Downright Dirty

It is noon and I'm just now finishing my first cup of coffee. Obviously something is wrong with this day.

The house is a wreck. I mean a total and complete disgusting mess. So bad in fact that Matt slipped in a little comment last night as we were getting ready to go to bed:

"Good Lord this house is a mess. Woman, put down your coffee and bon-bons and clean this pig sty up!"

OK. So that wasn't his exact words, but that is how it felt when my ears sent his words to my brain. I think he actually said "Wow, we need to clean this place up".

After sleeping in on this lazy Saturday, we began the task of sorting through all the junk that has accumulated in piles in our room, the kitchen, living room, hall and every last corner of the house. We made a dent - but this will clearly be a week-long project.

Alp d'Laundry is really quite comparable to Mount Everest at this point. It takes my breath away, not because of beauty but there is literally a lack of oxygen going to my brain when I take in the mass of dirty clothes that need attention. And just now as I looked up from my computer to try and remember the name of the above mentioned mountain, and I noticed a spider web so robust it could actually serve as a clothes line. I'm not even going to mention the situation we have going on in the basement, it is truly shameful.

How does this happen? How does a reasonably clean house turn so quickly?

My first instinct is to panic. The house is a mess. It is going to take serious amounts of time and coffee to remedy this situation. Panic because I just realized that after I manage to clean the place, I need to seriously consider clean sweeping - I have a lot of sorting and deep cleaning to do before the packers can come. Panic because it is 2012 and I'm starting off the year under a cloud of dust and Amazon boxes. I'm starting off in the negative, behind, wrong foot, you name it that is where I am. Not a good way to start off the year. How can I even attempt to "turn over a new leaf" when the leaf is buried under all the mess in my house?

After taking a moment to breath into one of the brown paper bags laying around I had a moment of clarity. I found a solution to my problems. I decided it is perfectly acceptable to celebrate the New Year based on the Chinese Calendar on January 23.

From now until January 23rd I will live in a season of limbo - purging the old and getting ready for the new. All New Year's resolutions and goals shall henceforth begin on the 23rd....after my house is in good shape and all the Christmas cookies are consumed! And if that doesn't work.....when is the Jewish New Year?