First, because I know you are all waiting breathlessly,
Zippy the fish is still alive as of this writing. I’m still keeping a close eye
on the ammonia levels, and changing out water a couple of times a day, but it’s
fairly stable.
Second, I am deep cleaning my house. No, not because of COVID exposure–because it badly needs it. It has been bugging me for a while now, but I haven’t had the motivation to actually embark on what seemed an insurmountable project.
I am not the neatest person in the world. (My mother will snort diet Pepsi out her nose when reading that understatement.) I am MUCH neater than I was when I was younger, mostly out of necessity. (When you reach a certain age, having specific places for things cuts down on the “where-did-I-put-that” moments.) I keep up with the must-cleans—bathrooms, kitchen, laundry. You know. But the rest of my house can go a while between good scrubbings. We are far from filthy, but I will not be winning any Good Housekeeping awards. And with a child who somehow manages to leave a trail behind her everywhere she goes, it is a bit of a Sisyphean task to start with.
However, when properly motivated, I can get a lot done
quickly. That motivation is usually in the form of a parental unit coming over.
We are not doing a Thanksgiving gathering in the Year of COVID, but my
mother-in-law will be coming up to stay with us until the New Year. (We are all
quarantining for 14 days prior to her arrival.) Nothing like a visitor to make
you see the dust on the unused surfaces and the stuff stashed in corners for
you to sort through “later”. Well, later is now.
We got rid of several bags of stuff, with more to go. Rooms
are neat, carpets are clean, surfaces are shiny. Did I get every nook and cranny?
No. There’s always more to do. Every time you clean something, the thing next to
it starts to look dirty. But it is miles ahead of where I was at the beginning
of the week.
Decluttering and heavy cleaning has made me feel a bit better (psychologically—physically it has reminded me that I am approaching a certain milestone birthday). The one good thing about cleaning is that when you have finished a room, you have that instant gratification of a job well done. And you’d best take that gratification instantly, because the next minute someone tracks in a leaf particle or a dust bunny hops in or crumbs somehow magically appear.
I tackled this huge job by breaking it down into smaller
jobs—one room a day. By making it manageable, I could break that mental barrier
down and get started, get it done. I tend to do this with my writing, too. I
tell myself to just do one chapter, whether it be drafting or editing. Makes it
feel achievable. With the writing, I usually end up doing more than one
chapter, once I start.
Not so much with the cleaning. 😉
Whatever task you are facing that seems huge this holiday
season, break it into its component parts. Make each one manageable, and savor
the victory of each piece completed. You’ll be done before you know it!
Making Life Manageable—CoronaLife Day 250
First, because I know you are all waiting breathlessly, Zippy the fish is still alive as of this writing. I’m still keeping a close eye on the ammonia levels, and changing out water a couple of times a day, but it’s fairly stable.
Second, I am deep cleaning my house. No, not because of COVID exposure–because it badly needs it. It has been bugging me for a while now, but I haven’t had the motivation to actually embark on what seemed an insurmountable project.
I am not the neatest person in the world. (My mother will snort diet Pepsi out her nose when reading that understatement.) I am MUCH neater than I was when I was younger, mostly out of necessity. (When you reach a certain age, having specific places for things cuts down on the “where-did-I-put-that” moments.) I keep up with the must-cleans—bathrooms, kitchen, laundry. You know. But the rest of my house can go a while between good scrubbings. We are far from filthy, but I will not be winning any Good Housekeeping awards. And with a child who somehow manages to leave a trail behind her everywhere she goes, it is a bit of a Sisyphean task to start with.
However, when properly motivated, I can get a lot done quickly. That motivation is usually in the form of a parental unit coming over. We are not doing a Thanksgiving gathering in the Year of COVID, but my mother-in-law will be coming up to stay with us until the New Year. (We are all quarantining for 14 days prior to her arrival.) Nothing like a visitor to make you see the dust on the unused surfaces and the stuff stashed in corners for you to sort through “later”. Well, later is now.
We got rid of several bags of stuff, with more to go. Rooms are neat, carpets are clean, surfaces are shiny. Did I get every nook and cranny? No. There’s always more to do. Every time you clean something, the thing next to it starts to look dirty. But it is miles ahead of where I was at the beginning of the week.
Decluttering and heavy cleaning has made me feel a bit better (psychologically—physically it has reminded me that I am approaching a certain milestone birthday). The one good thing about cleaning is that when you have finished a room, you have that instant gratification of a job well done. And you’d best take that gratification instantly, because the next minute someone tracks in a leaf particle or a dust bunny hops in or crumbs somehow magically appear.
I tackled this huge job by breaking it down into smaller jobs—one room a day. By making it manageable, I could break that mental barrier down and get started, get it done. I tend to do this with my writing, too. I tell myself to just do one chapter, whether it be drafting or editing. Makes it feel achievable. With the writing, I usually end up doing more than one chapter, once I start.
Not so much with the cleaning. 😉
Whatever task you are facing that seems huge this holiday season, break it into its component parts. Make each one manageable, and savor the victory of each piece completed. You’ll be done before you know it!
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