I wanted hardwood floors upstairs, but that wasn't in the budget. So now we have this wretched carpet, which only came in light colors, and it's been gathering grime since we moved in. I'd been trying to keep with the most offending spots, food and drink dropped at parties or game nights, food and drink dropped in the course of supper, foot grime that persists despite Willow getting her paws wiped whenever she goes out and our changing into slippers when we get home. But Miss Dog is getting old, and her "accidents" are getting more frequent, and the old grime was causing discoloring. Part of the rug is now beige and the rest, in high-traffic areas, is dark beige or darker, with light spots from Urine Gone treatments.

Last year when we were at the Home Show (this year there were no carpet cleaners there at all!), we looked at all the different carpet cleaning companies and liked a company called ZeroRes, which cleans with water. This was especially needed because we didn't want harsh cleaners that might have fumes that would bother Schuyler. It was especially telling that James was the one who nagged to get the carpet cleaned, and was the one who called up and made the arrangements.

They are coming tomorrow and I have been trying to prep a little bit every night by picking up things and putting them in other rooms; you never realize how much stuff (besides the furniture) you have on the floor until you have to pick it up! James has a bag full of a wargame module, and big gift books. There are also DVDs we've been gifted and we don't have room for, so they're plunked on the floor near the television. There's my plastic cross stitching project container and my cross stitch bag. There's an odd Ikea basket with electronic cords. A new router that hasn't been installed...and so on.

Last night we both had to gird up and get the rest of the junk other stuff off the floor. I moved the dog's food and water, and her crate into the kitchen, along with the emergency charger. James cleaned up the basket and the router. Then he had to get the books off the glider rocker, and the magazines off the glider rocker ottoman (well, you get the gist). Then I picked up the basket under the coffee table and cleaned off the coffee table, and then upended and polished it, and then walked it into the hallway.

So in the dining room only the table was left, and we left the two computer chairs and the recliner and the dog bed in the living room. Everything else went in one of the spare bedrooms, and the wastebaskets in the bathroom. As we emptied out things, I vacuumed. And vacuumed. And vacuumed. Lots of dog hair, little dirt by now. :-) By eleven o'clock, we were glad to turn out the lights and go to bed.

A funny thing happened: the corner where we usually put the Christmas tree really isn't dirty. The glider rocker is there, and no one ever sits in it except when we empty all the magazines and books for a game night/party (which, I must admit, irritates me, as I always intended that corner as a place where I could cross stitch next to the window). Plus we didn't want to lift up James' side table, the little Leksvik we got from Ikea (which they don't make anymore), as it's full of more books and batteries. So I crammed the rocker under the window and the table next to it, and unplugged James' tall, skinny reading lamp to move over in that corner. This is just a round-bottomed stand with a long pole and then a conical lamp head at the top adjustable with an articulated connection.

When I lifted it out, the bottom fell out if it and broke into pieces. What was weighing it down under the round stand was just a piece of plaster encased in a vinyl wraparound! So we had to pick that up and throw it away, too. But how funny! I've moved that lamp dozens of times and it's never hurt it!

(Oh, thought it was funny we were working so hard at housecleaning tonight, as it was the Feast of the Assumption. If we had celebrated "Name Days" like some of the Spanish people do, this would have been my mother's "Name Day." Everyone called her Mary, but her name was Assunta. She had people call her Mary because the usual nickname for Italian women named Assunta was "Susie" and she hated being called Susie.)

Labels: chores, housework

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 11:15:00 PM

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