Looking for a Change

We've been in our house for almost seven years and I guess we're getting itchy.

Joe and I currently have the smallest bedroom in the house, which you may remember also houses the laundry room. At one point recently, Joe broke down and was all I work so hard and I sleep in the laundry room and I don't even have my own closet!

I started thinking creatively and decided that I really don't need my current office/closet/hovel. I don't need 90% of what's in there. All I really need is a surface to put a computer on and a surface to write on. That done, we could switch our bedroom with the room we use as a den and suddenly we'd have a grown-up bedroom! With a private door to the bathroom, sliding glass doors out to our own part of the deck, and beautiful view of the woods! But, most importantly, we'd NOT have a washer and dryer in our closet, we'd have a real live closet! A big one. One that can house Joe's huge stash of shoes!

It was a totally bizarro world Cleaning Club that day. The timing was weird, and for most of the time there were only three children here. Wha?! Yeah, it was weird.

The task at hand was helping me finish packing up my office/closet/hovel. I'd already packed several boxes and they were sitting, abandoned in the foyer.



We figured out where everything was going and moved several boxes to the garage and all the donated stuff Jennifer loaded up in her truck and took to donate for me (have I mentioned what a huge relief her willingness to do this is to me? I have, so pay better attention!)


We packed up the rest of the stuff in my office, dealing with where everything should go and talking me through the emotions involved in packing away so many years.



We found new places for things, got rid of stuff, and in what felt like no time my office/closet/hovel was empty (short of the giant desk that will need to be disassembled in there. See next week for Cleaning Club: The Demolition Edition!).



It was really amazing what we got done in a little over an hour. Stuff that I'd walked by over and over all week, not wanting to deal with carrying it all to the garage, and not really even knowing what to do with half of it, was cleared out and the task completed with what felt like only minimal effort.



This is the crux of cleaning club: It's practical, it's personal, and damnit I'm going to go ahead and say it's downright revolutionary.

Read more

Help Is On The Way

This week's Cleaning Club began long before Monday morning. The Shannon family had been down and out with a very bad cold. We were sicker than we have been in years. It was such a great relief to know that we could just be sick without worrying about the house for the whole week. My mantra was "Cleaning Club will be here on Monday."

It turned out that I had a bit of reprieve over the weekend and was able to get some work done around the house, but not having the pressure of feeling like there was no help allowed me to clean the house and do laundry in a completely stress-free way without resentment.

Monday morning then found us with a clean house, so I decided that we'd go into the room which I'd pretty much avoided since we moved in September: Bernadette and Andrew's bedroom. These guys just turned 5 and 3 respectively and have a bunch of toys in their bedroom. It's been just chaos pretty much the whole time we've lived here.





So with the help of King Michael's direction, we sorted and recycled, trashed and cleaned. It was another time where I was just so glad to have Jennifer and Rachel there--because I started feeling worse again as the morning wore on and left to my own devices would have ended in a far more chaotic state than we began. We stripped all of the bed clothes . Using the tutorial from preparing for Michael's birth, Rachel washed and dried all of the bedding. Jennifer and I flipped the mattresses.





The results were just fabulous! It's one of those projects for which I am so glad we have before and after photos. The difference in that room has been phenomenal and has endured an entire extra week of mommy being dreadfully ill. Bedtime is better. Nap time is better. In fact everything about that room is better.





And what is the first thing all kids want to do in a newly cleaned room? Why dump out all of the the toys, of course, and play in this wonderful "new" space! Lyle and Andrew got right to playing with the trains on the cleaned and cleared floor. Since we cleaned--Bernadette and Andrew both have really enjoyed playing in their room. It's been so much easier for them to pick up, since everything now has a place and is easy to put away.



Even King Michael looks pleased at our offering. Huzzah!

Read more

Creating Manland

It’s really funny that my post is on the heels of Rachel’s, because yesterday I was seriously ready to call this whole thing quits. My kids decided to more or less refuse to clean up the remnants from having their friends here during Cleaning Club. Four hours later the house was still not put all back together. I was sure that we’d just have to skip our house from now on--because I just could not deal with the fallout from Cleaning Club any more. Fast forward to 10:00pm when my husband expressed the. most. sincere. gratitude for finishing up the room he’ll use as his study, and I remembered just how worthwhile it all is- even in the face of the worst post-cleaning club apocalypse.



