Happy Monday! I hope you had a good, restful weekend. Mine was busy doing some Christmas deep cleaning before the holidays arrive, which will be very soon! We are mere days away from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!
Christmas Deep Cleaning
There is nothing I love more than having a super clean house before the holidays. Hubby had to leave for work Saturday morning, so I thought that would be the perfect time to dive into the kitchen deep cleaning before the holidays. I planned to remove everything from the cabinets, give them a good wipe-down, and wipe down the lower cabinet doors. Well, it started great, but then I started noticing other little things, like the baseboards in the dining room, dust under furniture in the dining room, and loose knobs on the kitchen cabinet doors. All of this quickly took a turn into getting down on the floor to wipe baseboards, having the Teen move out furniture to sweep and mop behind it, and wielding a screwdriver to take care of the loose knobs. It was 1:15 PM before I realized I hadn’t had lunch, so I took a lunch break and worked on everything until about 5 PM when I finally had to give up and stop. All while keeping the laundry going. I “rewarded” myself that evening with some wine while watching TV. I’ve probably had a glass of wine twice this year, so I figured, why not? I even used a cute Christmas wine glass!
The Aftermath
I had no business doing all of that in one day. I knew I would pay the price for it later, and on Sunday, I did just that! I was up at 5 AM and barely hobbling to get around. My lower back and left hip area were absolutely killing me, and the Motrin I took that morning wasn’t touching it. I wisely decided that day would be a “do nothing” day, but I did two loads of laundry. I took a nap after lunch and decided to take some Extra Strength Tylenol before I did, and that finally seemed to help the pain. I woke up to a text from a sweet neighbor offering me some beef stew, cornbread, and coconut cream cake that she had made for a big family lunch gathering. I happily accepted that offer, so I didn’t have to make dinner! Well, I made the Teen what he wanted, but that was easy. I know I will have to pace myself wisely on the cleaning for the rest of the week, but sometimes I get in a groove if I am having a good day physically, and I can’t stop. I’m making a note in next year’s planner to remember not to overdo it again! I wish I could be one of these people who keeps themselves on a strict cleaning schedule so all of these deep cleaning tasks don’t fall on me all at once.
Christmas Dishes
Do you have a set of Christmas dishes? My uncle gave me some Christmas place settings a few years ago while downsizing his home. He and my aunt had used these for years. This is the Christmastime pattern from Nikko.
I didn’t have any Christmas dishes, so I happily accepted them, and I am ashamed to say I have never used them. While cleaning the kitchen, I decided we WERE going to use the Christmas dishes this year, so I went upstairs and pulled out four place settings to wash up. I also unboxed some Christmas glasses I had packed away as well. That’s when I also discovered the above holiday wine glasses, so I pulled them down, too. Our Christmas meals will definitely be more festive this year!
The Week Ahead
Well, I have exactly five days to get all of my Christmas shopping, wrapping, baking, and cleaning done! EEKKK!!! However, nothing helps me get the job done, like a little procrastination and pressure! I’ll also have to help my mama tie up her loose ends. The Teen needs a haircut, as well. So much to do and so little time! What do you have planned for this week? Are you all finished up with the holiday prepping, or will you be burning the candle at both ends like me, haha?
I can no longer do sustained cleaning of any sort! I need to keep any cleaning to about 20 minutes, so I try to clean for short periods of time. One area or room at a time. I did dust and vacuum the house before I put up the Christmas decorations and I will deep clean again, when I take the decorations down.
I definitely plan to come up with a better system for maintaining things so I don’t have to do it all in one go again. It was TOO much!
Ooooh, we had the same thing this week: My lower back and my right hip area were killing me. Just the other side as you. I tried it without painkillers, but I felt so miserable. I didn’t feel capable enough, couldn’t do what I wanted. I should have taken some rest. Now, it’s the same every morning when I wake up. But biking is helping me.
How are you doing now? Do you have this more often?
I have no Christmas dishes but I love to see them on your pic
I know what you mean about cleaning. I get going on things like that and it feels so good to do it, but I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and I pay for it. Good for you for getting all that done, I hope you feel better soon.
We did deep cleaning before Thanksgiving and have only done maintenance cleaning since then. But we didn’t deep clean everything as I noticed the bathroom ceiling vent is really dusty, and who knows what else. But the house is clean enough for us and the few visitors we will have on Christmas Eve.
Don’t forget to pace yourself the rest of the week. Remember, good enough is good enough.
Seems when we get started it is hard to stop even knowing we will pay the price. Been there and done that!!!!
A nice glass of wine is the order for some days. Like you it hardly ever happens, but is always enjoyed when it does.
So nice of your neighbor to offer you dinner! It sounds like you were very productive with your cleaning. I probably need to do the same thing around here. Hope your week of Christmas prep and planning goes well. Other than making a few snacks on Friday afternoon, my week is pretty normal. It is quite different not having little ones in the house anymore. Have a good day!