Household chores are simultaneously uplifting and demoralizing.
Do you know what I mean?
I spend yesterday cleaning and doing household chores. Not the quick vacuum around the litter box and scrub the toilet, but the full deal. I vacuumed and dusted. I sprayed chemicals all over this house and scrubbed every surface. I dug the cat litter out of the treadmill belt, wiped down the baseboards in the bedroom, and scrubbed the kitchen floor.
But I was just getting started. I cut the grass. I scrubbed mildew and leaves off the back deck. I hosed down the deck furniture.
I washed every piece of dirty laundry in this house. Well, except for the sheets. They’ll have to wait another few days.
And when I was done, I surveyed the place and felt damn proud of myself. The kitchen sparkled, the bedroom was camera ready, the yard picturesque. There are few feelings as satisfying as a clean house.
That’s why it’s uplifting. Today I feel energized, productive, and ready to take on the world. A clean house can do that.
But.
It doesn’t last.
Because as soon as I was finished, I showered and threw my dirty clothes into my hamper. The laundry was officially starting to pile up again.
The grass is growing, even as we speak. The dust I whipped up into the air is resettling.
I made oatmeal this morning and spilled blueberries all over my perfect kitchen counter.
Jasmine found a prime spot to deposit a hairball.
The cycle is never-ending. Usually, I’m cleaning a bit here and there, and I’m in a state of equilibrium with the dust and dirt of life.
But we you do a full housecleaning, you get the satisfaction of perfection.
Even if it is only one perfect moment.
Loved your story Melanie, can relate to that. Just love housework and the satisfaction when it is all done, but instead of a cat (which I would dearly love, I have a husband, bless him, who almost undoes all my hard work.