This room had been the dumping ground since we moved. We had agreed that we’d just leave the unsorted boxes in that room to deal with later. Later was apparently becoming never. It was one of those truly awful jobs that nobody wants to do. I know my husband was completely overwhelmed at the thought of tackling this room. I think it's safe to say that it was a job which none of us wanted to really do either. I honestly wanted to quit about halfway through, and if I was on my own without Rachel and Jennifer, I most certainly would have stopped right then, mid-project, with an even bigger mess than the room had been.



In addition to figuring out what to do with the boxes of complete randomness, this task was also destined to include straightening out the shed so that we could stack the boxes of books that didn't fit on our shelves, as well as the few boxes which would need to be sorted sometime in the future. I hadn’t really planned on that organizing of the shed--but the need became apparent as the task progressed. Well... really as soon as I opened the shed door.







It’s been a rough few months around the Shannon-house. With moving, unpacking, the birth of our sixth baby, my extremely slow physical recovery, my constant battle with postpartum depression, a flooding septic system and crawl space, the subsequent repairs for those issues which lingered unfinished for two months, and most recently the death of my father-in-law things have been super stressful . Things have been especially difficult for my husband, and I know he has felt really kind of inundated when he is home.



Giving him a space, his own space in our new home will hopefully help him feel the love with which his room was cleared and created. And when you get down to it, that really is the essence of Cleaning Club now--love. It is love for one another and for ourselves and our families which drives our projects. We want to make our homes better places for living and loving. And well, the truth is -as we all know- love is messy. Some weeks it’s really messy. But without love- I know I’d be lost.

Read more

No Flowers in My Attic

Sometimes when it's your turn for Cleaning Club your mind does acrobatics in anticipation. You think, I want to do something that's not too icky, that needs to be done, that doesn't make my friends hate me, that can involve some sitting down and chatting. Then you think, but I really need to get all those boxes out of the attic. And then your brain does this crazy, sudden Kung Fu move to that idea and is all, no! let's clean out the coat closet or something. And that's usually where mine stops. But, this time, it didn't. The Clean Out the Attic voice was impervious to the Kung Fu moves.

When Jennifer arrived I announced to her, smiling, that we would be going up the rickety ladder into my attic! Where cockroaches may or may not be nesting! And we'll bring up some sharp, rusty tools with us! It'll be great! Like that time we cleaned up dog shit out of your front yard! Even as I was making this great sell to her, I was secretly hoping she would try to deter me from my hateful plan. She didn't. And once Shannon arrived, in a glorious mood (do you sense sarcasm?), and the requisite baby handling and ogling, we got to it.

Since we moved into our house six years ago, there have been boxes--empty and of unknown contents--in our attic, left by the previous owners. Last Christmas, the packing boxes from ordered gifts ended up stashed up there, adding to the fire fodder and the roach habitat. It's been in the back of my mind that I should break down those boxes and recycle them, and see what else is up there to contend with. Once up there we learned that in addition to every household appliance and tacky knickknack that the previous owners (or perhaps the owners before them?) had procured, they had put the empty box in the attic. They'd also sent some hideous draperies and wallpapers up there to die as well.


Once up there, we developed a system wherein I checked each box to see if any inhabitants of the insect variety had taken up residence there, then tossed it to Jennifer, who tossed it over the railing and down to the floor below. Shannon sat on the couch offering support and encouragement.



Box by box, we got them all down, and cleared out all the stuff that'd been stashed there to take to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Coming down from the attic and seeing the floor covered with empty boxes made me realize how much there really was up there, and that it would have been a day long job for me, practically, to deal with it all on my own.




Meanwhile, some little fairies took up playing in the little space created by the descended ladder to the attic.


And some kids hung out away from the chaos, watching some of So You Think You Can Dance. In this picture you can also see our colored pencil arrangement, ala Jennifer's inspiration, and the results of the previous Cleaning Club effort reorganizing our games shelf, and my little, orderly office off in the distance there.


