Beds and Floors

Sunday is my bed-changing, floor-cleaning day. I have the bed routine down pretty well; the floor routine needs some work. While I couldn't be more in love with my new white tile, I have to admit it's not the easiest thing to clean. Even with intermittent sweepings, the full cleaning I do once a week takes nearly two hours. My method is to use the Shark hard-floor vacuum first then mop, going area by area throughout the house. I start in the kitchen, moving onto the the dining room, the guest bathroom and hallway, then the foyer, and finally the living room. My rationale for this process is that the dog is going to walk on some part of it, so if I do it in segments, I'm less likely to end up with pawprints. She has dry spots to walk on while other parts are wet. It's a good process, but it seems to take way too long.

I used to have three other beds to change (or, more accurately, to force my kids to change), but I don't change the guest room sheets every week unless someone is here. I do them every two to four weeks, or as soon as a guest (or guests) leave. I know if I were staying in someone else's house, I would want clean sheets, so I try to extend the same courtesy to my guests. I change my bed every week, usually on Sundays, even though I sleep on the same half every night -- and I doubt it's very dirty. I suppose I could just "rotate" the sheets, sleeping on the other side before laundering. That seems like too much trouble.

Two of my classes are ending next week, and truly I have more important things to do than spending several hours neatening my floors and bed. As always, though, I feel guilty if I'm not doing something, and I don't feel like grading. I know I have to get at least some of it done before 8:00 tomorrow morning, which means I need to do it tonight. I consider myself a responsible person, but I can't deny my desire to procrastinate. I shouldn't let it stress me out -- I do always get done what I need to -- but at the moment, despite my attention to other matters, it's hanging heavy over my head.