Time to Come Clean

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I’ll be honest: I’m not a fan of the winter holidays. I tend to see them as just more work, only unpaid. I wish I wasn’t such a Scrooge, but it takes a lot for me to get in the mood to buy and wrap and ship presents. To bake sugary treats and not give in to sampling. To sit through a sensory-friendly showing of How The Grinch Stole Christmas at The Old Globe and not cry. To deal with indoor and outdoor lights. Babysit more than usual. To make one more library-book run to stock up for an anticipated work lull that somehow rarely happens. To find everything on grocery lists for special brunches and dinners. And, of course, nail all of my many work deadlines.  

 

Not to mention, even with early morning temps finally requiring heavier jackets and sweaters, it doesn’t feel like Christmas. Never does here in San Diego.

 

But this is a great time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t this year, especially in keeping with this year’s theme: Clean. In some ways, it was a natural choice coming off 2020’s Survive. We might have figured out the pandemic wasn’t spread by microbes left on surfaces, but most of us still led messy lives.

 

So, let’s pull apart exactly what I vowed this time a year ago. 

 

“I’m being more diligent about keeping my home free of dust mites and dog hair, grime and germs.”

 

I did way more deep cleaning this year than in the past, thanks to inspo from @gocleanco and @thefoldinglady on Instagram. I dedicated a couple of hours every weekend to wiping down furniture, counters and bathroom fixtures. I had cars and carpets professionally cleaned. I waged war with our spider-infested garage, armed only with a broom.

 

Where I fell short was in the regular maintenance, which depended on other people in our household. Turned out to be too big of an ask, even with me lowering standards. 

 

Grade: B

 

“I’m tossing anything I no longer use.”

 

My closet is much more organized, with breathing room between articles of clothing. That said, I’m still holding on to items that don’t fit. I really need to embrace the now and admit the no longer. 

 

Grade: A-

 

“I’m keeping my calendar open instead of overscheduling.”

 

This is a tough one because I didn’t overschedule so much as overcommit with short notice because I had little scheduled. There’s a difference, right? 

 

Grade: B-

 

“My desk and drawers will no longer be taken over by clutter.”

 

Define “clutter.”

 

Grade: B-

 

“I’m paying closer attention to what goes into my body, and maybe what comes out.”

 

Even with the occasion slip, I did indeed pay much closer attention to what I ingested (food, drink, supplements, social media,  . . .). Did I lose weight or gain time? Maybe. Kinda. OK, not really.

 

Grade: A-

 

“I’m clearing out medicine cabinets and bathroom vanities.”

 

An easy A. You will not find as many Rx bottles or fancy hair and skin care products on my side of the bathroom. And what is there, I use daily or weekly or when needed. Nothing wasted … or expired before full use.

 

Grade: A

 

“I’m restocking the pantry with items whose first four to eight ingredients are not just different names for the same bad carbohydrates to get around nutritional label laws.”

 

Did, do, done. Added a box of biweekly organic produce delivered to my door, and that’s made a big difference to our weekly menus and the ingredients in my breakfasts and lunch salads.

 

Grade: A

 

“Actually cooking.”

 

I did cook, actually. 

 

Grade: B+

 

“I’m going to clean out bad thoughts with more walks and hikes and runs. Get back into the habit of daily exercise.”

 

I would get back into a routine, then fall out of it due to an illness or sick family members or work. Yeah, especially work. Call it grade inflation, but I’m rounding up for returning to my old gym to row and managing three times a week of wogging.

 

Grade: B

 

“I’m going to clean up some messy relationships that have wrecked me in recent years.”

 

If the other party wasn’t linked to me genetically, then mission accomplished. 

 

Grade: B

 

“And I’m going to clean up the completed manuscript I’ve worked on for almost two years and consider what’s next for my first novel.”

 

I did a second run at a 70,000-word draft and circulated it for feedback. Now it’s on to a new version that may be dramatically different by the end of next year. Or not.

 

Grade: A

 

“Produce more typo- and error-free work at my day job and this blog.”

 

Mistakes happen. Some months, a lot less of them were due to me. 

 

Grade: B



Photo taken during a fall lunch at The Gilderport in La Jolla. Given my overall grade average, I'd say I was flying high on accomplishing my goal of a cleaner lifestyle.

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