We finally got almost all of Christmas put away this week, after returning from vacation. I still have to take the lights down out front (they are unplugged at least) and my one last nativity has to be put away. We also have to pull everything out that was put away to put Christmas out and get it set back up. Knick knacks and stuff 
It’s swiftly driving me insane! I like a bit of order to things around me, and when I get stressed it’s one of the things I focus on. I will end up deciding the house needs to be clean and waste the day cleaning. Yes it’s one of those ways I procrastinate too I will admit. However I also have allergies, so it serves to help me breath easier, especially in the summer and fall when pollen is terrible.
However between the job and the dissertation, I just don’t have the time to keep up with the cleaning as I would like to right now. The house needs it, but as I look down the next few days and whats on my list to get done, even a half day of cleaning isn’t in the cards.
I’ve talked a lot about hiring Merry Maids or something. Those who have read me long enough know I, well John, had a housekeeper at one point (which ended in disaster when I and the dogs came along). Today we had the discussion again. His mom has housekeepers (it’s a group of women who work together, they cycle their houses and duties between them, so you might not have the same woman each week). We may ask them how much it would cost to clean every other week or so.
Of course I looked around and said, well first I have to clean up! For me that’s always been the issue, I need to clean before the housekeeper comes, so why am I paying a housekeeper? Well I’ve decided over the next week or so I’ll take an hour every other day and just straighten up a room. Eventually at some point the house will be picked up enough to be cleaned I hope!
The chore of course will be keeping John to keep his desk/corner clean! That’s the biggest hurdle, and I will begin to just throw his piled up mail and magazines out if he starts ignoring them again (oh yes, I’ve done it before, if you have months of magazines you aren’t looking at, they go in the recycle bin!).
Of course I also still have those rooms and cabinets that one day I’ll eventually go through, throw have of the stuff out and clean it up. We are talking CDs and books from computers I no longer have or are dead. Why I’m keeping some of this crapola I don’t know, it needs to go.
