Friday, October 14, 2011

The Problem With Having Nice Things...

My husband and I recently moved from an old 1880's apartment building in "Historic" Baltimore to a brand new town-home in Nashville. We have lived here for about 4 months, and are still in the process of turning this house into our home. So far, I LOVE it; It's so clean and organized, (mainly because it's still very empty) and all of our new furniture is a huge upgrade from the stuff we had during our college and med-school years. The problem is that now I feel so obsessed about keeping everything "like new", especially because it has to look nice for at least all 7 of my husband's residency years and hopefully through his Attending years. I "freak" out when our pets jump on our new furniture (leaving hair and scratches), or scratch the wood floors, or have an accident on the new carpet. I've always been a "neat-freak", even in our old apartment in Baltimore that was so old it always looked dirty no matter how much I cleaned it; but if we got another scratch on the old couch, it just blended in with the hundred other ones, and if our puppy had an accident, or we tracked mud/snow onto the carpets, I did my best to clean it up, but it never really bothered me- we were renters, and everything was so old and stained anyways.


Our old apartment in Baltimore

We have been working hard and saving to create that "magazine perfect" living room. We figured it was where we would spend the majority of our time (we don't get out much), so it should receive the majority of our furniture budget. I was so excited the day we ordered our new couch and chairs, and have been dreaming about how "perfect" it would be for the last 12 weeks that it took to be delivered. Our couch finally arrived last weekend, and it is so COMFORTABLE and beautiful. But, as soon as I plopped down onto it, my puppy and kitties wanted to hop up there with me, and I had to go into "M.O.M" mode (Mean Ol' Mommy)!!  I've already vacuumed it twice (in 48 hours), and have been guarding it like a hawk. I can only imagine how my husband will react when we have a child and they spit-up or spill food on the new furniture or carpet. EEK!! I guess that's why they have professional upholstery cleaners... Maybe we should have gone with a slip cover!



Image from potterybarn.com
I'll post another picture when our new living room is complete.

What's the point of having nice things, if we can't truly enjoy them?? My new couch may be beautiful and comfortable, but I was probably less stressed on the old, wore out, knobby one, where I felt free to indulge in some cuddle time with my pets! Yet, the old, sloppy furniture was not nearly as inviting as our new stuff. The new stuff is relaxing in a different way. Sure, I have to try harder to keep it clean, but the whole feel of the room is so peaceful and brings much joy to my husband and I as we relax together in our living room. I guess the lesson here is that we just have to learn to find the new joys in every situation. 

The following verse is from my Good Morning Girls study this week: 1John2:15

"Do not love the world, or anything in the world". 


This reminded me that we must not LOVE the things in our lives. If I'm not in LOVE with this new furniture, I won't care about the imperfections caused from using it, and instead, I will find much joy and happiness LIVING with it to create lovely memories with my friends and family. 

Monday, October 10, 2011

You know you're domestic when....

You get excited about CLEANING!!






I recently "gave in" and bought a Shark Steam Mop, and I have to admit, I LOVE it! I had been using a broom, Swiffer dry cloths, and Swiffer wet jet.  I hated that I needed to use 3 tools just to get my floors "clean"... and they didn't even do that great of a job... The Swiffer Wet Jet was leaving a waxy/sticky residue on my floors, so they never really felt clean. My husband would complain that his socks were sticking to the floor! :( Now, I only need 1 thing: my Shark Vac then Steam. The Vacuum sucks up all the crumbs AND the pet hair. (we have 2 cats and 1 dog) The mop uses just water to clean and SANITIZE your floors. The mop cloths are re-usable: Just toss them in the washer and air-dry them. I LOVE that I no longer generate all the waste that Swiffer made and I no longer have any chemicals on my floor... This is much safer for my pets and our future children. I wouldn't think twice about letting babies crawl around on these floors!


I use my Vac then Steam all over my house: Laundry room & bathroom tile, wood floors, and the marble in front of my fireplace. Plus, you don't even need to put any "backbone" into it like I had to with the Swiffer. It's so easy to use and it really works! My neighbor came over the other day and the first thing she said when she came in was "It feels so clean in here"! My house is always "picked up", so it had to be the awesomely clean floors she was noticing! Do yourself a favor and make the investment ($120 with 20% coupon at Bed, Bath, and Beyond). I was probably spending nearly that much/year on Swiffer cleaning products/cloths. I honestly can't say enough about this product. It really has changed my life!