Roy Will Just Have To Make Do With Less Dust
Posted by Moose on July 12th, 2009. Filed under: Wee Apartment.If you ever want to experience the warm, tingly sensation of smug self-satisfaction, spend a day vanquishing EVERY SPECK OF DUST from your immediate environment. Seriously, it’s better than Nathan Fillion standing on your doorstep with a bottle of tequila and a glint in his eye. (Uh, not that I know from experience. SADLY.) My overwhelming sense of glee about my clean apartment leads me to think I should take up Greek or table dancing, but whatever. IT’S CLEAN. AND IT WILL STAY CLEAN. AT LEAST UNTIL TUESDAY.
Furniture was moved, floors were scrubbed, and spiders were offered the Paper Towel Express to the great outdoors. Well, the first two spiders were – after I found numbers 3, 4, and 5, I stopped trying to coax their reluctant hindquarters onto a sheet of Brawny and let them roam free among my books as they were meant to do. I named a few of them, as we’re sharing living quarters and their shiftless asses don’t pay rent. Next time I forget to go to the ATM, I plan to yell, “Hey, Roy! Fork over 20 bucks, you lazy arachnid!” I’ll let you know how that works out.
My mom drove up to the city on Saturday to take me out to lunch for my birthday (hello, 31!) and she was perplexed by my project. “You mean you moved your bed and cleaned UNDER it? Where did you learn to do that? Certainly not from me.” It’s true, spring cleaning is a concept I developed independent of any familial training. (This compulsion may have originated with Little House on the Prairie, come to think of it. They were always beating carpets with sticks and boiling lye and shivering pitifully through Minnesota winters in those books.) We determined that the clean gene must skip a generation, because I’m apparently channeling my grandmother Margaret.
So OOTLS is officially done. Well, it’s not DONE. I didn’t accomplish nearly what I originally planned, but let’s be honest, most of my to-do lists are crazy talk. As in, certifiably insane. No wonder I feel overwhelmed when I put in writing my Wednesday evening expectation that I will do laundry, defrost my freezer, write thank you notes to all my elementary school teachers, and de-worm Somalian orphans before doing some gentle yoga and a little light reading before bed. But for the most part, everything I own is clean and organized and DEAR GOD, I AM SO READY TO BE DOING SOMETHING ELSE NOW.
Three cheers for everyone who participated! You helped me get my indolent behind in motion, and I thank you all. Hope your accomplishments were worth the many emails from me.
July 12th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Wow,everything does look squeaky clean. Congratulations.
Btw, I did think of sending flowers your way as you oh-so-subtly suggested(cross country et al), but decided against it in the end, as the wilted variety might not have been what you were looking for!;-)Next year…pressed flowers? Anyway, sure hope you had a great day.
July 13th, 2009 at 1:45 am
Looks lovely, all clean and stuff. What happens Tuesday that will mess it up again?
And AMEN on Nathan Fillion.
July 13th, 2009 at 2:11 am
Kudos!
Do I need to know who Nathan Fillion is?
July 13th, 2009 at 3:15 am
Congratulations! And, happy belated birthday!
PS Must respectfully disagree: nothing could be better than Nathan Fillion on the doorstep.
July 13th, 2009 at 5:50 am
It looks wonderful! I especially love your lovely, cleared-off desk. (Oh! And I have the same desk lamp!)
July 13th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Nathan Fillion strikes me as the kind of guy who would make a point of noticing and complimenting a dust-free home. So, really, you’re establishing the circumstances that would allow him to show you that kindness. Most generous of you, I’d say!
(The place looks great!)
July 13th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Looks great & there really is nothing better than that really, really clean feeling st home. Yay you!
July 13th, 2009 at 7:13 am
ACK. I am a total asshole and forgot to text you on Saturday to tell you HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Can we just pretend I didn’t commit that huge faux pas and that this Saturday is your birthday instead?!
July 13th, 2009 at 7:58 am
a very happy birthday to you. As one who has completed more years in her thirties than she has left to go (eep!) let me be the first to tell you that it’s lovely being in this decade. Lovely.
I hope it’s just as good to you as it’s been to me!
July 13th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
CONGRATULATIONS – your apartment looks great! I am very impressed. My house has gone in and out of flux over the month – as we’ve said, it just keeps going around and around and the cleaning is never really done.
I did have all of the laundry done twice (many stages staring at me right now), and I wrote thank you’s and had everything looking great on several occasions, and my den’s bookshelf still looks wonderful.
OOTLS was tons of fun – I look forward to doing it next time (maybe once a quarter or twice a year)! oh, and Happy Birthday to you – your clean apartment means you get a double of whatever it is you’re ordering.
July 13th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Now, how much to get you to come to Chicago and do that for me? While I lie on the couch eating bon bons and watching reality show reruns on Bravo.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I actually drank tequila with Nathan Fillion in Cabo many years ago. He was bitter that I recognized his friend (Ryan Reynolds (I mean, come ON)) but not him (they were on that “pizza” show at the time). So, as long as you know who he is, I’m guessing he’ll bring that eye-glint action!
Place looks great, by the way.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
It is great to have a thoroughly clean house, but better than Captain TightPants at the door? I don’t know about that.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Love it. LOVE IT.
I’d say that I’m inspired to do the same, but I would be lying through my teeth.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
this makes me want to take photos of my place. It’s nearly midnight and I am just finishing mopping. everything is clean. until tomorrow when we come home from the beach, I am sure. Love your cozy place! (from me at Movin’ down the road)
July 13th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I must delurk to respectfully argue that as amazingly wonderfully awesome as a clean apartment is, Nathan at the door would be even better!
July 14th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Thanks, guys! For the birthday wishes and the WELL-EARNED APARTMENT ADMIRATION. My washerwoman knees appreciate it.
And, yeah: Possibly the only thing that would be better than Nathan Fillion on my doorstep with tequila would be world peace, and then only grudgingly. But a girl has to take what she can get.
July 14th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Clean homes are nice and all, but I can’t imagine anything better than Nathan Fillion standing on my doorstep with a bottle of tequila and a glint in his eye…I’m just saying.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
You did such a great job… but I can’t believe you let the spiders live between your books (without them paying rent!)
July 14th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
It still cracks me up that your bed is right by a window and a door!! (the place looks amazing, as will my garage as soon as the donation truck makes its monthly roll through my hood!)
July 16th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
From Glacier National Park: WOW!!!!!!! (Referring to both Glacier and your sparkling apartment.)
July 20th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Your home looks amazing!! And, thanks to your inspiration, my home is looking pretty amazing too!