Sandra Heska King

daring to open doors

  • Home
  • About
  • DISCLOSURES
    • Amazon Affiliate
    • Book Reviews
  • Published
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Commit Poetry
    • Dared

T Minus One Hour and Counting

October 7, 2009 By Sandra Heska King

In the middle of writing a serious post today, my brain cells screamed for coffee.  As I slid back, my headset caught on my chair and clattered to the floor bringing several pieces of paper fluttering down with it.  As I headed across the room, I slipped on several sheets of paper and bounced off the door frame.  I tiptoed around 4 pairs of shoes lining the stairway and stepped over a pair of Gracee’s socks in the living room.  I scowled at the tumbleweed of dog hair in the corner, the crayons and “art work” on the table, dishes and crumbs on the sink.

I rose to my full 5 feet 2 (and a half) inches and growled, “That’s all I can stands.  I can’t stands no more!”

I rustled in the cupboard for a can of spinach, but the only power food I could find was a few chocolate chips scattered on the shelf.

Commence Big Sweep!

A one-hour countdown to imaginary company.

Also known as Operation Double Booster Declutter (ODBD).

You, too, can institute this procedure at any time of day or night.  Here it is blow by blow, step by step.

More organized clean freaks (OCFs) will probably just want to stop here and move on to prepare some specialty tea in a fragile china cup and enjoy it with some of their homemade biscotti in a sparkling nook.  The one near the window framed by freshly washed curtains swaying in a soft breeze.

CAUTION:  Not necessarily green approved. 

1.  Strip as bare as you dare.  Prepare to sweat (ummm, glisten).

2.  Get a large garbage bag, a laundry basket, 2 bins, and a high-quality feather duster.

3.  Pour a pail of water and mix with your favorite cleaning solution.  Set it on a table so you don’t kick it over.  Breathe deeply for energy.

4.  No music.  No TV.  Ignore the phone.  No distractions.  You must focus.  Prayer is okay, but only in grunts and groans.

5.  Set your timer for one hour.  GO!

6.  Grab your laundry basket and whisk up all dirty clothes strewn hither and yon.  It’s okay to grab a few clean out-of-place items.

7.  Start a load of laundry.  No matter how small.  Scentsation is all important.

8.  Gather up all clean clothes (you know, the stuff that’s been waiting around for a few days to be put away) and deposit them in the appropriate bedrooms.  Deposit only.  You may stack linens in the closet.

9.  Place your bins and garbage bag in a central area.  You will run back and forth and shed a few ounces in the process.

10.  Anything that belongs somewhere else goes in bin #1.

11.  Anything you are not sure of goes in bin #2.

12.  Trash goes in bag.  Duh.

13.  Do not think too hard.  Try to get more stuff in bin #2 and the trash bag.  We are not recycling today.  Well…okay.  Newspapers, magazines, cans and plastic in bin #1.

14.  Run through the house with the feather duster.  Concentrate on visible dust and cobwebs.  Check near the ceiling.

15.  Dance with the vacuum.  Fast.

16.  Put items from bin #1 away.  Hide bin #2.

17.  Transfer clothes to dryer.  Quickly wash any dishes.

18.  Dump some cleaning solution down all sinks and into toilets.  Swish, swish.  Wipe down counters with whatever is closest at hand.  Hang fresh hand towels.

19.  Close bedroom doors.  You’ll deal with them tomorrow.  Toss garbage bag.

20.  Take a deep breath.  Look around.  Sigh. smile.  Resume regular programming.

Note to self:  At next power surge, immediately transfer anything still in bin #2 to trash bag or giveaway box.  If you can remember where bin #2 is.

Second note to self:  Vow not to let things get out of control.  Again.

Copyright © 2009 by Sandra Heska King

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: stories and reflections

Comments

  1. prayer bedes says

    October 8, 2009 at 5:46 am

    Wonderful post! I think you and I would get along great. =)

  2. prayer bedes says

    October 8, 2009 at 5:47 am

    I like the "pretend company is coming in a hour" tactic you posted on twitter too.

  3. Sandy/Snady says

    October 8, 2009 at 9:21 am

    LOL! Sometimes there are just more important things than cleaning. 😉

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Meet Sandra

I’m Sandra, a camera-toting, recovering doer who’s learning to be. still. Read more…

Get updates from the stillness by email

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Archives

Categories

Instagram Inspiration

sandraheskaking

“This spark of life that wavest wings of gold” “This spark of life that wavest wings of gold” ~ Thomas Wentworth Higginson in “Ode to a Butterfly”
🦋
We pulled all the milkweed because it just could not support all the caterpillars. They were eating it bare and most of them died because they ran out of food. This one butterfly found this one lone volunteer.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright futur "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." ~ E.B. White (as quoted on today's page in my Franklin Planner)
"May you experience each day as a sacred gift wove "May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder." ~ John O'Donohue in "For Presence" from To Bless the Space Between Us
🌴
Tri-colored heron stalking breakfast in my backyard.
“. . neighbor’s tree hangs heavy with mangoes “. .  neighbor’s tree hangs heavy with mangoes. They are moving in a week. They say a family from Belarus bought the house. I hope they don’t care much for mangoes.”
**
“Beautiful Sweet Things” at https://sandraheskaking.substack.com/
"People do not grow old. When they cease to grow t "People do not grow old. When they cease to grow they become old.” ~ Emerson

