Wet Hands, Soap and Memories
Last Updated on August 1, 2017 by lydiaf1963
It’s an unfortunate fact of life that stuff gets dirty but it doesn’t have to be a chore to clean it up when you lose yourself in music and memories.
Nowadays we live in a small apartment (3 rooms, plus kitchen and bath) so keeping it neat isn’t nearly as much of a struggle as it was when I had a big house plus a full time job and chauffeur duties. At some point I acknowledged I needed help and so The Flylady entered my life. I started following her way back when she had a newsletter on Google lists. She has a website now full of great advice for home management…starting with getting rid of all the excess STUFF!
Her plan is simple to follow. Divide the house into zones and each zone gets a deep clean once a month. The rest of the month you keep it picked up and work on eliminating clutter and building a system for keeping on top of things. This week the zone is the kitchen. Ours seems to be a grease trap and really needs a once a month wipe down on top of the daily clean up. Luckily the walls and floor are tiled and the cabinets are washable. It’s just a matter of “git r dun.”
Music helps to make the time go by. I left many CDs behind when we moved to Spain, but I found out that digitized versions of CDs purchased through Amazon are available for streaming. It’s kind of amusing to see some of the music I’ve purchased over the years…
like every Gary Allan album
or S Club 7 and Backstreet Boys, purchased as presents for my children
and my absolute favorite, Joan Armatrading’s self titled album (affiliate link).
I’ve had this album in my collection since I first heard it as a college freshman in 1981. The original cassette was replaced with a CD (which I “lost” in a divorce and had to replace) and now I have it in digital. I hooked my phone up to one of those mini-speakers which are better than listening over the phone– but not as good as stereo– and got busy. And by getting busy I mean wiping down cabinets, counters and singing at the top of my lungs. There may have been a few dance moves as well.
Very graceful dance moves…
via GIPHY
ahem
Anyway, back to Joan. I’ve lived three quarters of my life since this album was released. Every song has a memory associated with it; some more than one. Memories of a marriage, a relationship that embarrasses me to think upon now and overcoming past hurts to find new love with Rick. There also memories of happy times when these songs and others formed the theme music of my life.
The album wasn’t finished when the last bit of soap was washed down the drain. I traded the mini speaker for a set of headphones and went out for a walk with Joan.
Are you familiar with The Flylady or do you use another “system” to help keep your home in order? Do you have a favorite song or album from your younger years that you still listen to? Do you play a certain type of music when doing household chores? Tell me about it in the comments.
I know the FlyLady, but it didn’t really worked for me in the past. I’m hoping maybe after we finish decluttering and I get into a cleaning routine, it might work for me. I love the detailed lists, but find it so hard to keep up with! I love that Seinfeld video!
It does seem overwhelming at times, doesn’t it? What works for me is the 15 minute challenges and the zone concept.
After awhile it became normal to keep the sink clear and my bed made. I don’t have a choice but to keep up with laundry because we don’t have a dryer and it becomes a disaster if I have more than two loads to do. Thanks Angela, for leaving the first comment on the blog 🙂
There are so many songs in my life that have memories attached. I love when a song comes on and I sit back and remember a great memory.
Me, too. My sister and I attended a Kool and the Gang concert in May. Their album Ladies Night pretty much defined my senior year of high school. We had a blast.
I have never heard of the FlyLady before now–I will have to check out her website (blog). No I do not listen to music when I’m cleaning- I’m too busy talking my cat into moving from the exact location I am trying to clean.
Cats bring so much joy, don’t they? lol
My strategy has been to throw it all away. But that drives the rest of my family crazy. We need tons of storage to keep it all contained.
I got rid of a ton of stuff after my kids became adults and decided they didn’t need all that stuff in the attic after all, hahaha.
I have 12thousand songs on my ipod, lol I really need to clean those up!
I have a long way to go for that. My son is probably close, though 🙂
That’s me!!! Dancing while with wet hands, music can help while you’re cleaning house too.
It definitely keeps you moving 🙂
I used to do the fly lady, but it was just too much in some ways and not enough in others. I do love listening to music when I clean though!
That’s a good way to put it. It’s helpful information but after awhile you don’t need the constant reminders, at least I didn’t. I like to touch base with the system when I get off track.