Cleaning: Accomplished.

Yes, another one about cleaning. 

I finally finished the kitchen (vacuumed earlier this morning, so as to not piss anyone off at 8pm). All I've got now is the appliances (fridge / oven). And now? I can simply go home after work today and rearrange! What is it with women and the need to rearrange furniture? Is it men, too? So far in my life it has largely been women, is all I mean. It does make the place visually exciting in a new way / appealing. And it scratches that itch of solving a puzzle / spatial reasoning. Perhaps it is the possibility of finding a better way to arrange things. By and large, the women in my life have been anything but stagnant. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Other than that: I've still got to clean Jasper out before his big trip to VT! Everything in my life is going to be clean and smell amazing (...hopefully including me). After the Big Clean, the next thing to focus on, I think, is health / vitamins / the right food combos / staying as un-sick as humanly possible as the weather changes. It's looking like earlier nights, warm layers and swapping beer for tea or soup broth, in the evening. 

I wish I was better at making soup / I liked the soup I made more. I'm great at tomato bases / veggie roast blends, etc, but when it comes to a clear veggie-broth base? Its never comes out that satisfying. Sigh. Maybe some day.

If it weren't for the sodium content, I would simply chug v8 throughout the cold season. ...And the warm season, come to think of it. That stuff is delicious! But, alas: I must not turn my liquidy insides to solids. The real shame is how much time it would save me.

At any rate, this was just a quick one to celebrate. 

And when I get home? It's time to spray delicious smellies, play delicious tunes and dance around like a monkey while I create an altered, organized space for N and myself!

Autumn Cleaning

 Wow, last post was anything but linear - let's try it again with feeling this time!

I did get around to deep cleaning / reseting this past weekend. A trip to the Dollar Tree & TJMaxx was all it took! (Well, actually, first it was a trip to Target so that I could expose my brain to the reality of what things typically cost in a department store. That way I wouldn't pass up on a good deal when it came time to hit up TJMaxx.) Got some cheap cleaning supplies, Frankenstein'd some tools together and voila! The living room, bedroom & bathroom are fin. I even created some N-approved scent spray with essential oil blends to keep it fresh throughout the season. <3

I've:
-    dry-dusted the ceiling / walls / moldings / baseboard heaters (whatever these are called??)
-    made an anti-spider, anti-mold, anti-dust solution and hit the walls / moldings / heaters with that
-    vacuumed the curtains / sprayed them down with homemade smellies
-    cleaned the mirrors & windows / vacuumed / solution'd or pledged the sills 
-    dusted / pledged any wood end tables / wardrobes
-    cleaned & polished the brass / silver handles with either lemon & baking soda (for anti-tarnish) or candle wax (for anti-smudge / water stains).
-    scrubbed sink, shower & toilet
-    dry dusted precious books
-    vacuumed the floors (after placing essential-oil-soaked cotton balls in the vacuum so the scent would permeate throughout the newly cleaned room <3 

All I've got left is the kitchen - but it's the biggest room! So I've got to steel myself and gird my loins before heading back into refresh-land. I'm glad I got the perimeter rooms accomplished, though - those are the ones N usually hangs out in, so now I don't feel as though I must rush through this last one. (He has no business in the kitchen - that's my room!)

I would love to reconfigure my closet / office corner in the upcoming room. I've got a couple ideas I can execute now and another I can save up for (it's going to necessitate a big shelving purchase - pray for me). But first, I must clean! Organizing is typically the more enjoyable side of refreshing for me, so I figure I'm probably going to get to that sooner than later. But cleaning - especially deep cleaning - is not always something I am in the mood for. (If you don't eat yer [tofu], you can't have any [Mexican chocolate cookies].)

I think, with this space being shared, it will likely be a bit-by-bit situation as opposed to an all-at-once affair. Which means it'll take longer and bring me nerdy joy for longer! Hooray! And then maybe by the time I'm all done it'll be winter and I won't be on the brink of demise (via seasonal depression) because I will be too pleased with my new arrangement.

As it is: I know last year was my best winter yet, so I am hoping that this one is just as good. If not better, because I will have N to annoy all season long. 

The Ramblings of a Tired Cat.

 I am trying to get excited for fall. On purpose. For once.

(Autumn lovers: this is not an invitation for you to spew your dead-leaf-propaganda at me. It's SO COZY. Omg SPOOKY SEASON. I know. I get itttt.)

I have unfortunately fallen off the reading train and figure hitting my goal for this year is pretty unlikely. Oh, well. The world does not stop spinning. 

In the meantime: I have been wanting to write and paint and create all bloody month but can't seem to get my energy patterns to align properly with my inspiration. Perhaps I will start with a tertiary: with a quick, silly little painting or two. And then move my way up to writing. I'll get there! And hopefully by the first week of January, my muscle memory will kick in and remind the rest of me that I used to take the 1st week off every year for a proper writing stay-cation. 

I am working part-time these days, so I'm unsure if I'll use any of my vacation time, but we'll see. Perhaps I will. Simply out of love for only my own created-traditions (most other traditions are poo!). Because I do occasionally love being a silly little creature. For no reason? Perfect.

At any rate: I've got my books, my notebooks / laptop / journal, my paints and paper, my earl grey tea and blankets... now I just need a really cozy autumnal scent to douse myself in from time to time and maybe create a playlist while I'm at it. 

Honestly, all I typically need is a day where I am free and have the energy to give a good, thorough cleaning to my living space. Whether it is my room, my nook or the whole apartment: I always feel better about going into a new season once everything has been refreshed. I believe it is time for a TJMaxx-or-Target run. Mainly to pick up a cozy, clean scent or two, and if I happen to find cool cleaning / organizational supplies on the cheap while I'm there? ...Worse things have happened.  

I wonder: to get excited for fall, is it better to eat seasonal foods? Or keep eating summer-y foods / produce to ease in and remind oneself that it isn't cold all year round? Hm. 

*cut to me: overalls: layers of dried paint all over my body and through my hair. I am creating a mural on the walls of my shared apartment: a childlike scene of a sunny backyard, complete with giant sun, about 6 times the size of the little house on the grass. I did not consult with N. I have lost it.*

It's always summer in here...

Anyway. I should probably either take a nap or rip into some redbull so I can actually accomplish something. Cheers!