Beware, the Mad Mopper!

I admit that I don't really like to clean the house. And I procrastinate. And I frequently procrastinate about cleaning the house.

Those statements will not be surprising to those who have known me for a while. It was so even back in those happy days of yesteryear that were my childhood. I remember my parents had to get on my case frequently about cleaning my room. I eventually wore them down and my mother opted for a single, simple rule regarding the cleanliness of my room: the mess had to be contained within my room (no spilling out into the rest of the house), and my room absolutely had to be clean by midnight on New Year's Eve, annually. Needless to say, I could frequently be found straightening my room at 11:45pm on December 31. I even offered my little sister $1 to clean my room once.

All this is not to say that I don't like a clean, orderly house. I do! But, being the perfectionist that I am, it can all seem a bit overwhelming and I think (subconsciously, mostly) knowing that I will never have everything done to my satisfaction makes it hard even to start. However, I occasionally get in a cleaning and organizing mood. I've learned that I really should obey this primal urge to clean as quickly as possible, because it invariably disappears in short order.

This past weekend, my wife wanted to rearrange the furniture in our family room. I was a bit reluctant, seeing as how it was the weekend and I was sure it could wait until.... Well, I was just sure it could wait. Indefinitely. Did I mention that I like to procrastinate? But rearrange we did. And of course, rearranging meant we just had to do a thorough cleaning of the room as well. That really is the type of cleaning that I can get into. You know, if you're going to clean, do it right! It's just so hard to dedicate enough time to it. Usually other items on the "to do" list take precedent and I have to settle on a quick tidy up of the place which is not nearly as satisfying.

So, anyway, I'm looking at our recently rearranged and thoroughly cleaned family room, and I'm getting into that cleaning and organizing groove again. Don't tell my wife, but I'm working on a strategy for doing the rest of the house. I just hope I stay "in the zone" and that this mood doesn't evaporate before the project is complete.

I'll let you know how it goes. :-)