So Far So Normal

Day One of the Cleaning Plan.  It is supposed to ease you in gently, so today was just basic cleaning like wiping the counters in the kitchen and bathroom, a quick sweep of the floor if it needed it etc.  The lady who wrote the book, Katherine Berry (website here) recognises that the normal half hour allowed will not be enough if there isn't a cleaning habit in place.  She is very right.  I am supposed to be cleaning the kitchen counters.  I have to clear them first.  I am cautiously optimistic.  I can only do short stints (dratted leg) but I have sorted and thrown and put away a lot of stuff already.  The counters may not be clean, or even cleared, but tomorrow I have another go and by the end of the week they should be fine.  The bathroom is pretty much done as it is just a quick swish.  I abandoned hope with the bedrooms, apart from retrieving dirty laundry.  I haven't touched the living room or study yet.

Actually I have done one housewifery type thing in the study.  Some of the curtain hooks had come adrift again.  I am not impressed.

The sorting out part of today was supposed to be the spice cupboard.  I have two old, plastic cracker boxes, one with herbs and one with spices.  I got rid of one or two bits, but I suspect I will get rid of more in the next round of cleaning.  However the cupboard is also the jam cupboard and the pickle and sauce cupboard and I went through those.  It was surprising how much I could get rid of.  Bear had done his usual of having one small slice of jam on toast and forgetting about it so most of the jar was furry.

I tipped the jam and sauce down the drain.  I then thought that it may make the drains a bit sticky.  On my kitchen window ledge a drain cleaner had been sitting for years and I tipped it down after the last jar had gone.  I put in slightly more than the normal dose because it was almost finished anyway and had been on the ledge so long that the plastic had gone brittle.  This was a mistake.  There was an awful hissing as it started to work.  I looked at it carefully and took some rubbish out.  When I came back the hissing was not only worse but there was the most horrific smell of ammonia in the air.  I had the door and window open and I wafted frantically as I ran gallons of hot water down there.  I just hope I haven't damaged the plumbing.

So I have given the bathroom the quick swish, I've cleared some of the counters, I've sorted out some jars, I have left the kitchen smelling like incontinent tom cats and I haven't done the curtain.  However I am cautiously optimistic that things will improve.

Now I am off to get the word count going.