I was taking a pee when the white wainscoting in the bathroom bugged me, as it has before when I’ve been in that position. While mostly clean (I do keep a mostly clean house), the grooves that met the baseboard were holding onto just enough dirt to set my teeth on edge. As usual. However, also usually, by the time I’ve zipped up my jeans, I will have forgotten it. Not so today.
I went out to the studio and got a bucket, came in and dumped the last of my Pine Sol and warm water in it, grabbed one silicone scrubby glove (left hand because I am ambidextrous and scrub better leftie) and a microfiber cloth, and moved into the small bathroom, determined to get those grooves clean.
On my knees, I worked, and it looked better quickly. Still, I was not achieving the results I wanted. Then, I remembered an old toothbrush head I saved for scrubbing around faucets. I attacked again–toothbrush, scrubby glove, microfiber. That did the trick.
However, I had made a Clean Spot. Uh-oh.
A Clean Spot is dangerous–it’s a gateway drug for the perfectionist in me. It makes everything else look, well, maybe not dirty but certainly less clean. And I had the tools at the ready so I would just quickly wipe that one bit over there…after all, I was on my lunch break and had the time.
And, I was off. The wainscoting led to the decorative trim atop it. And the shelves, then the switch plates. That led to the door, and the jamb, which led to the floor, which led to the baseboards in the hallway just outside the bathroom. That led to the baseboards in the bedroom, which led to the window sills, which led to the wall switches, which led to every baseboard in the front of the house I could wipe down. Without being totally obsessive and moving all the furniture.
On my way out to the studio to dump the bucket, I gave the kitchen trashcan a good wipe. And the baseboards by the back door. It was as if I would not be deterred until the house smelled of Pine Sol throughout. But I got out the door, dumped the water in the industrial sink in the studio, and took off the glove as I walked back inside.
And immediately noticed I’d missed a spot.