Spot Cleaning

When I worked full time, my house was usually clean. Just about all I did at home was bathe, sleep, and get ready to go to work again. But now that I'm actually in my house all the time, keeping it clean is a big deal.

I'm retired, and I don't want to clean house any more; I want to do all those things I dreamed about doing when I had to go to work every day. The catch 22? I can't stand it when my house is dirty. It bugs me. A lot.

I don't mind getting out the stick vacuum and doing the floors everyday. I don't mind keeping things picked up and put up.  I don't gripe too much about all the dishes I wash, dry and put away because I can't possibly get everything into the dishwasher.

However, I HATE the big jobs - like cleaning baseboards, dusting all the furniture, cleaning under the furniture, and mopping the whole house. I also hate cleaning sinks, vanities, mirrors, commodes and tubs in all three bathrooms. This stuff is too stinking hard and takes way too much of my valuable time! I also hate all the "extra" things that aren't a part of my "regular" cleaning duties - like shining mirrors, washing down kitchen cabinets, cleaning the oven and stuff like that.

I've been thinking about ways I can simplify these overwhelming cleaning projects other than getting a live-in maid. Not happening.

Then yesterday, I did something that seemed odd to me. I went to my bathroom to brush my teeth, and looked disgustedly at my splattered, spotted-up mirror, and thought, "I'm gonna clean this mirror right now." So, I did. Then, on a whim, I sprayed the Windex in the two sinks and washed and rinsed them out with my hand. Maybe 2 minutes max of my time. Next, I brushed my teeth and left the bathroom.

That was odd for me, because having been an efficiency expert in the corporate world for 33 years, doing things end-to-end is totally ingrained in my being. If you want things to run like a Swiss clock, do your projects end-to-end. It's always the gaps that come back to bite you.

So when I simply cleaned my mirror (which is what had been bugging me for about a week) and spritzed Windex in the sinks as an after thought and left the bathroom, I felt relieved. I wondered why, so I went back in and looked at my bathroom. Nothing in it was bugging me. I thought I might be on to something. I decided that when I come across a particular thing that is bothering me, I will just do that one thing and not worry about the rest of the stuff that isn't bothering me yet.

Later in the day, I caught a glimpse of the huge mirror above my bed and realized its dirty condition had been bugging me for some time. However, I had not done anything about it yet because that kind of thing is an "extra," and I barely get around to the "regular" stuff. So, I decided, "I'm gonna clean that mirror." I grabbed a microfiber cloth and my Windex out of the bathroom, and in less than 2 minutes, the mirror was beautiful. I felt relieved again. Yes, the furniture needed dusting and the floor needed mopping, but that stuff wasn't bothering me yet.

In the afternoon, I walked through the living area and tried not to look at the sofa covers which were slid half-way off the sofas and had dog hair stuck on them. When I started to tense up, I thought, "I'll just throw those things in the washer." I never even considered doing anything else in the living area because I wasn't uptight about anything else in there yet. It took about 2 minutes to yank those things off and get them on their way to clean. What a relief! They are still in the dryer, but who cares? They're clean!

Later in the evening when I bent down to get the dog's bowl off the kitchen floor, I was appalled when I looked up and saw the cabinets under the sink at close range. They had stuff stuck on them and dripped down them, and there were spider web villages underneath. It was getting late, and I was really bummed out; until I thought, "I'll just do this one spot." So, I did. It took me a little longer than my other impromptu projects - maybe 15 minutes, because I got a little distracted and used my old sponge to clean the floor directly under the area. I have no idea what the other cabinets in the kitchen look like. I chose to admire the pristine condition of my sink area.

I call my new cleaning methodology "spot cleaning." It has taken a huge burden off my mind to know that I have given myself permission to just take care of the thing that is bothering me at that moment without feeling guilty that I didn't "do it all."  This approach is SO much faster and less burdensome than the complete room approach of the past. My back is grateful beyond words. My mood is happier.

And you know what I'm discovering? This spot-cleaning technique is moving me through my cleaning chores at a surprisingly quicker pace than I would have thought. And those horrible "extras" are not looming over me, making me feel inadequate. I think that getting rid of the dread of doing things that are beyond my energy level and attention span may actually help me accomplish more.

So, less than 25 minutes out of my day, and I feel like I accomplished a lot more than I actually did. It's not Better Homes and Gardens, but it's not bothering me.