Cleaning Spree

As you've probably heard, DC was hit with some pretty serious snow last night. It wasn't as epic as the Dec '09 or Feb '10 snowfall, but it was enough for a snow day. I would have loved to stay in bed and watch Intervention or The First 48 all day, but I got my booty out of bed and went on a cleaning spree. I despise cleaning, so our house was in need of some TLC.

I started by dusting our living and dining rooms. I don't know what it is about old houses (ours was built in 1890), but they collect dust like CRAZY. I should do some serious dusting every day, but I just don't. I have no good excuse other than it is too much dusting to keep up with. I then vacuumed our bedroom, which basically entails sucking up all the dust bunnies that have accumulated between furniture and in the corners. I love having hardwood floors, but again...the dust! Okay, enough about that.

I also stripped the beds and started a marathon laundry session. I am even washing the down comforters today. Do you wash and dry your comforters at home? Last year I tried taking them to the dry cleaner, but they wanted $129 for two queen comforters. Umm no. I put tennis balls in the dryer with each comforter and the feathers separate pretty well.

I then decided that it was time to organize the linen closet in our bathroom. I forgot to take a before picture, but believe me...it was in disarray. Here are some after shots:



The top shelf holds extra stuff that I've stocked up on, the second shelf holds our towels, the third shelf holds all our hair products and tools (and a few extra Clinique make-up items I wouldn't be able to see, and then would likely forget about, if they were on the top shelf), the fourth shelf holds bath and body products, face products, and dental hygiene items. The bottom has wire racks that hold a lot of miscellaneous stuff, and our old towels. I love being organized! (Interesting isn't it? I like being organized, but don't like cleaning. Hmm.)

Speaking of towels, how do my towels get bleached? I don't use bleach!

I did use proactiv for a couple months and know that it can stain towels, but this is the guest towel for the half bath. It did not come into contact with proactiv! Does this happen to other people? We go through towels so quickly because they get stained and I don't want to use them anymore. I would love some tips on prevention!

Now...as you can probably tell, my cleaning issue is that I never attack a whole room. I dusted the living room, but didn't vacuum. Same for the dining room. I vacuumed our bedroom, but didn't dust. I organized the bathroom, but didn't clean it. I didn't even start tackling the guest bedroom (besides the bedding) or the kitchen. I don't know why I do this. Maybe this is why I hate cleaning so much. It's like it is never ending because I basically still have to clean the whole house, even though I did finish a few tasks. It would be so much easier to just clean one room at a time. Maybe I will force myself to do that next time....

Weird or Frugal?

We all do weird things, right?

One of my weird habits involves my make-up. One day a long, long time ago (probably early college) I ran out of foundation. I had been squeezing out the last bit for days, and I finally squeezed it dry. Or so I thought.

I couldn't get to the store to buy any more (I think I was mid application, actually), so I decided to cut off the top of the foundation tube to see if there was a little bit left inside. Guess what I found? TONS of foundation. Like, enough to last me a couple months. I was shocked. So now, I cut up my foundation tube until I actually use all the foundation inside. As you can see in the photo below, I have learned to cut my foundation tube in increments. I cut close to the top, use the foundation stuck to the sides of the top, and then cut a little further down, etc.

Yes, this is weird. And yes, I look like a pauper when I whip out my sandwich bag that holds the cut up tube (can't let it dry out!). But I save so much money by using all the foundation. I only go through about 2-3 tubes a year, as opposed to the 5-6 I went through previously.

Look at how much foundation is still in the bottom! I have been cutting this tube for about two months now. Granted, I don't use this foundation every day (I have a heavier foundation I use when my face needs some extra coverage and some days I don't use any foundation), but I use it probably 20 days a month.

Does anyone else do this? Please tell me I'm not alone here.

Alive

Wow. Thanks for all the love and support! I've got a reader full of great blogs again thanks to all your comments.

This weekend we headed out to western Maryland for a ski trip with a bunch of our friends. We had a great time. Make that an amazing time. I even went skiing and have a nasty bruise on my leg to prove it. I cooked all the meals for our "family dinners", we played lots of games, watched lots of football, and spent many hours in the hot tub. We also killed more cases of beer than I care to admit, but everyone needs to let loose now and then, right?? Don't worry, I'm detoxing this week.

The best part is that I didn't think about my miscarriage almost the entire trip. I was lying in bed Sunday afternoon after we returned from skiing and realized that I had not thought about miscarrying once. And in that moment when I did start thinking about it, I didn't cry. I just reflected on the fact that it happened, but I wasn't overwhelmed with sadness. As I continued thinking, I actually felt like I was on a trip to have fun, not that I was on a trip to help me forget about everything that has happened. That's an additional crappy thing about going through something traumatic...you are in a daze for a while. You do things and go through life because you have to, instead of actually living your life. I felt alive this weekend. That's progress.

Anybody Out There??

I was searching for a recipe this morning that I had originally found somewhere on the internet. I finally stumbled upon the recipe once I realized that I had re-posted it on my blog. And then I was like, oh dang, I have a blog!

Honestly, I have been neglecting the blog world on purpose. I needed a break. A break from comparing myself to people I don't know. A break from "keeping up with the Joneses". A break from everyone else's seemingly perfect lives. A break from pretending like everything was okay. It was all too much for me during a really difficult part of my life. And boy has it been difficult. "When it rains, it pours" has a whole new meaning to us.

Among many other things, cutting out blogging was really therapeutic for me. But over time I started thinking about all the amazing friends I have found through my blog. And how much I miss you all.

So I want to build up my Google Reader again. I want to stay away from the toxic blogs and cliques that were making me feel worse about myself and my life and instead focus on those blogs and individuals that will help make blogging fun again. I started this blog almost three years ago so that I could connect with people. So here's to finding (and re-discovering) connections that are positive and inspirational. Are you in?