Discovered amidst the boxes in the attic was Luke's racetrack, which was enjoyed by several of the kids.

We broke down the boxes and flattened them and stuck the in Jennifer's van. I loaded the back of my car with the ReStore donations, which was literally across the street from where we went on a field trip the next day, so was easily dropped off in a timely manner (instead of riding around town with me for days like the Goodwill donations usually do).

And although I don't see my attic very often, it is one of those back-of-the-mind projects that felt really good to take care of. And it turned out there weren't swarms of cockroaches (official noun of assemblage for cockroaches? An Intrusion of Cockroaches.)!

Read more

The Office of Slack

The fact that I am a slacker may not be evident immediately upon entering my home. With a minimalist decor, my house generally looks fairly tidy (could I use any more qualifiers in that sentence?). But, deep in the bowels of my home lies my office. And then my inner slacker-dom is glaringly evident.

My office being a cesspool has been true in every home I've had an office in. My office in my last house was a coat closet that just fit a large desk, which was usually shit piled. Despite the fact that I enjoy order in other parts of my home, I am able to function just fine thank you at a desk surrounded by chaos. I just focus on the task directly in front of me and ignore the rest.

In my new home (as of six years ago) I upgraded to a walk-in closet for an office. Because it is the only office space in the house, it it where all our office equipment lives, as well as homeschool supplies (that sit collecting dust), piles of paperwork from a job I no longer hold, toys, games, books, photos, children's artwork. It generally looks like where secretaries go for eternity when they get booted from heaven.

When it has been my turn for Cleaning Club, I mentally scroll through possible projects in advance, often landing first on something that seems do-able. Then I force myself to think about what I really DON'T want to do, that thing that keep jumping up with its hand raised going oh! me! me! me!--clean under my bed, tackle closets that would make Martha Stewart have a seizure, that kind of thing--and after telling that thing to shut up several times I finally go oh ok fine! And that's when I know I have a project that truly needs doing.

My office had been that project on my list a few times, but I'd dismissed it as too big, too gruesome, too hard. This week, though, I decided to just jump in and at least get started. Then I broke out in a cold sweat.



The thing is, I often underestimate what we can accomplish in a short amount of time, and I wondered with one clubber down--Shannon was home with the lame excuse of having just crammed an eight pound body through her delicate lady parts--what we could do. But, Jennifer and I jumped in to tackle the hell-hole nonetheless.

We took everything off a big set of shelves that housed kids games and activities. We put random pieces where they belonged, and got rid of a few (good-bye Cooties! You soul sucking creatures will not be missed!). We moved the shelves out of my office and in to my den, and rearranged all the games and puzzles on it. We pulled everything from the floor of my office out into the den. (A bonus from this is the ability to inflict your nostalgia on your friends in the process. Oh look, a collection of my poetry from high school! And this? This is an original copy of the first Ms. magazine? Impressed? Awwww, look at this cute picture!)



We took out a big piece of broken plastic that was supposed to facilitate my office chair freely rolling in and out from my desk, but since breaking into pieces, had only served to catch my chair wheel (and often my poor pinky toe) making me push even harder to get the hell out from behind my desk, and then sending large pieces of plastic soaring about on a windstream of profanity. We vacuumed the newly clean floor, discarded the chipped up plastic, and moved a small bookshelf into the corner. With everything deposited all over my once tidy den, Jennifer went home.



I will say, that this is unusual. In fact, unprecedented. We usually don't leave until the project is done. These were extreme circumstances, though, and we had accomplished what I had set out to accomplish in that session. The rest was up to me. But a strange thing happens in the Cleaning Club vortex, known by scientists as The Cleaning Club Effect. Once you are empowered by what you can accomplish, you ride that high for a few hours and no beast is any match for you. The beast had been immobilized, now it was time to go in for the kill. I tackled the shelving up high in the room that had previously been under a sort of Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. I won't look at you, and you will pretend not to exist. Shining light into this dark corner was to open Pandora's Box. Brazen from my earlier victory, I pressed on. I discarded. I reorganized. I moved. And, eventually, I'd done it!



