Posted on by Writer of Words, etc

No sparks of joy here while decluttering

After spending a few days in my mom’s clean house, I came back to mine and was overcome with a need to declutter and deep clean. No time like the present! (Ugh. I hate when I say stupid shit like that…)

Of course my return home was not smooth and uneventful. As I said yesterday, the look around the place had me suffer a conniption which catapulted me into action, so at least that. Right?

I did the bathroom first. It is now so clean, it could be featured in some glossy House&Garden magazine!

Side note: I’ve banned the family from that room and told them to use the downstairs one. 🙄

Addendum to side note: they all used my clean bathroom anyway. 😵

Seriously though, this deep cleaning is therapeutic. I chucked stuff, bleached stuff, got on my hands and knees to get at the far corners of the baseboards underneath the cabinet, replenished toilet paper and clean towels…

Note to self: send the man to Walmart. We are out of TP and paper towels and bleach, too. 😃

Today the humidex continues to be stupid hot so I will tackle the next spot: open concept living/kitchen/eating area. Staying indoors in a/c is much better for my mental health than tackling any activity outside.

I will also solicit the girl child to do her art corner by withholding all ice cream and popsicles until there is at least a small dent in her mess (remember, I’m MeanMom™) and see how far we get. 🙂

I feel better, sort of. Even though I have to run to the loo every time someone uses it, to wipe down an errand drop somewhere (not really, but I want to). 🙄

Anyway, about my writing. This will have to wait. I will keep my laptop open to type random notes as they pop up so I won’t lose my thread completely, and check in with WP on occasion, but hopefully I can continue with this necessary but rather uninteresting chore of TIDYING UP.  Sparks of joy be damned. 😃

29 Replies to “No sparks of joy here while decluttering”

  2. I nearly spit out my coffee when the title of this blog post popped up in my Feedly and it will make me laugh all day whenever it pops into my head. Thank you for that!

    I have a similar situation. My Mom has a big, beautiful, clean, clutter-free home. I have a pigsty tiny apartment. Mom has no “things” except books. I have too many “things”. I’m currently living with her in her lovely home and keep all my clutter to my bedroom. LOL And the kitchen, which has become my domain since Mom no longer cooks. But she never ventures to that part of the house so she never sees the clutter, which would FREAK. HER. OUT.

    Now I’m trying to remember where I first heard someone say “Don’t have a conniption fit”. Was it in my personal life or did I read it in a book? Dunno.

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  5. Conniption is blending a story and discovering it doesn’t work, so you have to print out 150 pages and you are waiting for 5 cents a copy day and you feel some anxiety but after all it is a hobby your hubby keeps telling you. That is conniption.

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    1. Ha.

      The boy helped yesterday and the girl didn’t tackle her art clutter but she cleaned the guinea pig cage which is a huge project so for once, they are not a thorn in my side. For now… 😉

      And as long as they stay out of my pristine bathroom… 😂

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  11. Deep cleaning is a double edged creativity sword. On the one hand, sometimes it clears the decks in a way that frees you up to create. On the other hand, sometimes it is an elaborate (and productive) form of procrastination. Been there, done that. Only you will know for sure.

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    1. Feels like clearing deck today, not procrastination. I want to move my body and can’t outside due to heat, so this is the next best thing. But I get what you’re saying.

      I’m already brewing ideas while disinfecting and reorganising and purging, so I wander over to my laptop every now and again to type some notes.

      And the clean drawers are actually making me a teeny bit happier. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. I play solitaire nearly every day. It looks like a terrible waste of time–laying on the living room rug, shuffling and dealing. But in reality, I’m working out some of the plot twists and historical references in the novel I’m working on. I struggle between having things historically accurate and lecturing on “how we got here.” So activities that engage the other part of my brain, but still allowing the story-teller to run in the background, are very helpful. Cleaning can be that, as can house-painting or gardening. And I’d be out gardening (there’s plenty to do) but it is brutally hot and humid out there.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I love solitaire. I play both online versions and cards. And yes I agree, this mindless activity is great for writing/thinking. 🙂

        Here too, the humidity is brutal. Gardening happens layer or early mornings.

        Liked by 1 person

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