It started innocently enough. But somehow, in the heat of the moment, tidying up my house turned into moving furniture and deep cleaning… I’m exhausted, but my messy house hasn’t looked this nice since pre-pandemic.
It’s my dog Marley’s birthday, and he hasn’t seen his best friend Bosco in months… so we invited Bosco and his pet parents over for early Sunday dinner. We could all use some good food and good company, and have all been in good health. I planned a menu, coordinated with our friends, and made a note to “tidy up the place” before Sunday. I started cleaning around 11am this morning. Casually. After some nice homemade banana pancakes with maple syrup. Can’t let that last brown banana go to waste. I let breakfast settle and, while my partner went outside to mow the yard and clean up outside, I did a quick walk around the house to assess what needed a quick clean.
That’s when I noticed the bike.
I’ve had my road bike on an indoor trainer in the office since my bike group cancelled weekend bike rides because of COVID-19. Which was a real bummer. I’m really new to riding a bike, had only been out with them once, and had wanted to get more experience on the road to prepare for my first triathlon. As luck would have it, two weeks before the pandemic, I found an indoor trainer online for $20 and jumped on it. So when the outdoor rides were cancelled, I set up my bike in the office. Riding got me comfortable on my bike and ensured I always had a way to exercise. Even when gyms were closed, parks were closed, and the weather was bad.
The bike needed a table next to it to hold my water and towels – I sweat at the drop of a hat. And to make room for my bike, I had shoved the tables with my houseplants way over towards my desk, essentially blocking access to my easel. No wonder I haven’t been painting. Every time I glance over, the struggle of moving furniture just to get to the canvas convinces me to do something else.
Okay, so my bike needed a new home.
And I found one.
Problem is, there’s a nice dresser in the bedroom right where the bike should be.
My bike currently has a puppy gate around it – just adding to the eyesore. Oh, and the “office” is basically the first room you walk into when you enter the house from the front door, and my bike is quite close to the entrance. So as soon as you walk in, my lovely desk, art easel and houseplants are merely a backdrop to this road bike on a trainer, surrounded by a puppy gate.
And there’s this huge box with a mattress pad stuffed into it… But I digress.
The road bike’s new home. The dresser.
I had contemplated moving this dresser for months. We have a walk-in closet. I’ve never been a fan of walk-in closets. They seem like such a waste of space. And, given this waste, why should my dresser be in the bedroom? It would make much more sense if it lived in the closet.
Problem is, my side of the closet is full of clothes. Most of which I have not worn since my corporate days.
Which were over a year and a half ago.
And I’ve been meaning to go through those clothes and donate what I won’t wear again. Surely, that would free up plenty of space to move the dresser into the closet. Then I’d have plenty of room to move the road bike into the bedroom. Bonus – I could close the door to the bedroom while riding, locking my dog out of the room while I’m training, mitigating the need for a puppy gate altogether. And since we like it cool when we sleep, there’s an extra fan in the bedroom, which will come in super handy during long indoor training rides.
I had a plan.
So I walked into the kitchen/dining room ready to go.
That’s when I noticed the kitchen floors.
I don’t think we’ve mopped in months. It wasn’t horrible, but definitely noticeable. And since we’d be spending most of our time in the kitchen and dining area during Sunday dinner, the least I could do is mop.
So I went into the pantry to grab the mop.
That’s when I noticed the pantry/utility room. It was a mess.
Again, not horrible. But we were definitely cramming crap in that pantry with abandon. And it showed.
So that’s where I started. The pantry. I pulled out items, found some things I didn’t even know we had (!), and reorganized the dry goods. This resulted in organizing the “utility room” side as well. Both resulted in more floor space, and in me identifying some items we never use that could accompany my clothes to a donation station.
Now I could tidy up the kitchen and prepare the area for a good vacuum and mop. And why go to the trouble of pulling the vacuum out to vacuum just the kitchen? No, the whole downstairs needed it anyway…so away I went. And I made it all the way to the bedroom entrance when I realized it.
The dresser.
What’s the point of vacuuming the bedroom if I’m going to move that dresser. Surely that spot will need vacuuming post dresser-move. So I stopped right there, unplugged the vacuum, and started to prep the dresser for moving.
That’s when I realized how much crap I keep on top of the dresser. For no good reason. And somehow, my gym bag and yoga bag have made a home right next to the dresser. I’d have to find them a new home. No big deal. I removed the items from on top of the dresser and took out all of the drawers, thankful that I at least kept the contents of that dresser tidy.
Then I walked into the closet. Crap. The clothes.
I grabbed a huge reusable tote bag and started culling my wardrobe. And cleaning up some items that had never made it to their home in the closet. It took me maybe 20 minutes to prep the closet for the dresser.
Rather than risk injury to myself or our floors, I wandered outside to check up on my partner, who was almost done with the back yard. He welcomed a break to help me move the dresser into the closet. It took five minutes.
Finally. Progress. I got all of the drawers back in there, tidied up the floors in preparation for vacuuming, and went ahead and grabbed the towels and bedding. I could throw them into the wash; it was time. And going back to the pantry/utility room felt nice. It felt bigger with its cleared floor space and organized shelves.
Then I thought, when was the last time I mopped the bathroom and bedroom? The kitchen gets regular attention, but for some reason our bedroom and bathroom floors don’t get the same treatment. If I was going to mop the kitchen, I might as well do the bedroom and bathroom as well.
I finished vacuuming, put the vacuum in the office and prepped the mop water. Got to work on the kitchen, then hauled it over to the bedroom and bathroom. Mopped those. Then hauled the mop and water back into the kitchen, emptying the water, cleaning out the mop and the mop bucket.
It felt like tea time was in order. A nice cup of lemon tea as reward for all of my hard work. Around this time, my partner came inside and was ready for a shower. Then off to the store. I enjoyed my tea and basked in my accomplishments.
Staring mostly at that road bike. Still in the office. In the way. The washing machine buzzed and I moved the laundry into the dryer.
Now, the moment of truth. Taking down the puppy gate actually took the longest. But after some persistence and cursing under my breath, I got it apart, folded it up and put it in our storage closet (which has somehow stayed organized during pandemic carelessness). I took my road bike off the trainer, took the trainer off of some protective towels we have on the floor, and transferred everything back to the bedroom.
What a difference!
The office area looked twice as big, and the entryway seemed spacious. I moved the tables with the houseplants more to the center of the wall, revealing some much-needed space for my art easel. My kinda messy house now feels a bit more open and organized.
I could further optimize the office and now art area, but it’s 6:30pm and I’m pretty spent. And we still need to make dinner for tonight. Oh, and appetizers and dessert for tomorrow.
But, again, what a difference! It’s enlightening to look at your space with a critical eye, knowing friends that you haven’t seen in months are coming over. Not that they are critical by any means. We will all probably be wearing half a step up from pajamas for Marley’s birthday party. But it got me thinking about how others would move through my house. About things I’ve been wanting to accomplish. It inspired me to clear out things that have created clutter during the pandemic. It’s easy to let things get messy when it’s just you.
It’s also easy to just move things aside and tell yourself you’ll do it later. Today was one of those days I didn’t wait until later. Each time a came across an obstacle, or something that I had been putting off, I took care of it right then and there. Yes, it turned what could have been an hour of casual cleaning into a 6+ hour cleaning marathon. But I’m rewarded with a space that embraces rational minimalism and is optimized for what I need. Which in this case is a new home for my bike and an office and art space that is inviting.
I just noticed some dust on the bookshelves… maybe I’ll schedule a follow-up play date for Marley and Bosco in a couple of weeks so I can take care of that 😉