Develop and keep a clean home

Last 3 days have felt like forever. I finally got my background check complete for my new job and will be moving to a new town on July 12th.

Likely going to make a new DK30 for the move. I’m going to retire this one because my life is going to overtake this.

I’ve made a lot of progress on this. Habits are hard to form, and I really had to commit to a schedule, but overall, I think the structure made me happier.

I have appreciated all the support I got from the Dayknights, and I’m sorry I couldn’t bring this to completion! But I feel like I’ve learned a lot of good from doing this! It was my first DK30 and it sure as marbles won’t be my last! Keep an eye out for my DK30 MOVE TO A NEW CITY project! :D

Finally cleaned up the magic cards quite a bit. Threw a ton of commons away. It felt pretty good. It’s not finished, but it’s getting there.

A few things I’m noticing: Dirty counters bother me quite a bit more than before. I feel a small (healthy, probably) amount of anxiety when I see a dirty counter top. My sleep schedule has gotten weirdly normalized since I started cleaning, which I found odd, although it might have nothing to do with the cleaning habits. Cleaning up takes a lot of time. I find myself sometimes worrying about having enough time in the day. But in general I’ve never found myself running out of time/not having enough time for me.

Second Week, part way through:

Week started slow, and my apartment was getting messy. Definitely a bit of a struggle to start out. But since this weekend, I’ve been doing a solid job at cleaning up after myself, at the very least. So my apartment currently, is no cleaner nor dirtier than last week.

Except the Media Room closet! I started to clean it out, and sorted some stuff into “throw away” piles for the move that is happening in early July! I’m pretty stoked about this progress.

Also my room is much cleaner since I started to use the laundry basket. It also smells nicer since I bought an air freshener :3.

Overall, so far: I’m much cleaner than I used to be! I need to be better about opening windows though, but it’s been storming an awful lot lately.

First week complete! Lessons from the first week:

1. The small things add up. Even if it’s just starting a load of dishes, or putting a plate from a table in the sink instead of leaving it. There are dozens of small decisions that add up. I didn’t realize this until (anecdote warning): Recently I bought a new car. My old beater is a mess inside. Magic cards, wrappers, cups from starbucks, you name it. Every time I come home, I park next to it, and grab a handful of items from it to take inside to either trash or just put on my counter. After like 5 days, the car is back to being (sort of) clean. So I could have spent an hour going back and forth and doing it, or I could break it into small chunks and feel like I’m doing something productive every day!

2. It’s the small victories. Some days I felt like I couldn’t be bothered to clean up. On those days I picked something small, like doing dishes, a task that doesn’t take too long. I don’t force myself to continue, but it gives me peace of mind knowing I did something for the day, even if it was just a small task.

3. I’ve noticed myself trying to clean things before I sit down to play games, or go out to do something. So I’d say my habits are coming along nicely.

Lastly, I did start to use my hamper, and I did my laundry appropriately this week! I watched game of thrones while I folded, and my work shirts are now hanging in my closet!

Great Success!

Past 3 days have been solid.

Friday: Took a breather. Some car issues came up and so I focused on that.

Saturday: Folded laundry, made room in my closet to hang clothes, and hung my work shirts. Made it a bit of a ritual to watch game of thrones while I did my laundry. Cleaned out the laundry basket as well, and started using it to hold dirty clothes proper. Also did a bit of tidying up in the kitchen and dining area.

Sunday: Ran through some laundry (washer -> drier) needs to be folded yet. Perhaps I’ll do that tonight?

Monday: Bought a new car… Yikes. Will try to do some clothes stuff tonight.

Side note: I have 2 closets, one of them is full of hangers, clothes, and some stuff I was storing. It desperately needs to be cleaned. Plus I need the hangers from in there. I’ll work through those clothes in the following days and decide what to keep and what to toss out (to goodwill).

Haven’t had much time to ponder lessons. But I feel a lot more organized. I bought some air fresheners for my room too. I’ve been doing the dishes before cooking and that’s been working out well.

I didn’t utilize the laundry basket last night and I’m upset with myself about it. I’ll live, but it was a pretty easy goal.

Instead, I cleaned some magic cards off of the living area table, did dishes, and picked up clothes off the floor to put into the washer.

While I am disappointed in myself partially, I’m still happy I spent thirty minutes cleaning up.

Since I’m very busy today and tomorrow, I’m going to focus on the laundry basket, and start using that instead of throwing my clothes on the floor. Small goals for today and tomorrow!

Updated the first weeks goals. Last night I spent about an hour cleaning and cooking in the kitchen.

Lesson learned:

Dishwasher needs to be clean and empty prior to cooking, so I can more easily utilize it with the newly dirty dishes. Currently my sink is full of dirty pots and pans because the dishwasher was running before and after I was finished cooking.

I need to figure out an efficient use of counter space. I’ll focus on that when I can. I’m worried I won’t be able to find time to clean before Saturday, because tonight is Date Night, and tomorrow is FNM. . . Hopefully I can find some time, even if it’s just a small amount of time.