The Black Lung

January 9th.

Pretty sure I am going to die of the black lung. I cleaned today. The house was disgusting. And I lay here exhausted knowing that a) the movers are going to ruin all of my hard work tomorrow morning and b)I don’t know if I could actually get this place spic and span. I am not the cleanest person around. In fact, today was seriously the first time I think I have actually ever used a bucket and mop. I hate cleaning. I like things to be organized (ish) and tidy and there are two places that actually must be cleaned- like sanitized- the kitchen counter tops/sink and the shower. That is about it. I think the Italians agree with me on this concept- the standard of cleanliness just isn’t the same, and the marble floors make things even more difficult. But this place needed some work.

So I found a “broom”

I used it to sweep. It took FOREVER, so I just did the 3 main rooms. My knees were killing me. Glad I did though because the ground was just gross.

Then I moped the whole place. Even grosser. Like I said before, I have never used a mop and bucket before, so I had to Google what to do. Luckily enough, Archimedes left me some chlorox and our water was turned on, so I just mixed the 2 together and started. Yes you can use chlorox on marble floors and no I did not measure how much I poured in.

All of our toilets and showers and sinks are new…very lucky, so I just gave them a quick swipe done and they were good to go. Then we have this beautiful stained glass window in the bathroom. While it is beautiful, the paint is chipping and it is covered in dust. It took me awhile, but I finally got all of the dust off. Then I wiped down the windowsill and saw this gross residue. I thought it was just because of all of the dust, so I wiped down the wall beside it.

Sick. That was ONE swipe on the wall. So I got the cleaning solution and started cleaning all of the walls. Sprayed the Lysol on then wiped it off with a paper towel and tried not to breathe too much. I was having trouble reaching all the way to the top. We have at least 10 foot ceilings. So I grabbed a chair and the mop and continued. Sprayed the Lysol, mopped the wall, and tried not to get Lysol dripped into my eyes. It had to be done. Now all the walls are clean. I felt like my Mom. The whole time I was mopping the walls I was having an internal battle of whether or not this was worth it- still not sure if it was, but my mom would be proud J

Now we are all ready for the movers!!