To Do or Not To Do

That is the question.  Whether tis nobler in the mind to attack the list of chores, or to take aim against obligations and go sit out on the porch reading instead.

Pretty much any weekend that I'm at home, I have a "to do" list in my head of things I really should accomplish around the house.  I wish I could say the list was only filled with items like "get a facial", "go fishing", "swim", "play with dogs", or "meet up with friends for dinner".  Unfortunately, there are always the less interesting tasks like "clean", "do laundry", "file the stack of papers you let pile up", "organize the office", etc.

I know there are people who say that they love to clean.  I challenge that statement.  How can someone truly love scrubbing, polishing, mopping, vaccuming, dusting, and so on?  I don't care how much Snow White smiled and whistled while she worked.  Behind that animated glow, she had to be thinking, "I'm only whistling so I don't cuss out these freaking messy dwarves who oughta be able to keep their own cottage clean."  Besides, she had squirrels and birds to help.  So far, Nat and Pyxi only contribute to the mess.

I believe that people who claim they love to clean really mean that they love having a clean house.  Now that I'm on board with.  I love it when everything's neat, there's no dog hair or dirt on the floors, the furniture gleams, the windows sparkle, and the house smells all fresh.  I just need squirrels and blue birds to do the work for me.

As posted earlier, I'm in the middle of a bedroom remodel.  Everything besides furniture that used to be in my master bedroom, including me, is now crowded into my spare bedroom, with even more stuff in the office/storage room.  As far as I'm concerned, this gives me a pass on having things perfectly arranged.  I've at least managed neat stacks of clothes on the other twin bed, but even so, it's all I can do to keep the bed I'm sleeping in clear. 

The work is almost done and I'm close to selecting the new furniture, so I should be able to move back into the master bedroom in a couple of weeks.  I can't wait.  It's going to be beautiful.  Before then, however, I need to deal with the aftermath of some of the construction.  There is a fine coating of dust in the room and, in particular the adjoining bathroom. I was still using the bathroom every morning and, unfortunately, I didn't have any warning before the contractor sanded the beautiful wood trim he installed around the doorways and windows.  So that dust is also on bottles, jars, tubes and the other items we usually crowd onto a bathroom vanity.

The task of cleaning the bathroom is tops on my weekend To Do list.  There's no way to pussyfoot about the project.  It calls for drastic strategy.  I have a bag at ready into which I'm sweeping everything currently sitting on the vanity or hanging out on the shelves in the shower.  The floor mats will go directly into the washing machine.  With the decks cleared, I can swab and scrub away.  A good rinse and dry of all the items and then I can restore everything to rights.

Don't I make it all sound easy?  At heart it is, but you'd think it was a task of Sisyphean proportions the way that I'm stalling.  "I have a headache.  I don't feel good."  "It's beautiful outside!"  "It's Sunday, I wanna do the crossword puzzle first."  "Blah blah complain complain complain."  How bad is it that I decided to blog about this as another form of stalling?

Suddenly, cleaning the bathroom has moved up to the top of the Not to Do list.  Now I have to negotiate with my slothful side.  Behind door number one is my back porch with the view of the harbor and a comfortable chair where I could finish reading the paper and do the crossword puzzle.  Behind dismantled door number two is the dust bowl bathroom.  Let's make a deal!  Clean the frigging bathroom and, as a reward, I will let myself linger on the porch for as long as I want.

There.  Decided.  Now to put words into action.  Yes, I'm off to clean the bathroom.  Huzzah! 

In the meantime, here's a new photo of the bedroom, freshly painted in a gorgeous shade of Pure Periwinkle with the handcut red oak trim around the windows.  Love, love, love the color and how everything is coming along!

Have a great day, everyone, not matter what you choose to do or not do!