by Spring Cleaning, in case you weren’t aware, is a precisely timed operation. For instance, it takes two weeks to clean my carpet. So I had them pick it up today in order for it to return all fresh and clean on the last day of my yearly Spring Cleaning.
The bulk of the cleaning will take place between 5/14 and 5/18, but there are a lot of pre-cleaning tasks, like going through all my boxes and files to see if I’m hanging onto anything I can get rid of. You’re supposed to save your research for future researchers, so I continue to store all my files for each book, but these growing towers of boxes bug me. Is there anything, anything at all I can get rid of?? I’ve started asking other writers what they save and I’m learning that not everyone holds on to their records. The thing is, I don’t have the heart to just chuck everything—I know how often I’ve accessed the archives of long gone writers and researchers. But maybe I can pare it all down a little more.
For some reason, even though I love wood floors, a completely bare floor depresses me, so I put a blanket down. It kinda works. That’s Finney over there on the couch. Finney loves a freshly cleaned comforter … to hork up a hairball on.
Here’s how my guys work: I’ve (sort of) cleaned the house before leaving for the beach so my cat sitter doesn’t think I live in squalor (even though I kind of do). Just as I’m walking out the door to meet up with my traveling companion, I look down at the living room carpet to see . . . a huge wet load of pre-eaten cat food.
I just leave it as to clean up wet throw up just grinds it down into the carpet fibers. I find it’s easier to clean when it has dried.
Never fails. They know I’m leaving and they always do it. I know my sitter thinks I really am the world’s lousiest housekeeper.
Hahahahahaha. But you are so right that it’s easier to clean up once it’s dried.
The blanket I put down while the rug is being cleaned has already been horked up on.