Clean That Crap

It's time to get my apartment in order.  In order for what?  I'm not sure.  I don't love my apartment, I don't love the furniture and much of its content, but it is where we live.  My life's not awesome, but I'd like to LIKE my environment somewhat and feel good about the state of what surrounds me.  I know, little by little, my THINGS will improve, and this is hard for someone who is big on instant gratification.  The events of the last few years have really taught me to adjust, to deal with what I've got, to adapt.  All that said, I sort of live like a bachelor.  It doesn't bother me completely, but I do get overwhelmed at times by disarray.  And sometimes I'm just all "I can't stand this filth!"  So, I'm going to start getting things in better order.

In the divorce, I lost the kids' toy bins.  All of their toys ended up in a broken toy box in their room, and in a storage ottoman (which, in the old house used to serve as our "shoe box").  A couple of weeks ago, I spent money I don't have on a new toy bin structure thing just like the one we used to have.  And Saturday, the kids and I purged the overflowing toy box in their room.  Redistributed toys, trashed tiny items that had no purpose.  There were some tears, but the toy box now houses only large items and the rest of the stuff now lives in the bin thing.  Step one toward some sense of organization.

Today, I got sick of my kitchen.  The kitchen, tiny as it is, is going to take some time to fix.  But for now, I've tackled one thing:  cleaning the coffee pot.  Inside and out, the whole vinegar deal...that stuff takes time.  And now, for real, after I publish this, I'm going to clean out the pot/pan under cabinet area.  As in, get everything out.  Wipe down the insides.  Reorganize.  Sounds simple, but that area is a mess.  My ex used to hate how I stored these items, and I'm kind of starting to see why.

Probably not today, but very, very soon, I'm going to clean out the refrigerator.  That's super huge, because the shelves are disgusting - particularly the bottom one that is decorated with spills of the past.  But I have a handy scrub brush and a box of baking soda waiting.

Going to get this place in order if it kills me.  Beginnings are hard, but sometimes you have to hike up your jeans and dig in.  Updates to come...

Update:
HA!  Did the pots/pans area AND the pantry.  Also, cleaned the toaster, which is just the most disgusting small appliance ever.  And discovered I have my sister's pyrex/lid dealio.  Sorry, Amy!  I didn't even realize.