Deep Clean

So my kids started their summer vacation (finally) last Wednesday and I told them it's not really summer vacation until we get the house really clean. That means we've spent hours every day up to our ears in cleaners, rags, and elbow grease. One week later, and we finally finished the upstairs. I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed, but at the same time it's empowering. When we moved in a year ago, there were some closets and places where I just tossed things, thinking I would get around to them in a more organized way once everything was unpacked. Well here we are a year later and these closets are still the way I left them, only now they're dusty too. (I'm embarrassed to admit that I still have two completely unpacked boxes!) Hence the broken child labor laws. On the up side, I have already filled two boxes with items to donate to D.I. and have thrown away at least a box worth of junk...very cathartic! (You all know how much I enjoy throwing things away...I will never be on the Antiques Roadshow, because nothing will sit around in my home long enough to develop the status of "antique.") I am hoping that in a couple more weeks I will be able to open any drawer, closet or cabinet without fear of what might come toppling out of them. And even better...when Cory asks me where to find some obscure item that we haven't unearthed in recent history, I will know exactly where it is. In the meantime, when I had to go to Girls' Camp yesterday afternoon, my children collectively cheered.