When I got up this morning, Tom was already hard at work getting the house clean for our guests. (Who will arrive on Thursday, I think.)I suspect that Tom and Peter think I am a bit of a clean-house freak, but the truth is that I am more an anti-clutter freak. All those years in the monastery trained me to leave rooms straightened up and neat. So I am bothered when the ironing board is left out in the library or tools pile up on the buffet or empty soda bottles cover the kitchen cabinets or the sink is full of dirty dishes. I prefer that things be put away -- you know, compulsive about a-place-for-everything and everything-in-its-place. (After all, the Latin name of the Discalced Carmelites is Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum, making the initials used at the end of names O.C.D., which happily [or not] also stands for obsessive-compulsive disorder. I'm just saying ...)
Tom, on the other hand, gets all CLEAN clean. This morning he is not just putting stuff away. He is taking everything off the bookcases so that he can dust and oil the wood. The entire house will smell like Old English lemon oil by the end of the day.
So I will try to stay more or less out of the way. I do have to clean up my room and get it ready for Helen and Jay. Actually I started a couple of weeks ago by uncluttering my closet. I will have to get the bathroom in shape -- and yes, I will clean it thoroughly. I'll even bring out the steamer for the floor and the shower stall and get some anti-rust stuff so the toilet looks respectable. (If I could only keep the cats from muddying up the rim with their paws!) I will also clean (maybe even OIL) my bookcases and desk, and get the under-bed storage hidden better. Come Thursday morning, I can do the carpet and put clean linens on the bed. I got a holiday quilt on sale to add a festive note.
And pack my own bag for heading to the AmericInn later in the day.
Meanwhile, I am procrastinating.
No comments:
Post a Comment