Operation: Icky Freedom

Ok, I know I’m getting old now. Or maybe it’s just the fear of getting sick. I don’t know. I’m reaching a point in my life where I have a lower tolerance for disorder. Maybe it’s just Army training flashbacks. Maybe it’s the fact that for the last eight years my household has not been my own. It has been taken over, occupied by a hostile force that first came to us with promises of love and friendship… I refer to CHILDREN!

These small yet destructive forces that enter a home and systematically dismantle all you spent years building before their arrival. These deceptively innocent little smiling faces that hug you and adorn you with garlands of “I love you’s” then 3.75 minutes later are tossing baskets of clean laundry (that you just spent hours folding) item by item into the family room ceiling fan! All the while giggling at how ‘fun’ it is.

NO MORE I SAY!

I’ve decided that in 2007 I am taking back the house. I’ve begun a systematic plan of almost military precision and stealth to regain what was formerly mine and Becky’s. It all begins with the kitchen.

Now keep in mind we have been in our home for about six years now. We’ve never really done a ‘spring cleaning’. I’ve tried over the last couple of years to thin the crops of toys and baby gear we’ve accumulated since we moved in but of course every Christmas and birthday brings more ‘stuff’ into the house. But that’s another post for another day.

We are about to go on a week long trip to North Carolina in a couple of days and I set the bar pretty high. If they (the family) want to go to NC… then this house must be clean before we go. there’s nothing more disconcerting to go away on vacation, get all relaxed and then come home to chaos and clutter, especially in the kitchen… so again, this is where my campaign for the liberation of my home begins.

I took the day after Christmas off of work to relax, mainly because Christmas is too tiring for us. But the state of the kitchen was one where I just couldn’t take it anymore so I made it my first mission to rid the kitchen of invaders. The offensive began promptly at 9:30 AM EST — OCD-Day!

I cleaned every dish, cup, plate, bowl, pot, pan, muffin pan, spatula, etc. I could find. I cleaned all the counter tops. I even thinned the amount of counter clutter to a minimum. I went through every drawer, every cabinet, everything. I scrubbed all appliances. I scrubbed all cabinet surfaces. I reorganized all the counter items for a better ‘cooking-flow’. Twelve hours later I could claim a small victory. The kitchen was clean… Daddy clean. All that remained was to scrub the floors but that was a mission for the following day. After all my efforts I ended up with the kitchen looking like this…

*The before photo is too graphic and cannot be shown. This is to protect those with weak constitutions.

Finally! One section down! Victory was in sight. The next night I spent an additional two hours on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor tiles with soap and water. It was overdue. Needless to say the floor hasn’t been that clean since we put the tile down. I left no inch of grout unscrubbed.

Now some people would say… “14 hours is a bit OCD to clean a single room in a house.” While I tend to agree, in all truth it really needed it. From this single room I can now launch all future liberation campaigns with ease and be assured of victory.

I will keep you apprised of my campaign. Out.

MOOD THIS POST:

Exhausted… from cleaning and typing.