Spring Cleaning a few months early!

Not much is going on around here, so I haven't had much to write about. I am still suffering from the "Bah Humbugs", but not as badly as I was a few weeks ago. Since I am almost never home I asked Krystle if she wanted a real tree (that she would have to remember to water) or if she just wanted me to put up the fake tree. She looked at me in that way that only a teenager can manage. I'm sure many of you adults have been flashed that look, too. You know the one... a mixture of angst, irritation, and bewilderment. Then she just shrugged and told me she didn't even care if we had one up or not. Wow! I may not be a huge traditionalist, but I have never gone a year without a Christmas tree. At 40 years old, I am not about to start. I guess that could be because if I think I can get away without dealing with the trappings of the holidays, I will. How depressing is that? SOooo, I decided I would put up the fake tree this coming weekend. Anyone who has been in my tiny home knows that finding a place in my living room for a tree is a major feat! I have been mentally preparing for the furniture rearrangement and the deep cleaning that always comes with it by starting a bit smaller. OK, so I thought I was starting smaller! Here is what happened:
Two weekends ago I decided to clean out my bedroom closet. This chore had not been done in about 10 years! My small walk-in closet was pretty much a reach-way-in closet because the entire floor was covered in boxes, bags, backpacks, craft projects, and other stuff. Krystle had gone through her clothes and her closet so I had two large boxes of clothes going to charity. I wanted to make only one trip to the donation box, so I decided it was time to clean out my stuff. Three large boxes of clothes and other usable misc. crap later, I found the closet floor. I can now hang things up without the use of a crowbar, and I can walk into my walk-in closet. What a concept! I do have one laundry basket full of bed sheets that I no longer use, but I thought I would let Heather go through those before I sent them on to charity. This closet project took me about SIX HOURS! Now, if you think that is bad, read on!
Last weekend, I decided to keep the cleaning momentum going. My bedroom is the "catch all" for everything that I never took the time to find a place for. My dresser is the largest flat place, so it accumulated all the "important papers" like pay stubs, bank statements, photographs, letters, and 401K paperwork. With the closet now cleaned out, I can get to my lock box, so that was the first thing I took care of. Then it was getting rid of all the garbage like old receipts, old makeup, non-matching socks, and even some outdated computer software. We are talking Windows 5.1 and some books on DOS that were just as old. I didn't realize how much garbage I was hording. I took two boxes and one large garbage bag of trash out of there. I cleaned off the antique sewing machine cabinet, my dresser, under the bed, and the top of another chest of drawers that I use to store my linens in. My house does not have a linen closet, or anything that could substitute, so that is the only place I could find to put them. I worked on my bedroom for 8 straight hours! Guess what? I'm not even finished! I did get about 3/4 of the way through the room, but the last wall is occupied by a large bookshelf and a small bookshelf sitting on top of two bedside tables. I am an avid reader so the bookshelves are packed with books of all types. The smaller shelf holds my (soon to be outdated) TV/DVD player and my Nintendo 64. This is how I amuse myself when Krystle and her friends take over the living room. It is also where I put all of my Montana related books, magazines, and maps. The small book shelf sits on the two bedside tables in order to raise the TV to an acceptable height. Those hold smaller craft projects, and all types of other misc errata. The large bookcase is packed with novels of all types, but one shelf is dedicated to various memorabilia from my life. Things like tiny stuffed toys that my kids or other important people gave me, a jewelry box, a shadow box that displays some miniature mementos, and a couple of photographs in frames of the girls when they were newborns. Cleaning up these shelves, arranging the books into proper rows, and cleaning the dust from all the other stuff is my project for this coming Saturday. Once my bedroom is free from the weight of grime, all shiny and clean, I will tackle the living room. It is not even one-tenth of a chore that my bedroom turned into. I will deep clean the kitchen last, since Krystle uses it all the time, but she is not the cleanest cook! I want it to be clean, deep cleaned for my sanity, when the Christmas visitors show up. Granted, the only visitors I am expecting are all family, so I don't think anyone will care if the pots and pans cupboard is in disarray! It's just the mood I am in right now, and if I am in a cleaning mood, I better take advantage of it. I'm not the OCD type (stop laughing Joe!) so I don't know when the cleaning bug will hit me again.
I am hoping to put the Christmas tree up on Sunday. Once the tree is up, and my house cleaned, I will start making some homemade gifts. I have found a few recipes I would like to try, and a few "Gifts in a Jar". I won't go into details here, just in case people in my gift giving circle actually read my page!