Got stood up but my freezer is clean

Not exactly the title to get me SEO brownie points. I don’t really understand SEO so I’m sticking with it. This title also reads like an odd combination but there is an explanation. Basically I did get stood up. However the upside to this situation is that I cleaned my freezer. Confused? I’ll explain.

The Chancer

I have a guy I date occasionally. He messaged on Saturday to ask if he could stay for a night on his way to London. I said “sure”.

My nickname for him (to ensure anonymity) is ‘The Chancer’. If he ever comes across my blog he would definitely know as this is him to a tee. Pretty much because he is a complete chancer.

This is the main reason he is not my partner (we have discussed this). To explain a little more he is: funny, great company, and attractive. But he is also: unreliable, amusingly untrustworthy (some of his stories are outlandish) and a right pain in the proverbial. My summary position – I don’t want to marry him but an evening or two is soooo much fun.

The preparation

To prepare for a visitor your flat should look presentable. Surely? Well I lucked out here because everything was pretty clean. I hate cleaning (see previous post on this topic), but had done enough over the weekend so that my Tuesday visitor would not be negatively judging me. I think this is just good manners.

However one issue that felt outstanding and far too monumental a cleaning task for a Sunday night was the freezer. Large icicles, ice mountains and ice blocks had been forming (maybe over a long time) and the freezer door was not willing to stay shut. The door thing only appeared as an issue on Sunday.

Defrosting

There is no hidden meaning in this heading. I just figured I could not call my flat presentable if the cold was leaking out of the freezer.

As with all cleaning tasks, I am not sure whether any admission to lack of frequency will be frowned upon. I’ll just blurt this out then. I hardly ever defrost my freezer. I have stuff in it most of the time which makes this task seem impossible to do without waste. When I don’t have much in it I honestly can’t be arsed cleaning it. So it rarely (eek…years in between) gets done. That is probably an awful thing to admit.

So with the ice mountains threatening to affect my flat’s temperature I decided (either stupidly or luckily depending on your viewpoint) to clean it in preparation for ‘The Chancer’ appearing.

He never appeared…bonus

A little message popped up on my phone this afternoon. “I can’t make it…trip postponed”. This did not devastate me in the slightest. I had a long day and was running late in work and I needed wind down me time.

So arriving home at 7.30pm to pour a (little) glass of wine whilst dinner is in the oven I can’t help but feeling relieved. Yes it might have been fun. Yes he is funny. But I am tired, happy and hungry. I also have a sparkly freezer. A once in a long time event which deserves a glass of red to celebrate. A definite bonus!

Photo by Dev Benjamin on Unsplash

Cleaning – my least favourite thing to do

I did a clear-out a few weeks ago and only now feel like I can share the trauma. I started with the wardrobe. Clearing out your closet is good for you; apparently. It allows for a declutter, to donate things to charity and leaves everything a bit more manageable. Problem is that once you have done the wardrobe you pretty much feel the need to declutter your whole house. So I had to move on from the closet and do the whole bedroom. Then the whole living room. Then the kitchen bloody drawers. I know why I needed to start this…but I also keep wandering why I started it.

Necessary evils – cleaning

I clean. I hate cleaning. I still clean. I need a cleaner! It’s a pretty small flat in the middle of Edinburgh so it’s not that tasking to spend a couple of hours a week doing it. I won’t even mention ironing. I could probably talk a lot about my hatred of that task. The upside of cleaning is the fresh feeling of floors being washed, everything put away and the relaxing after it’s done. My house started off clean so I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea to do a clear out.

I did though. Now a few weeks on I am reaping the benefits. Kind of. I have more space and I definitely have less clutter. But I still have to bloody clean. I am currently looking at my floors thinking I need to wash them. The clear out was meant to make it easier but instead it has left me with an evil cleaning obsession. I doubt I will succumb in the long term; but in the interim it does feel both nice and awful all at the same time. I definitely need a cleaner.

Even the ironing is getting done and it is something (not sure I have mentioned this yet) I absolutely hate! I just want to get back to the type of person that doesn’t mind leaving her ironing for a bit….she will get to it later after doing something fun. It’s not that I am a messy person; I just like doing it all at once rather than spreading the cleaning pain throughout the week.

The benefits of de-cluttering

So…I guess I am promoting the benefits of having a clear out. If anything, you will be reminded of all the clothes (and shoes….lots of them) that you have and should be wearing. This is under the threat of them being chucked during next years clearout.

Otherwise. Good for the soul and all that….(still feel like this is an ‘apparently’…still feel traumatised).

The questions left unanswered

During my cleaning / decluttering / clear out phase I washed the inside of my windows. I wash the outside every week or so. The inside I leave longer (being non-specific here in fear of being ostracised). So having asked a lot of people I know how often you should wash the inside of your windows I have found that the answer varies greatly. There are a few folk who said they did it every week. Either they are lying, they are OCD or they are right mucky pups who stick their faces onto their windows. Surely they don’t need washing this often!?? Others said once a month.

My schedule is a bit longer than this. Why clean something that isn’t dirty? I feel like this may be a dirty secret but point to my previous desire noted above that, in life I would like someone else to do it. There are far too many other fun things to be doing. Despite this I have now got a de-cluttered flat and clean windows. My washing is done and everything is in it’s place. I know that for the rest of the day I will put things away straight away. I probably need to go out instead. I should have really stayed in bed with a book. Cleaning is my least favourite thing to do.

Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash