Well, dirtiness, if we’re going to be honest. The bathrooms are clean, as of 10:30 PM last night. I took lots and lots of breaks. No knitting though, unless you count casting on a new monkey sock. I knit 2.5 rounds too.
These are the products I currently LOVE:
— Mr. Clean Magic Erasers
— Anything and everything called KABOOM
— Tilex (ROCKS!)
— Anything and everything called SWIFFER (especially the dusters – those things are AWESOME!)
— Windex
— The attachments on my kick ass vacuum (Which I bought INSTEAD of a Dyson. Real life reviews turned me off, even if it looks nicer. I’ve never looked back.)
I cranked the radios all over the house and set to work. It sucked. Please don’t tell me about environmentally safe cleaners – I know they’re out there and this is the stuff I like. Besides, there’s nothing environmentally safe about the disgustingness that is my house.
Do I feel good about what I did? I guess. Except now I don’t want anyone to ever use the bathrooms again. They look so nice and clean. I think I would be happier if the rest of the house wasn’t awful and I didn’t have so much work to do. But, such is life. Georgie asked me if I wanted something special for dinner because I worked so hard and I said YES! PIZZA! So while I completed the task I set out for myself today, I totally blew the diet. And I felt sick after the pizza (even though it tasted great while I was eating it.) Should’ve gone with a Lean Cuisine instead.
A couple things I wanted to point out –
I feel incredibly guilty that I received so many supportive emails in the last week or so and I haven’t responded to ANY of them (at least you can’t say I’m playing favorites.) Please know – I got your email and I appreciate it so much I can’t tell you. I could send out a cut and paste email, but that’s not what I really want to say, and I’m afraid if I really start answering them I’ll never get up from my computer. Thank you thank you thank you! I’m not sure I can say it any better than that anyway. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your taking the time to reach out. (Doesn’t really assuage the guilt, but it helps a little. Trying to be grown up here people.)
Last night I bought the most expensive pattern I’ll ever buy. Right here. Annie Modesitt, a popular fiber artist, is offering her Red Carpet Convertible pattern as a way of accepting donations to help offset the costs of caring for her family and her husband, who’s been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. I do not know Annie. I’ve never knit one of her patterns. But I know all too well that cancer sucks harder and longer and not in the good way than anything else out there. Consider downloading the pattern. The minimum donation is $4.50. That’s not asking much from us, and it’s a small price to pay to help give peace of mind to this family while they try to heal. (Thanks to Deb for the heads up.)
And then there’s Liz. RIP. Thanks for making a great pair of pants and for giving me my dressing room miracle.
Back to work. One day I’ll knit again, maybe even for reals and not just in my mind.
LOVE Mr. Clean erasers. I haven’t really tried to environmentally safe cleaners, unless you count the time that I read that white vinegar works well on soap scum. So I sprayed white vinegar in the tub and then our whole house smelled like salad dressing and the soap scum mocked me.
I know what you mean about cleaning bathrooms. My mother-in-law always asks if I feel better after I clean like that (since she does) and my answer is invariably “not really.” I hate to clean.
I’m the president of the “I *heart* Mr. Clean Magic Erasers!” club, lol. I discovered them back in, 2002 I think. Somebody said they took crayon off the wall. We had some that had been there for about a year and wouldn’t come off because of the kind of paint that was used in our apartment. I bought some and VOILA! Yeah, they are a constant in my house now, and even my old job started ordering them by the case when I hyped them up there, lol.
Man, you just reminded me that I need to clean my bathroom too 🙁
I love Clorex Clean-up! This year, I tried to switch cleaners. Ah but Clorex… I can’t quit you.
I feel exactly the same way about cleaning the bathroom — it’s so perfect! Don’t use it and get it dirty again! (Inevitably the guy comes in and brushes his teeth, and leaves behind globs of toothpaste. So annoying!)
Thanks for the heads up on the Annie Modesitt pattern. It certainly is for a good cause!
I don’t care for the Kaboom stuff that you dump in the toilet and then it foams to the lid. It doesn’t work for me at all. Maybe it is the hard water we have, I don’t know. I like the toilet cleaner that is angled and blue bleachy stuff comes out. You squirt it around the bowl until it is all coated, wait 10-15 min, then go back and a couple of scrubs and it is clean as can be.
I thought of you immediately when I heard about Liz Claiborne. And every cleanser you mentioned, I also really like. Swiffer dusters are the best!
I have a cleaning lady and my house still sucks. Kudos for a job well done (even if you hated every minute of it).
