Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Housekeeping

I have never been a tidy human being. Never.

You may know the story of the rapist breaking into Maude's and my apartment and the police being shocked at the state of things.

My dad used to tell me that I'd never get married if a man saw how messy my room was. He used this repeatedly, and while I worried from a young age about being marriageable, still I didn't clean up my room.

Fortunately, I have some other good qualities. But the lack of tidiness makes Nick nutso.

So I've started reading that Marie Kondo learn how to tidy and change your life book that everyone has been talking about.

Since I'm in need of help, and people rave about this book, I figured, why not. It will improve my house and my relationship with my husband, and if reccommedations are to be believed, may ultimately change my life.

Although one woman said in her testimonial that Kondo taught her what she didn't need in her life and she divorced her husband.

Huh.

I'm not very far in, but I am going to read it, and I am going to attempt it.

Because every once in a while, I get on a tidying kick, but it never lasts, and the chaos returns. Which is what Kondo says happens until you learn to tidy.

This past spring, for the first time ever, I bought a number of those giant Tupperware boxes for winter clothing.

We crammed all of our coats and scarves and boots and duvets and what-have-you into the boxes. We have a little bit of the basement as storage space, so we had somewhere to put them.

I was opposed to mothballs, but Nick pointed out that we didn't only have to worry about moths; we also had to worry about rodents looking for a nice nesting place.

Uggggghhh.

Mothballs, he said, were the only solution.

So we mothballed the boxes and stacked them in our storage space.

It's been delightfully warm, or warmy-coldy, as Jordan likes to say, in the morning and then warm in the afternoon. But last week it was suddenly more coldy than warmy. So on the weekend we pulled out our coats and boots.

Oh. My. Hell.

We set all of it out in the sunshine and wind for two days. The horrible did not dissipate. I've still got stuff outside.

But! The smell comes in the windows! And every time the kids walk out there they hold their noses and do a cringey dance and say, "Yucky! Yucky!"

I've now washed the washable stuff twice. Still smells wretched.

This, people. This so far is what my brief foray into organization has wrought.

Marie Kondo, take me away!

12 comments:

  1. Try putting like 2 - 3 cups of white vinegar in the wash, and then do a second wash with 2 cups of baking soda, if they still smell. Both are great natural deodorizers. Activated charcoal works to get the smell out of places, but i don't know how you could use that with clothing.

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    1. Megan! Thank you! I'm currently running a load with two cups of vinegar at your suggestion! Fingers crossed! And I could totally use charcoal wiht the boots. Will look for some tomorrow. Next weekend the duvets...:(

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  2. ugh, I'm a messy mess too. I've tried so many "help" solutions and while I totally get why and how it all works for so many people I'm just not Neat. would you believe that I'm actually too much of a perfectionist for it? I can't just pick up a few things - I have to clean that entire area/room from top to bottom with a toothbrush and who's got time for that? so I just do nothing if I can't do it all "ie. do it Right!). Anyway, pardon my not knowing but why do you need to use mothballs with Tupperware bins? cardboard boxes I get, but the animals shouldn't be able to get into the sealed bins... I thought that's why they were a better choice even though the boxes are better for our things because they "breathe"? TEACH ME!

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    1. Oh my goodness! That's really impressive. Yes, I can see how that would hinder you, even though I'm not at all like that. But I have other things that I wouldn't do if I couldn't do perfectly...so I don't.

      As for the mothballs and Tupperware. I wanted it to be as airtight as possible, but those lids are not totally. So I was worrying about moths anyway. And then when Nick introduced the rodent possibility, I freaked out. I don't know if they could squeeze in, but those mice are sneaky little bastards that can flatten themselves out like crazy. I didn't want to risk it. How gross would that be? And I didn't know about the breathing! Shit! It's all very complicated. Best to leave things in piles about the house per my natural tendency.

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  3. Naphthalene simply must be carcinogenic. Whenever I'm around it I get a headache (I'm like one of those rats who sniff out landmines, I guess).

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    1. I'm in agreement with you. It is so vile.

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  4. I read that book, thought she was totally insane, and 100% right about almost everything. I got rid of 10 bags of stuff. I even did her crazy folding thing and it's kept my closet looking good so far. Getting into her crazy mindset really did allow me to sort thru what I loved and what I was holding onto for any number of reasons. Also, she has no children so, there's that...

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    1. I personally feel like you might have to be insane to make organizing your life. The kid thing is huge in keeping the house cluttered, untidy, and generally chaotic. But I figure if I can tackle and then keep control of my own stuff, that will be huge.

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  5. I haven't heard of the tidy book. But I read this book as a kid and it's the same method I use to clean house. Basically you clear off your bed, change the sheets, then put everything out of place on the bed. Then put things away one at a time (or in laundry basket, trash, donate box etc). It works because you can't go to sleep until the bed is clear. In the living room, I ise the couch, desk for office etc. I don't have a good system for sorting and managing mail

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GRC35W/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=01N0BPW65VAAHJWWDS0D

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    1. This is a great idea, in theory. I used to transfer the pile from my bed to a chair, back to bed, back to chair. You are adorable: "I don't have a good system for sorting and managing mail."

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  6. Maybe try cedar blocks and balls next time? I don't know if it's as effective as mothballs, but it smells lovely. 😃

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    1. Will definitely try cedar. This mothball hell is ongoing and the smell burns my throat. Napthalene must be made by the Devil.

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