January! What do we do with January?
We have had so much excitement and so many adventures with the just-passed holiday season, this time is such a letdown to all the hullabaloo.
January is our wettest, coldest, dreariest and most melancholy month of the year. There are no holidays, save New Year’s Day, and we as a family don’t celebrate this uproarious time to a big extent.
We have just gone through my favorite time of the year with so much activity and busyness that, of course, this odd month has to be disappointing, with no holidays and only one birthday. I need a plan of action, a strategy, but there is none.
Thinking back to other Januarys, I remember having bad luck during this month. I broke my ankle in January, had two different surgeries during January, broke my right shoulder, etc. I truly believe I need to take Prozac and hibernate for 31 days. Then, of course, if we have any inclement weather here in Mississippi it’s going to come sometime in January. The past few times we had any snow accumulations at all, I was broken in some way and could not enjoy the white fluff.
As I have written, I do not make New Year’s resolutions so I can’t look forward to changing my habits this month. Without the firm decision of changing my body with diet or exercise, I will remain the same in stature and in the living image of yesteryear.
After giving this conundrum careful thought and consideration, I have come upon somewhat of an answer to my dilemma for the first month of this new year. As I said, no resolutions (a firm decision of doing or of not doing something), which means I may or may not adhere to this decision. But I have decided I will clean places in my house that have not seen a broom, vacuum or dust rag for, maybe, years, and to declutter my junk drawer (drawers) in my kitchen. Yes, I have several. My closet could use a declutter also. Remember now, this is not a resolution.
As I age, with grace and refinement, I find that it does not take a lot of busy or vigorous actions on my part to be entertained. I used to be involved with so many civic actions in the city that I never had time to just “be.” I must admit I miss those busy times and the connections made with others, but I cherish these times, too.
I love sitting on our big back porch watching the horses and cows graze the pasture lands. I love hearing them snort and moo with the beginning of each new day. I love sitting by a big roaring fire, covered in my big fuzzy blanket, and reading a good romance or mystery when the weather is chilly outside our little log house and I love to just “be.” Maybe we have been given this long, slow, lazy month to renew ourselves for the beginning and the living of the new year. Maybe this thought will keep me from having an “I need a mission” breakdown.
As I am, supposedly, going to be in a cleaning mode this time of year, I am giving you some of my cleaning hacks.
1. Sprinkle baking soda on your fabric furniture for a few hours and vacuum up to get rid of smells.
2. To clean the toilet and bathroom sinks, I use Dawn Powerwash dish spray.
3. Car wax leaves stainless steel shining.
4. Used dryer sheets make great dusting rags as they pick up all the lint and dust.
5. A dab of toothpaste can remove water rings on furniture.
6. Sometimes I let food stick to the bottom of a pan. Put a new dryer sheet in the bottom, cover with water and leave overnight.
7. I use one of Marc’s old tennis rackets to beat the dust out of my cushions.
8. I clean my piano keys with toothpaste.
9. If you get oil stains on your carport concrete, pour Coca-Cola on the spot and leave overnight and then scrub with a stiff brush.
10. I save all of my dried lemons and oranges to freshen and sanitize my garbage disposal.
11. I rub a cut lemon on my wooden cutting board to clean.
12. Fresh ground coffee grounds will absorb odors in the fridge.
13. I use a razor blade to clean my glass top stove.
14. While washing colored clothes and not being able to use Clorox, I add a cup of baking soda after running the water to whiten and freshen laundry.
15. Your husband’s shaving cream will remove stains from upholstery.
