Washing pillows: 201/365

     Again, I’m not getting rid of stuff. Lately this blog has become about organizing stuff. Oh, well, I figure that anyone who want to purge always wants to organize.

     The other day, in all earnestness, the salesman at the local mattress store told me, “Of course, you know that we should get rid of our pillows every two years.”

      “Even my favorites from childhood?” I responded.

     Wow, that feels like one of the worst should of life. I’m not even close. But the man has a point, a really good one. So, I have taken on the project of washing all the bed pillows in the house. Here’s how it goes:

1) Put pillowslip protector on the pillow

2) Wash two at a time--balances the machine; use very little detergent; press the two-rinse button

3) Add three tennis balls to the dryer and dry away; fluff pillows a few times; air dry if needed.

     I use the same procedure with all kinds of pillows, from down to very cheap.

     Hum, throwing away pillows isn’t very GREEN. But neither is all that water and energy that my machines use. 

Grime under the sink, it’s time to go. Day 192/365

      Where did all this grime come from? A mystery that I’ve decided I don’t need to solve. What I know is that all at once it gets to me and I know it’s time to clean. 

The good news is that this time there were no jars, sponges or brushes to toss. Maybe my desire for simplicity is paying off. I just hadn’t accumulated those extra just-in-case things.

Grease in the oven, it’s time to go. Day 191/365

     Just what you wanted to see--my greasy oven. Most of us have one, a greasy oven that is, even if it is self-cleaning. Mine is the regular old-fashioned kind. 

     Today I got spraying and wiping. I hated using up paper towels, but it seemed like the best way to go. I sprayed and wiped a couple of times and then said, “Enough! Good enough.”

     If you were to examine the results in person, you’d only give me a C+. That’s better than D- or an F, but I don’t use the oven enough for it to get dirty enough for me to flunk Oven Cleaning 101.

Day 179/365 It’s time to go, more dust.

Before

    I’m mighty pleased with the little shelf on my desk in the AR (Angel Room). It’s clear of dust and the pile of papers is now another pile of paper, but now on the floor. Not good, you might say, and I suppose you’re right. But I culled it down, throwing out some envelopes and little scraps of paper, and most importantly, now I know what’s in the pile. Somehow knowing what the stuff is becomes a stress reliever in itself. 

After

Pile of papers