Over the course of the rest of the day I processed through the contents of my office and den and filled my trash can and recycling container, cleaned off and organized my desktop and shelves. Now, as I write this, I'm sitting in a space that actually feels spacious and organized. An office that for the first time ever feels intentional. And the extension of the Cleaning Club Effect is that not only does it empower me to tackle and follow through on what seemed an insurmountable task, but it often has unforeseen emotional benefits. I feel different in this space. My space makes me feel more like a grown-up; makes my work feel more valued. The process wasn't just an exercise in organization, but one that made my inner slacker feel a little less slack.

Read more

We So Crafty

Today was my day to host Cleaning Club. Cleaning Club began as an offer to help wash dishes one play day. It has grown into three women and their collective 11 children (to be 12 late this year) rotating weekly through each other's houses undertaking projects too big, or too overwhelming for one mom to tackle alone. The kids mostly play and help watch the toddlers. The projects, which alone would likely take all day- if not days to accomplish, generally take about an hour to an hour and a half. Then we share the food which we all have, and eat lunch together.

It is such an enormous blessing and gift to me to have these women in my life. When I go to their houses, I get to go home with the satisfying feeling that I have truly helped another woman make her life and the life of her family just a tiny bit better. It feels great to clean other people's stuff, nothing like the drain I feel trying to clean and organize my own space. They also have such a unique set of gifts and talents, which I feel so blessed to get to experience and from which I might benefit and be inspired.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a "Before" picture to show what an inaccessible trash heap, dumping ground our art cabinet had become but here is the end result:

Here's a picture of the inside of each of those green bins:

As we were eating lunch, I had the idea that maybe my friends could help me to get prepared for dinner, as well, since I have been having so much trouble getting my act together enough to actually cook for my family in these early weeks of pregnancy. They chopped peppers and onions and cilantro, while I put on a pot of rice. All I need to do at dinner time is saute the chopped veggies, add the cans of tomatoes and beans, add a little wine and fresh lime juice...and then serve over the rice. If I am feeling motivated enough, I'll make some chipotle cornbread.

**This post originally featured on After the fire came a gentle whisper..., with the following comments:

faerieeva said...

Ooh... I love the organised look of that art cabinet. I am trying to get Joseph into crafting and colouring. So far, no go. *L* Though we had fun yesterday at my attempt to have him fingerpaint.

March 9, 2009 4:27 PM

Kat said...

What a great idea! What's cilantro though?

March 10, 2009 5:20 AM

Blondie said...

Ooh, nice work Shannon. You're like a Catholic version of thepioneerwoman.com Except for the cilantro (or coriander, whatever). Can't stand cilantro. Cheerio, Antigone.

March 12, 2009 12:11 PM

Kat said...

Aaaaaah - cilantro = coriander. Thanks!! :-)

March 14, 2009 2:37 PM

~SHANNON~ said...

Hi. I linked to you through the "Life, love, laundry" blog. I just had to comment on this post! A cleaning group is SUCH a super idea!! What an awsome resource to have. I'd love to know how that was started, or what kind of projects you all tend to tackle at eachothers houses? I'm so jealous!! What a great idea. ps. your dinner sounded yummy too:)

March 26, 2009 12:12 PM

Shannon said...

We basically started it after talking casually about it. One day while over Jennifer's house for a playdate--we washed her dishes together and cleaned off her counter....and it was born. We asked our friend Rachel to join us and voila! Cleaning Club was born. Mostly we do some bigger projects which would bee too labor-intensive or time-consuming to do alone with small children around. Things we've done: cleaning out cabinets, cleaning out and detail washing the fridge and freezer, an all over house cleaning, cleaning out closets, framing and hanging pictures, cleaning off the trash landing zone desk in the kitchen, caught up baskets upon baskets of laundry.....things like that. It's not only been helpful to regain some order in our homes--but also as a deep source of camaraderie amongst us. There's something very awesome about inviting people into your closets. LOL! It only takes one or two other willing people and a day where you can all meet consistently. It's amazing how quickly the projects go, as well as how very satisfying it is to do work at someone else's house. I actually prefer going to Jennifer and Rachel's houses to clean--as even though I really appreciate their help--it feels more satisfying to have helped them out. (And my guess is that they probably feel the same way.)

March 27, 2009 10:33 AM

Read more