What a Girl Wants, What a Girl Needs

Ok, I know I'm evil for putting that Christina Aguilera song in your head, but in trying to think of a title for this post, it came to mind and made me giggle, so I kind of apologize but not really. ANYWAY, after my earlier post, I then talked to a friend on the phone, and then to another friend, and then I cleaned my kitchen (except for mopping the floor, which I will do tomorrow) including cleaning the coffee pot with vinegar, so real cleaning, not just superficial sort of cleaning, and then I embarked on the mammoth task that is Cleaning My Room.

Let me just admit it for the record that I can be a real slob. Not in an "I live in filth" sort of way - I always have a clean toilet and I do the dishes and all of the heavy cleaning sorts of things - but in terms of not putting my things away properly, yes, I am guilty. I have been this sort of a slob for my entire life. I was kept after school in elementary school for the Crime of the Messy Desk (a Crime of which I'm still guilty); since the time that I have been responsible for keeping my room clean, it has been, more frequently than not, a disaster. The problem is that rather than keeping up with straightening up, I really have no problem with throwing things willy nilly - until of course I do have a problem with the willy nilly craziness, and then I'm overwhelmed.

But also, I think part of the problem is that I find keeping every single thing in its place, well, boring. I mean, I'd much rather be doing other things.

I remember being like seven years old and being banished to my room to "clean." And I did keep at it for what seemed like quite a long time. But then I found my collection of books with records, and I decided that it would be wise to bust out my little record player and listen along/read all of them. And then I was tired and so I thought I'd just take a little rest. My mom was none too pleased when she came in to check on my progress after a long while ("You were too quiet") and found me asleep in the middle of what looked like a bigger mess than when I started.

Well, I've still got the same basic character that I had when I was seven years old. I am persistent in many other areas of my life, but I am not persistent when it comes to major straightening types of tasks. I am very, very easily distracted. And so, I began cleaning out my closet (which I've needed to do for approximately 3 months) and now the closet is mostly emptied of its wares, but I thought, do you know what? I think I'll just take a teeny break. And so I sat down to the computer, and now I'm writing about cleaning instead of just cleaning. Because I have no will-power. Cleaning is BORING. And I really don't CARE about being messy (except for when I can't find things, which is why I started this project in the first place).

The problem is, I MUST go back to the project, as if I don't, I will just end up piling everything up when it's time for bed, and then I'll be right back where I started.

I wish I were the sort of slob who was filthy and yet neat, for then I could solve my slobbiness by hiring a cleaning lady. The problem is, a cleaning lady can't do the sort of cleaning that I most need a cleaning lady to do. Oh, and I know, you'll say, but Crazy, if you hired a cleaning lady to do the heavy cleaning it would force you to keep your messiness under control. Don't think I haven't considered that, but to be honest, I think I would just do what I did when I was a kid, and shove everything in the closet or under the bed or in a box in the spare room in order to make things presentable for the cleaning lady. And then I'd not get the satisfaction of cleaning my own damned toilet.

It's really a no-win situation.