Husband and the kids made a trip to Illinois to visit his dad. We didn’t have anyone to watch our dog, and since she doesn’t get along with other dogs, we couldn’t bring her. So, I stayed back. Husband kept telling me to have friends come over and we could drink and watch movies. I kept telling him I’d think about it. I never really thought about it. I knew that’s not what I really wanted to do. I’m not going to lie, I spent the first hour they were gone crying. I’m home alone all day, every day, so I’m not sure why this bothered me so much. Maybe it was because in a few short years, my kids will be on their own. I blinked. I crave spending as much time as I can with them. I always have, but it’s so much more important now. After I finished crying, I ran my one and only errand of the weekend. I knew it was going to snow, so I wanted to be able to not leave my house all weekend. When I got home, I immediately started cleaning.
I would like to point out that my life is an endless loop of cleaning. Do dishes, someone makes more. Wash clothes, someone wears more. Vacuum and mop, someone gets the floor dirty (OK, that’s normally the dog and I did still have her with me). But, I had two and a half days where no one was there to mess things up. I started with Sunshine’s room. I pulled all of her stuff out of her closet. I tend to do this every couple of months, but within hours, it looks like a bomb exploded. It was so nice knowing it would be at least two days before it was a disaster again. I even took a picture and sent it to her! I then tidied up the rest of the room and moved on to Monster’s room. His room isn’t too bad. While the issue with Sunshine’s room is tidiness, the issue with Monster’s room is dust. I picked a few items up that were laying around and then I did a thorough dusting. After getting both kids' rooms looking decent, I vacuumed every last nook and cranny of their rooms. Here, I would like to stop and point out that I did not fully clean their rooms. It’s not my job. It is their job to keep their rooms clean. I don’t mind tidying every so often, but truly cleaning, that’s on them. Vacuuming is different in our house because our upstairs is so small, it just makes more sense to do the entire thing, all three bedrooms and the hallway, at once, so I’m happy to vacuum since I don’t like the kids vacuuming my room. Again, cleaning my kids’ rooms is not the norm. Their rooms, their responsibilities. I’m not their maid.
After the kids’ rooms, I decided to make a little dinner for myself. I made cauliflower pizza. This is something I don’t get to have often since no one else will eat. While enjoying my pizza, I watched some Bridgerton. I had never watched it before. I quickly became addicted. But, there was still more work to do. I deep cleaned the kitchen. I mean, every last thing off the countertops, wash down every appliance, use Murphy’s oil on the cabinets deep clean. After that, I took the dog for a walk. Then, I got back to Bridgerton.
The next two days it snowed, which was actually kind of perfect. I get antsy and feel like I need to be out of the house a lot. Not those days. I was happy to stay in my pj’s and clean. I took the dog for a couple of walks, yes, in my jammies, but other than that, I did not leave the house. I scrubbed the bathroom until it sparkled. I organized and vacuumed the basement. I did about 100 loads of laundry. Not exaggerating, there was not a single dirty item in the house except what I was wearing. All the woodwork was washed down with Murphy’s. All of the walls were washed. Floors were vacuumed and mopped. Our house has not been that clean since before we had kids. I was able to do yoga several times a day. And, I got to watch more Bridgerton.
The moment they got home, I made sure everyone looked and oohed and ahhed over my sparkling house. Then, like magic, it exploded with mess. Suitcase of dirty laundry in the middle of the living room. Water bottles and snacks from the road in the kitchen. Shoes and coats tossed in the hallway. Backpacks and boots thrown on floors in bedrooms. This is why I chose to spend my “me” time cleaning. I need order to help keep my anxiety in check. My family lives in chaos. I actually think Husband thrives on it. I did miss my family, but it was nice to have a little time to recharge.