshelf between the kitchen/dining and living rooms. It has contained 2 baskets that serve 2 purposes: one is to help hold up the books from flopping over, and the other is to hold the things that land on the table and don't have a more permanent place to live. So years later, the baskets are the permanent places (think junk drawer again). I finally went through them to make sense of the junk. One now holds scratch paper and pens and tape, the other holds ... well, junk. But at least I know what the junk in it is.

* Rearranged the living room furniture to make it easier to watch TV (really important, right?), as well as making some space for another chair and/or a bookshelf.

There are other things, little things that I can't remember right now, that have been huge in the moment that I've completed them, and that have given me those little feelings of accomplishment. One of the most significant things that has helped me be able to move on to these little projects is the creation of my chore list. It's changed the way I view the routine necessities; when I know the things "to do" I can focus on them and check them off. If I miss it one day, or one week, I know I can pick it up again the next time it rolls around on the schedule. Because I can see when I crossed it out, I know how long it's been since I have, say, swept the floor or cleaned the bathroom. And I'm such a geek, I made out whole month-long lists, through the end of the year. Needless to say, in a few months I will need to revamp the schedule, but for now, it is working for me.

Now it's time to get back to reality and get the sheets out of the dryer, and find something to eat.