Hi there,
I’m new to your site and I love it! everything you do is very inspiring especially the photography and knitting, 2 of my favorite things! I really love your photo of the week (the rocks on the beach) I’m wondering if you sell prints of those. I would really like to purchase a print or a card of the beach pebbles if you have them Let me know
and thanks for inspiring me!
Cheers!
I have that vacuum. It’s pretty good. I don’t use it much! I prefer my Dyson!! 😉
I agree with the whole “don’t use the clean bathroom” thing. I feel the same way about freshly ironed clothes (yes, I iron. My husband wears a shirt and tie and it takes him so long to iron that it makes me twitchy). I think they should hang in the closet for a good long while before someone wears them. No one agrees with me and they willy nilly use the clean bathroom in their freshly ironed clothes….
Mr Clean erasers and swiffer – gotta love ’em! Thanks for the heads up on the Annie Modesitt pattern – It is beautiful and I love the idea of helping out another knitter.
Knitting lasts longer than cleaning.
I figure since you blog and we respond, you aren’t obligated to respond to our responses. Don’t feel guilty — your blog is a gift to us.
As for the response to comments thing, if a comment touches you, answer it. If not, don’t. Although if you read our blogs, comments are always appreciated 🙂 I also love my Wind Tunnel vacuum. I don’t ahve a self-propelled one though. As for cleaning…blech. But Spray 9 works well in the bathroom. You have to buy it in the automotiv edept or sometimes boating since they use it to remove mildew on bosts. Great stuff in a bathroom. I spray it on, run my wet mop over the walls, leave it while I clean up the counter etc and then rinse! Clean! If the grout is really scungy then I might use a brush (big one) to rub the Spray 9 into the grout. Try it.
Have you seen the new KABOOM thing you put in your toilet tank, it is godsent, we have hard water and I hate scrubbing the orange color it slowly turns over time, this fixes it and more, your toilet actually smells clean, like bleach, it is AWESOME!!!! Everyone should have one!!! Not the seller or promoter for this product, just a happy customer.
Mr. Clean Erasers are the bomb! They are my saving grace with a toddler and a husband. LOL
Hope that the work goes quick so you can get back to something that you enjoy.
I love Clorox Clean Up, too, although I DO use vinegar when I can–its fumes may smell like salad dressing, but at least they don’t irritate my asthma like some of the stronger stuff, and with a micro-fiber sponge, it really does clean well. (And it’s fabulous at getting house-training accident smells out of rugs, too . . . not, of course, that Chappy ever had any accidents . . . although, there was that mattress incident the other day…)
And, really, I need to try those Mr. Clean Erasers one of these days . . .
You and I share tastes in cleaning products. I couldn’t clean without any of those things (except Kaboom which now I must try).
I was on a cleaning binge on Friday. Everything looked so good I wanted to kids and the husband to go away for the weekend so it could stay that way;)
oh my, i just have to say that i tried this other tilex on my bathroom and it’s ten times better than the original one.
http://www.tilex.com/mildew.html
for some reason, it totally kills mildew and it takes forever to come back. so happy as i have little to no ventilation in my bathroom so mildew is one of those things i’ve always lived with. sucked.
You successfully names most of the cleaners that I use. Have you been to house and stole my cleaning products? Congrats on a clean bathroom. If you want to feel good check out the show on BBC America called “How clean is your House”. You only need to see the first 5 minutes or so and you will feel like you are living in a sterile house.
Congrats on the bathrooms! Tremendous accomplishment for sure!
And the Interweave Crochet is in the mail on its way to me right now because of your inspiration. I thank you.
Cleaning is dreadful. I do it on Friday afternoons during work hours, because it’s “work.” (Ah, the life of a freelancer.) I also count it as a work out.
Knitting podcasts help…
Don’t forget that you burn mega calories scrubbing and cleaning in general. So you shouldn’t feel guilty about rewarding yourself!
I eat my words…I should have read this post more carefully before sending you a case of limes to juice for wiping down your greasy surfaces! Just have a whole lot of Campari and sodas with them when they arrive.
Yay for you on the cleaning! Along with the dirt, Mr. Clean Eraser took the paint off one of my walls, so do the test they recommend (I didn’t). Also, Lean Cuisine spinach and mushroom deep dish pizza is the best 310 calorie diet dinner you’ll ever eat.
Been doing a lot of “knitting in my mind” lately, as opposed to knitting in reality. Not sure what the problem is — summertime heat? Unemployment inertia? Whatever. At least I can live vicariously through other knit-bloggers.
