Channeling My Inner Neat Freak

I don't know what got into me this weekend, but I was exceptionally productive. Our guest bath was in dire need of a new coat of paint. The color was intended for another room, but ended up on the bathroom walls. I never liked it, but I supposed it was better than plain white. Wrong. Over time "Vanilla Bean" grated my nerves and morphed into a garish shade of yellow. It may have been "Vanilla Bean" in natural light, but in the windowless bathroom it was sickly. Joe referred to it as "Pee Yellow" more than once. Definitely not a pleasant bathroom color.

Finally, after 3 years, (lol) I'd had enough. I remembered that we had 3 extra gallons of RL "Oatmeal" left from when I decided I wanted to repaint the living room, but Joe had talked me out of it. Rather than letting it waste away in the closet, I thought I'd see if Oatmeal was more pleasing to the eye than Pee Yellow. Surely it couldn't be worse!

The photo shows the results. Ahhh...much better!

I even painted the ugly wood-trim-mirror-that-came-with-the-house white. I was going to get really ambitious and paint the cabinets white too, but we are planning on tearing them out in January and replacing them with a pedestal sink. Plus, the paint fumes were really starting to get to me.

I also did some serious cleaning/organizing this weekend. You see, I come from a long line of Obsessive Compulsive cleaners, but somehow I escaped the curse (or is it a blessing?). Don't get me wrong, I don't like clutter, but I definitely do not obsess over keeping my home spotless 24/7. And when it comes to deep cleaning, I suck. Perhaps it is his military upbringing, but Joe can make this house sparkle. Usually we "team clean" on the weekend. I sweep and dust; he mops. I clean toilets; he scrubs the kitchen down. I start laundry; he takes out the trash.

But this weekend I also felt compelled to clean out and organize the places that we usually stash all the crap that doesn't really have a place, so we throw it in a drawer or in a closet when we are tidying up. I guess I'd just had enough.

I decided that all the tangled cables in the office closet needed to be bundled and zip-tied. The entire Walgreens inventory in our bathroom cabinets and drawers needed to be culled. It felt good to purge all of that useless crap.

There is one neglected space that I am saving for another weekend. My closet. Oy vey! It is BAD. There are two menacing laundry baskets full of unfolded clothes taking up the entire closet. I am sure that they contain articles of clothing that I've set aside for a garage sale, or to take to a resell shop, but somehow keep getting circulated back into my laundry. It is a vicious cycle. Hopefully this cleaning streak will last over the next few days so I can slay the terrible beastie that is my closet. Everyone send those OCD vibes my way!