Around the corner

If you walk through the front door of our home everything looks nice and neat. Lights and decorations have disappeared and we are back to our basic color scheme of beige, ecru, tan, ivory and light brown. No more holly berry red or Christmas green. The Festivus Pole has been moved into the garage and the neighbors can quit clucking until next December. (I miss that pole more than anything else.) It's always a bit of a shock at first but we quickly get used to the nakedness and settle back into the comfort of the rooms that have changed little since we moved here five years ago.

But go down the stairs and it is a different story. You can't see this mess from the stairwell. I am careful to keep it pushed to one side so that you actually have to walk down the stairs and turn the corner before you encounter the piles of decor and boxes waiting to be filled. It will only take a couple of hours to box it all up and put it back in the storage room, so why do I keep putting it off?

Mostly because it is only the start of a much bigger project that is looming ahead. January is the time that I start in on my spring cleaning. For the last month each time I looked in a cupboard or cabinet I knew that it was time to bite the bullet and get down and dirty. Empty, wash down, rearrange, toss unused or outdated items in a bin for DI or garbage, etc. Usually I start in the kitchen and work my way around the house doing one or two rooms a week.

Just yesterday I noticed that the mysterious (?) smudge lines have reappeared on the walls in the hallway and down the stairs. These dark areas are about 24 inches off the floor. A wet, soapy cloth will take these dark marks off but I know that they will magically come back within a few months.

A few weeks ago as I was getting ready to put something in the oven Zeus looked at me with a puzzled expression. He had caught a glimpse at the inside of the door. "Don't we have a self-cleaning oven?" Oh yeah, but that would require that I actually lock the door and turn it on.

So now I will put this computer to sleep and go get that family room back in order.

$7.18

(A $5 and $1 bill plus change really started my year out right on the 1st. Hopefully that is an indication of what a great year this will be!)