I can’t stand to buy anything advertised by the Kaboom man because he is on the ads. OR MAYBE I SHOULD SHOUT THAT.
Thank you for the information on Annie Modesitt. I had a friend who had this particular cancer and she did not survive. I’ll pass the news on to other knitters.
Self-discipline really isn’t much fun to acquire, although it looks awesome on people who already have it. I keep having to shift my priorities. Because if I’m “disciplined” about everything, everything becomes a slap in the face and I’m miserable (or worse.)
Show me somebody who says THAT kind of discipline is “fun” and I’ll show you a pervert.
Delurking here…and wanted to say that I’ve been reading your blog for some time and girl, I just love it! I can’t even stand it!
You’re a hoot and a half!
When you said all things Kaboom I instantly thought of the 80’s breakfast cereal and imagined scrubbing toilets and munching on dehydrated marshmallows. My boyfriend loves Kaboom and orders it off of the internet . . . the best part? Amazon lists it in the “Gourmet Food” category.
Congrats on the cleanliness!
haha! I just blogged about my new vacuum today, too! can’t beat a good vacuum!
I am the biggest fan of the entire Swiffer line and totally advocate their purchase. The SwifferVac and SwifferWet, IMHO, seem more practical for folks like me, who live in super small spaces (aka apartments). But the dusters are for everyone!
Something I learned about cleaning is having “equipment” that you like. Cleaning sucks to begin with but it sucks even more if you don’t like what you are using.
I have an older model Hoover Wind Tunnel and love it — especially that little red light that turns green when the carpet is clean. Cleaning sucks; good tools are key to actually doing it.
Main Street Yarns in Watkinsville, GA is doing a “We Love Annie” sort-of sale. Go to http://store.mainstreetyarns.com/ and click on the We Love Annie banner. You can buy raffle tickets for any or many of the six weeks of socks raffles, plus the grand prize; all (!) proceeds go to Annie. I read about this on JenLa’s blog yesterday.
Reading through the comments to see if anyone had the problem with Tilex that I had. I used it on my bathtub walls and was happy that the mildew was going. One day I stepped into the shower, turned on the water, and started screaming because all the tiles were falling off the wall around me.
I hate to clean anything any more, but well, you know what happens if we don’t. Usually, if I can’t vacuum it or throw it in the washer, it waits. Knitting is my reward so that’s a motivating carrot I dangle before myself when the place is unbearable.
I’m a BIG swiffer fan, too. With two cats and 1 dog the dry swiffer sheets are a must.
Hi, I don’t usually post comments (because I don’t blog even though I read lots of them) but I wanted to add that I appreciated your yarn store comment as your personal experience about the vibe you had. My “controversy radar” hadn’t even gone off when I read it the first time.
The truth is that every LYS (and most any other business for that matter) has only one chance to build a reputation with its customers. For most of us knitters, yarn and yarn accessories (books, needles, etc) causes an emotional response and a bad vibe from the staff running the place can really interfere with the yarn puppy love. Good friendly service is VERY important – each and every time especially when the local area has so much competition.
As for you’re posting about your experience… It wasn’t mean spirited at all. It was just your experience on your blog.
Please don’t change a thing. Thanks.
I heard about knitted swiffer covers–a green way to save money as the official swiffer cloths are far from free. Knitted up two of these thangs in dishcloth cotton, have been using them for a month or so and will never go back. I have one of those imitation wood kitchen floors and the knitted cover is perfect for it. There’s actually a pattern on the net at
http://www.sheepofadifferentcolor.com/swiffercoverknitted.htm
It’s in seed stitch–I guess the little bumps help catch dust. Tried to explain my love for this item to my Knit Guild friends and got blank stares, but it’s possible that they are too nice to have dust in their kitchens.
Nora
There was a song we sang in college, and one of the lines was, “Because cleanliness is next to Godliness, which is nowhere near us!”
I’ll tell you one thing about my Dyson. When I brought it home for the first time, I vaccumed and the carpets looked like they had been professional cleaned! I was amazed. I emptied the container 4 times. And I thought it was clean before!
hi- so first, very much enjoy your blog and second, there seems to be something wrong with annie’s website- i keep trying to link there to check out the donation stuff and all of her sidebar stuff appears briefly and then “poof”. the text of her blog entries stays but none of the other info. i feel bad adding a comment there about the malfunction because it seems jarring next to the other comments. i have no idea how to contact her otherwise( her email doesn’t stay either) wondering if you know more. also, don’t think it is my computer b/c no other sites do this. thanks.