Saturday, May 2, 2020
I'm Just Here for the Validation
You know how it is when you accomplish something relatively small but nonetheless satisfying and you just know no one else is even going to notice, much less congratulate you on your accomplishment?
That was today, when I finally climbed up and down a chair many, many times to scrub off the disgusting combination of grease* and dust that was furring all the high edges of cabinets and the ceiling fan in the kitchen.
No one will notice this in my house except for me. Therefore, I'm just going to share this minor accomplishment with the Internet at large so as to feel appreciated.
Have you accomplished anything unheralded but satisfying lately? Please do share so I can congratulate you.
* I fry things a lot. Mostly meat. I have often thought that my kitchen would be a lot easier to keep clean if I wasn't feeding so many militant carnivores every day.
That is totally what I need to do as well. I congratulate you and invite you to come and do mine. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on cleaning the cabinets. That is a chore. I have an old cast iron sink with side drain boards and a skit on it. I lifted the whole skirt up, took out all the plastic containers that I have cleaners and “stuff” in, washed them out, and mopped the floor under the sink. Wow, we’re those back corners dusty.
ReplyDeleteJoellen: That definitely warrants congratulations. Under the sink is a scary place.
ReplyDeleteCleaning at my dad's house...don't get to those corners & under the bed like I do at my house. Lot's of dust bunnies! Also, when he cooks he doesn't clean up as well as a women would, so much grease & food particles in the stove plates.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: Extra bonus points if you're cleaning for someone else.
ReplyDeleteI cleaned all my cabinets and washed the curtains last week for what may or may not be the first time ever.
ReplyDeleteWith all the in house time I couldn't ignore the ceiling vents any longer. Sure hope this helps with the allergies! Also took off the cushion on the mommason chair and actually cleaned inside the base. Still have a couple of things that will happen when I decide to drag the tall ladder into the house, but the motivation just isn't there right now.
ReplyDeleteGood for you to do that yucky kitchen chore. And, not like your dad and me, you're probably busier with the stay at home directives, so even more kudoz for your cleanup!
Lisa: Taking down curtains and putting them back up is the worst. Two gold stars for you.
ReplyDeleteMere: Anything that requires a ladder is a no-go. Be proud of the ceiling vents and forget the ladder stuff. That's what I'd do, anyway. :-)
Maybe A would like to build you a nice range hood with an unnecessarily strong exhaust fan?
ReplyDeleteDrew: It's a sort of running joke that when I get my Viking range, I'm going to get a restaurant-strength exhaust fan. (A joke because I will almost certainly never have either of those things.)
ReplyDeleteA. has many talents, but electrical work and renovating anything inside the house are not really his forte.
Now that you're all in practice, I so MUCH wish you all could visit and we could clean cupboards together. The upper level of the kitchen cabinets really needs me to pay attention--but the lawns, the lawns--and then I have to study the progress of my chickens. I figure that it's only 13 weeks before I can look for eggs, and only about 11 weeks before I need to prevent rooster fights (and you know what that means). Congratulations, and enjoy the good feeling.
ReplyDeleteHere's a tip I received some years ago - makes the top of cupboard cleaning so much easier! I lay several layers of newsprint on them - if your kitchen gets breezy you may need to use some tape to secure them (or place some weights on top). Whenever you think it's time to clean up the grunge - all you need to do is roll-up the newsprint, discard and replace with fresh paper.
ReplyDeleteBathrooms. Those who do not clean the bathrooms appear to not ever notice the level of cleanliness of the bathrooms. This is most especially true if those people are male. (Seriously, is it SO difficult to just put the pee in the toilet?) Shoe-stick-to-the-floor filthy, eat-off-the-toilet-tank sparkling -- it's all the same to them! So I clean two house bathrooms and a shop bathroom regularly and am pretty sure I'm the only one who ever notices ... *accepts internet validation, bows to applause*
ReplyDeleteRuth: That's a good tip. I was scrubbing mostly the top edges of cabinet doors, but there is one flat top of the cabinets where I could do that.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: YES. I avoid using the kids' bathroom if I can, because, well, they're kids. And three of them are boys. GROSS. Applause for you particularly for the shop bathroom, because anything in conjunction with a shop gets oily and dirty for shop reasons, much less for toilet reasons.
Ruth, that's good. Our kitchen cabinets go to the ceiling, but I've got a few dressers where the tops are above eye level.
ReplyDeleteKristin, I've seen his stone work. He could do a fan. Our neighborhood has a clubhouse down at the beach where they renovated the kitchen a few years ago. They didn't take the opportunity to put in a fan, and every time they cook breakfast in there (one Sunday per month, barring quarantine) the whole building reeks of grease.
Drew: He COULD do anything. It's just a matter of wanting to. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! Cleaning the cabinets above the stove is the worst and I am the only one who seems to notice and yet I still clean it and still the only one to notice. But it is CLEAN!
ReplyDeleteVirtual high five back to you/us!
Kristin, what’s your trick for removing grease from your cabinets? Mine are in need, and nothing I’ve tried has worked yet!
ReplyDeleteDana: I scrubbed hard with a nylon scrubby thing and soapy water (Dawn dish soap). There are, however, commercial cleaners featuring ammonia that would have worked better, had I had one. Ammonia cuts grease really well.
ReplyDelete