I’ve never been big on cleaning. I have no OCD tendencies (except for when I’m pregnant and live in a house with a brand new, gleaming white toilet, sink, tub and floor — then I am cleaning that shit every 5 minutes because otherwise it’s just icky and you can see every speck of dirt and every hair and my irrational impregnated self cannot sleep if it’s not spotless) and no one has EVER accused me of being a neat freak or ‘anal’. Okay, well, Paul might have, but this is a man who can’t even close a closet door after he’s retrieved an object and leaves dirty Q-tips sitting around the bathroom, so I don’t think he’s one to judge cleanliness levels and whether methods to dispose of said dirt are over the top or not.
I wouldn’t say I hate cleaning, just that I lack the motivation required for how often it needs to be done. I have days where I’d rather stick myself in the eyeball repeatedly with a toothpick than scrub the stove and others where I go to vacuum and find myself in the midst of a cleaning frenzy, unable to stop until I drop and every surface shines. Once I’m in the Zone, there’s no going back. I actually enjoy cleaning when I’m in the mood, the sun is shining bright, the windows are open, and some good, energetic songs are pumping through the speakers.
Today, the songs that got me through cleaning out the fridge and silverware drawer and bleaching the countertops were “I Love To Boogie” by T-Rex, “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones, “99 Luftballons” by Nena, “Family Affair” by Mary J. Blige and “Sing Sing Sing” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Which songs keep you from slitting your wrists while you’re dusting the day away?
February 28, 2007 at 5:33 pm
i have a “cleaning mix” on my ipod, specifically for those days when i’m in the cleaning zone. some of my staple songs are:
“el salvador” – athlete
“chocolate” – snow patrol
“i don’t feel like dancin” – scissor sisters
“signed, sealed, delivered” – stevie wonder
“such great heights” – the postal service
“sheep go to heaven” – cake
and pretty much any fun techno remix that makes me dance around the apartment while cleaning. (don’t worry – i only do this when i’m home alone so as not to scare the roommate!)
February 28, 2007 at 8:05 pm
i like motown for cleaning days, especially early marvin gaye.
March 1, 2007 at 7:33 pm
I too seriously lack motivation for cleaning – so much so that it is my male partner who nags ME about the cleaning and not the other way around which is so often the case in het relationships. I might try putting together a cleaning mix on a CD or something to get me going.