cleaning

I like deep cleaning the house. Much nicer than the daily pick up I have to do to keep my shambles livable. My housemates very gently asked if I might help them clean up the common spaces and I agreed even though that's the most difficult way to clean, for me. Xiaona likes to do things together as a group. It's hard for me to listen to the ongoing negotiations about what to do with an empty ketchup bottle or whether corners need to be wiped down. Since we do this so infrequently and none of us have compatible standards the exercise in domestic hygiene takes eons. But I was firm with myself that since I've neglected my patience and let it whither away, I would enjoy this opportunity to develop it. And then, at the agreed upon start time, no one was about and I locked myself in the bathroom and cleaned it. A while later my housemate knocked on the bathroom and I opened the door in my cleaning rags and gloves. He thought I had been in my room and was looking about for something to clean. He joked as he walked away, "somebody tell me what to doooo!" I was locked back into the bathroom by then so it was easy not to say, "find something dirty and wipe it or wash it." Then I wore myself out cleaning under the clawfoot bathtub.