It's been a while since I've written anything on my blog. Like 3 years. But I just wrote my first post on Substack. Come see?

https://sandraheskaking.substack.com/p/ten-years-ten-things
Spent a couple hours this morning with friends fro Spent a couple hours this morning with friends from @spanishriverchurch picking up beach trash. Little bits of colored and clear plastic, big bits of plastic, bottle caps, broken glass, strings, ropes, straws, socks, fast food containers, paper, cigarette holders and filters—and a couple unmentionables. Took extra care around the turtle nests. Last count was about 70 pounds, but there were also some bigger things like an abandoned chair and a plastic tent. And a big piece of burlap or something with a fishing lure and giant hook attached. D found a Macy’s gift card that he almost tossed in his bucket. But we brought it home to check the balance—$24.60! We should be able to turn that into something useful for someone. 😊
H Already dead, I am living my afterlife here in t H
Already dead, I am
living my afterlife
here
in the form of a human.
~ Xueyan from Time Peels All to Original White

Thanks to @tspoetry for introducing me to this beautiful collection via an Every Day Poems selection.
The cats attacked the window all night. The dog wo The cats attacked the window all night. The dog woofed all night. This morning we discovered the would-be burglar imprisoned between the screen and the glass on our bedroom slider. 

When I stepped out to release it (no bail), I was surprised by this brief bit of backyard beauty.
For most of us, knowledge of our world comes large For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?" ~ Rachel Carson in The Sense of Wonder
#prayformsu #spartanstrong #spartannurse #michigan #prayformsu #spartanstrong #spartannurse #michiganstateuniversity
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faith Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. ~ Psalm 136:1
A tale of two iguanas... I did not see the iguana A tale of two iguanas... I did not see the iguana in the background until I downloaded the photos. That, I believe, is the one that got caught in one of the openings in the neighbor's chain link fence. We tried in several (safe) ways to dislodge it without luck and could think of no other option but to leave it. Somehow it apparently dislodged itself. We also believe this is the pair that was getting into another neighbor's garden. We haven't seen either one since the last cold snap, so we are wondering if they survived. 
🌱
Thinking some may have tumbled from their perches last night. Pretty sure it will be raining iguanas tonight since we are under a frost advisory. It's cold. And windy.
Just sing... sing a song... Singing our way into Just sing... sing a song... 

Singing our way into the weekend.
"We don't just see. We learn to see." ~ Russ Ramse "We don't just see. We learn to see." ~ Russ Ramsey in Rembrandt is in the Wind
Now you see me... now you don't. Now you see me... now you don't.
"I started looking and listening. I realized that "I started looking and listening. I realized that work, like life, is shot through with poetry. It was everywhere. I was so taken with what I discovered that I wrote a book about it." @gyoung9751 
🌱
Whether you work in an office, a retail store, a restaurant, or at home... Whether you work on roads or on power lines, or on high buildings...Whether you collect trash or preach sermons, or care for your kiddos. Whether you do art, or weave words, or take photos of a common gallinule AKA moorhen AKA swamp chicken--it's all shot through with poetry.
🌱
So pay attention. Find a poem.
🌱
Read more at https://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/2023/01/10/its-poetry-at-work-day-2023/
Rising… Rising…
Everyone needs a little balance in life. And maybe Everyone needs a little balance in life. And maybe a beauty routine. And breakfast. Especially breakfast. I wonder if it consists of a few fire ants. I hope so. (Well, not mine. I'm having oatmeal with chia seeds. What are you having this morning?)
🌱
P.S. Happy Friday!
"Though your destination is not yet clear You can "Though your destination is not yet clear You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning That is at one with your life's desire." ~John O'Donohue 
🌿
A blessing for a new beginning in a new year. I'm sure he wrote it especially for me. At least I'm claiming it. Maybe it will speak to you, too.
🌿
Also, I'd really like this skirt --> 
🌿
Read the whole poem--> -->
🌿
Well, bummer... The whole page didn't print. Read it in the comments below.
"What precocity, a bird half the size Of an Anjou "What precocity, a bird half the size
Of an Anjou pear." ~ Stephen Kuusisto in "The Mockingbird on Central" (Find it in The Poets Guide to the Birds edited by Judith Kitchen and Ted Kooser)
🌱
"The morning pages are the primary tool of creative recovery." ~ Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way. 
🌱
I've been in a long creative drought, so I started morning pages--again. This time I've got a bit of an accountability group through @refineretreat's Refinery--which I finally also joined this year. I'll turn 74 this month. I'm not ready to grow old while I age--though everything does seem to take longer while time goes by faster.
🌱
#aweandwonder #tsaweandwonder
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Get the Mug

Embrace the life you have t s poetry mug

Privacy Policy

Full privacy policy is available HERE.

I Read Light

TSP-Red button

bibledude-net



Sponsor a Child

Join the Compassion Blogger Network

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2023 Sandra Heska King · Site by The Willingham Enterprise, LLC on the Genesis Framework by StudioPress · Log in