Mole's Spring Cleaning
I've been kinda down for weeks and weeks (Kathleen excepted), so I haven't felt much like doing anything but wallowing. Anyway, I was reading "The Wind in the Willows" last night as I fell asleep, and woke up inspired to clean my own little hole in the riverbank.
Which mostly meant to FINALLY get the old Toshiba TV set out of its precarious perch on a small table in the living room (it's been replaced by a new 28" Sony HD flat-screen, and into the kitchen so I can give it to my upstairs neighbor. It's only about six years old, not digital but still works great, and has a built-in DVD player and VHS player/recorder. And the neighbor had a tiny 13" set, so this is an improvement. And with the converter box that goes with it this one'll be fine come the big digital switcheroo in June.
The new set is awesome: cable quality picture in HD without having to get cable.
ANYway. Moving the set meant I first had to unload this big heavy Jacobean armoire of all the china and crystal and the three silverware chests so I could move it so the TV set could fit through the doorway which the armoire is right next to. Which meant I had to sweep all the dust and loose change and water bottle caps and whatnot. And toss out a ton of old trash: broken bits and bobs, old receipts from 1982, worn-out t-shirts I kept because they might be good to wear under jackets when it rained (never bothered), ancient extension cords, shoals of mismatched buttons, manuals to appliances I don't even HAVE anymore...you know how it goes.
Still not finished: there's a huge chest in the living room that needs to be cleared out (full of old vinyl records), not to mention under the bed. But the energy shift is FANTASTIC! It feels so much lighter and cleaner already, even though I really didn't get rid of a lot of stuff yet, and will probably continue the clean over the next couple of weeks. I kind of also got inspired because though it was nice and tidy and hoovered when Kathleen and Bruce were here, it could have been sooooo much better. And now it is.
Next up: the back room. Books to the Housing Works Cafe, clothes to local charities and the senior center, if they want stuff. Kathleen says she's absolutely ruthless in such matters and will be happy to help when she's back in town after the next installment of pilot shooting, but I'd be ashamed to have her see the horror. Reader mail since 1984, old suitcases, clothes I've never had on my back, clothes I haven't worn for years, books I haven't looked at since 1963...it all goes!
I could put some stuff up on craigslist, but then people would know where I live...so, no. We have a certain area of the ground floor hallway where people put furniture and things to recycle to neighbors, so I'll leave the big things down there. I've left out a ton of stuff over the years (chairs, printers, typewriters, clothes, a big old china hutch with glass front when I got the much nicer antique armoire), and picked up some too (carved Tudor-looking dining room chair with leather upholstered seat and back, nice little filing cabinet); it's all very Green.
Then I think I'll finally get around to fixing up this tall bookcase I have: it's just a plain pine one, light-color finish. I got it for 20 bucks on craigslist, in the neighborhood. But I want to paint it dark brown and get some fancy "carved" molding to put on the shelf edges to Tudor it up so it'll go with the rest of the furniture... And maybe some new sleeping pillows and a nice light summerweight bedspread.
ANYTHING to not write! But I will get back to that too. There're just so many little chores to do first...
Which mostly meant to FINALLY get the old Toshiba TV set out of its precarious perch on a small table in the living room (it's been replaced by a new 28" Sony HD flat-screen, and into the kitchen so I can give it to my upstairs neighbor. It's only about six years old, not digital but still works great, and has a built-in DVD player and VHS player/recorder. And the neighbor had a tiny 13" set, so this is an improvement. And with the converter box that goes with it this one'll be fine come the big digital switcheroo in June.
The new set is awesome: cable quality picture in HD without having to get cable.
ANYway. Moving the set meant I first had to unload this big heavy Jacobean armoire of all the china and crystal and the three silverware chests so I could move it so the TV set could fit through the doorway which the armoire is right next to. Which meant I had to sweep all the dust and loose change and water bottle caps and whatnot. And toss out a ton of old trash: broken bits and bobs, old receipts from 1982, worn-out t-shirts I kept because they might be good to wear under jackets when it rained (never bothered), ancient extension cords, shoals of mismatched buttons, manuals to appliances I don't even HAVE anymore...you know how it goes.
Still not finished: there's a huge chest in the living room that needs to be cleared out (full of old vinyl records), not to mention under the bed. But the energy shift is FANTASTIC! It feels so much lighter and cleaner already, even though I really didn't get rid of a lot of stuff yet, and will probably continue the clean over the next couple of weeks. I kind of also got inspired because though it was nice and tidy and hoovered when Kathleen and Bruce were here, it could have been sooooo much better. And now it is.
Next up: the back room. Books to the Housing Works Cafe, clothes to local charities and the senior center, if they want stuff. Kathleen says she's absolutely ruthless in such matters and will be happy to help when she's back in town after the next installment of pilot shooting, but I'd be ashamed to have her see the horror. Reader mail since 1984, old suitcases, clothes I've never had on my back, clothes I haven't worn for years, books I haven't looked at since 1963...it all goes!
I could put some stuff up on craigslist, but then people would know where I live...so, no. We have a certain area of the ground floor hallway where people put furniture and things to recycle to neighbors, so I'll leave the big things down there. I've left out a ton of stuff over the years (chairs, printers, typewriters, clothes, a big old china hutch with glass front when I got the much nicer antique armoire), and picked up some too (carved Tudor-looking dining room chair with leather upholstered seat and back, nice little filing cabinet); it's all very Green.
Then I think I'll finally get around to fixing up this tall bookcase I have: it's just a plain pine one, light-color finish. I got it for 20 bucks on craigslist, in the neighborhood. But I want to paint it dark brown and get some fancy "carved" molding to put on the shelf edges to Tudor it up so it'll go with the rest of the furniture... And maybe some new sleeping pillows and a nice light summerweight bedspread.
ANYTHING to not write! But I will get back to that too. There're just so many little chores to do first...
posted by Patricia Kennealy Morrison | 9:18 PM
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