Housecleaning Co-op

OK. Clearly, I'm bored.

I've been cleaning my own house lately and by "lately," I mean not even two months. Most of my life (and nearly all of my married life which pretty much covers the same timespan), I've hired someone to clean my home. I've been lucky in that the people I've hired have been extremely good at what they do for the most part. The house gets clean but every once in a while there's some minor damage to a wall, a vase, a barstool, sheetrock. It happens.

Even when I retired a few years ago, I kept my housecleaning service. But after I came home one day to find that a toilet seat had been broken, I decided it might be time for me to clean my own house.

So far, it hasn't been too bad. I mean I thought it would be harder on my aging body but I don't do it all at once so it seems wholly manageable. Plus, it gives me something to do and, in some respects, I actually do a better job than the people I hired. Mostly, it comes down to the details. Small stuff that I wouldn't expect anyone else to do for what I was paying.

I find that I mostly clean while Hubby is away doing whatever it is he does. I have no trouble imagining that I could easily become resentful if all I was doing was cleaning house and all he was doing was sitting in a recliner. But when he's away, I don't mind busying myself with some housecleaning. Plus, I feel good about the results. Results I can see. An accomplishment, if you will. Items crossed off the list.

But, here's what I'm wondering. Would it be more fun - can I use that word in this context? - fun or more sociable if there was a housecleaning co-op? What if a group of people got together to clean one of the co-op member's houses, each person taking a job they either like (or are good at) or otherwise dislike the least? The job would be over in an hour and then in a couple of days, they could clean another member's house and so on. 

But if it's all done in an hour, what will I do for the rest of the day?

Hm... What if wine was served?

Has anyone actually stopped on a dime?

And, why? 

In the continuing quest to slow aging, drink coffee.

 MSN | Coffee found to have startling effect on aging, says new study

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Safe cautioned. 

 Can I volunteer to be a test subject?

Accidentally Finding Something to Do

I need to wipe down all the countertops in my laundry room. I spilled some coffee beans in there and I picked up as many as I could find but the counters have a speckled pattern to them so I'm not sure I can see them all. Plus, they probably need a good dusting anyway.

(Ask me later why there's a coffee grinder in my laundry room.)

PRO TIP: Remember to take the lid off the coffee grinder before attempting to pour coffee beans into grinder.

Follow me for this and other housecleaning tips.

I wasn't wearing my Apple watch during my workout. Does it count?

It wasn't a marathon by any means. Not even a half marathon. It was just some pushups and sit-ups with a few squats, a plank, and stretching. But I did it which is what matters, right?

Please feel free to validate me here as my watch will not do it.

Make a List

To motivate myself, I made a list.

My mom's strategy for making a list is to start with a couple items you've already completed. That way, you get to cross a couple of things off the list right away giving yourself an immediate sense of accomplishment and the confidence to conquer the rest of the list.

I'll put that on my list.

I made a list of things to do that day. What works best for me is to make the list when I have only a limited amount of time to complete all the tasks on the list. That helps me to prioritize, focus on what's truly important, and get motivated. They can be completely mundane things (chores, errands) but that's the beauty of it. It's hard to get motivated to do some of those things except when you can make a game of it:  a challenge, if you will, to cross things off the list and beat the clock. At the end of the day, I feel accomplished despite the list's mundane nature.

Now I have a new list which elevates the game. With a renewed sense of purpose, I made a list of larger tasks such as repainting the baseboards, shampooing the carpets, replacing weather strips, cleaning the refrigerator's water intake line. Here's the beauty of this list: I now do the mundane tasks on the previous list automatically so as to avoid the list of larger projects. By practicing work avoidance, I actually get stuff done. Pretty tricky.

Somehow I've decided that I need to organize some persona documents. This is so time consuming, that all lists are being avoided.

But that's sort of the point, isn't it? I've accidentally given myself something to do.

(It got pretty dicey there for a minute. I actually talked to a recruiter the other day. That was terrifyingly close to actual work.)

It's June 13 and I'm bored already.

Yesterday, I actually said these words: I get to do laundry tomorrow.

That's how desperate I am.

Summer's are long here. Long and hot. If you need to do anything that requires you to go outside, you've got to go first thing in the morning. After that, you're just stuck inside. For example, this Tuesday it will be 100 degrees outside by 10 in the morning. (Today, it was 11 a.m.)

I'm sure I can find things to do around the house but the fact is, I don't. I'll stare at a computer or table screen and my mind turns to mush, my energy is sapped, and I'm not motivated to do anything. Thus, I look forward to days when I have something to do.

Like laundry.

Everywhere else is fine.