Cleaning

~The man who wins may have been counted out several times but he didn't hear the referee.

~H. E. Jansen

Today I was really thinking about how much I love my mom :) I am extremely grateful for all she has done and continues to do. And while there are a million things I could say on the subject I just want to talk about one.

A lot of changes came with moving out. New city, new school, new classes, new ward, first calling, not knowing anyone, grocery shopping, finances, doing the laundry, washing the dishes, taking out the trash, making sure there is enough hand soap, toilet paper, dish towels, paper towels, garbage bags, Clorox wipes, Ziplocs, dish soap...

Well, I like things clean, I do. Growing up my Mom always kept the house clean. For years this just seemed... normal? The dishes were always done, my laundry back in a day, the floors mopped and the tables and counters wiped down. When I started visiting friend's houses I was disgusted by how messy things were. There were crumbs everywhere and clutter and smells. Haha, no, it wasn't terrible, just not as clean. Since then I've laughed whenever my mom mentions how dirty her house is.

I probably shouldn't laugh. It really isn't messy, but I am glad she cleans. I love going home now and how clean and clutter-free everything is. Love how the microwave is wiped down and the floors don't turn my socks black. Love how I'm not worried about putting my towel on the bathroom counter or laying on the carpet.

I don't like cleaning exactly. I like having things clean though and sometimes I get the urge to clean... but I prefer to clean up my own messes. My apartment has dish days. This is a constant struggle for us. With six of us we each take a day of the week and we are supposed to rotate Sundays. Doesn't exactly work and I have Monday-which is fun :/ For the last two months or so we have tried to have everyone do their own dishes-not working. Not sure why either. Haha, and I have never seen so much recycling in my life! Even the row of recycle bins out our back door are often overflowing. Oh, and don't buy the cheap trash bags. It's worth two more bucks not to have it rip every time you try and take the trash out :)

The picture below is of our trash can (on the left) and our recycling bin (the... mountain on the right). You can't see the trash bag as it is about half a foot down the inside of the can-great fun, and it happens a lot. This was about a month ago but I'd have to say it is about two days worth of garbage and maybe a week's worth of recycling.




It amazes me how much of everything we go through and how fast everything gets dirty. It's frustrating as well. I would love to just clean things down as I go but living with other people there always seems to be another mess. Haha, not to be mean though. It is cleaner than it could be :)

When I go home I try to keep things clean more now and try to help do the dishes and what-not. I am grateful for growing up in a clean home and hope I can keep my future home as clean as my mom keeps hers :)