Spring Cleaning - Bathroom

I've never really understood the concept of spring cleaning. Growing up, the house always got cleaned over the summer while all the kids were home and bored. As an adult in the last few years, I've never had the drive to suddenly clean my house just because it's spring. Possibly because every spring has come with a huge change. Three years ago, I got engaged and moved between winter and summer. Two years ago, we moved into our house in April, so we did lots of cleaning of our apartment, but not because it was spring. Last year, I was diagnosed in February, and had a huge job change coming in May, so I didn't really ever find the time to clean.

This year, I've spent the last few weeks looking around our house and making a mental list of everything I want cleaned. We got news about a month ago that my husband would be laid off, and I started hoping he would organize, sort, and scrub the house while he was home. He started a new job Monday, and none of my hopeful cleaning happened. (He did do a few projects in the garage and catch up on dishes, though.)

I just kept walking through the house and hating how every inch of it looked. I felt the need to purge. I wanted to take a giant garbage bag to every room, and spend a solid week finding every flat surface again. I was itching to be surrounded by clean, well-lit spaces. And you know what? It might be spring that did this to me! I might be, for the first time ever, filled with spring cleaning! I think I get it!


So, Monday morning, I was dead tired and there was no way I was getting up to go to work. I called to say I'd be in after lunch and then I woke up at 2pm. Who even does that? Don't worry, I got ahold of work again, so I still have a job and all, but I took the afternoon and cleaned my bathroom. Whole afternoon. One room. But I have never felt so happy walking into that bathroom as I do now. I even put a photo up on the wall! Is it weird to have photos in the bathroom? I wanted something, and our bathroom is a weird colour, so I wasn't sure about a canvas or a painting.

I was far too ashamed to take "before" photos, but here's my after!

My bathroom is a really weird set-up, with the toilet tucked behind the shower/tub and up on a little step. I think it's a huge waste of space, but I do like my bathroom counter and mirror.

In case you're wondering, I did clean the shower quite thoroughly, but it is an old shower and will always look better with the shower curtain closed. Especially since my curtain matches my towels (and my bathmats, which were in the laundry while I took the photos).

Also, the photo frame says "Love" and has three photos from our wedding.

So that's one room down for spring cleaning! I don't know when I'll have time and energy again, but next up is:
-Entryway / Stairwell / Upstairs Hallway
-Guest room
-Living Room
-Dining Room
-Kitchen
-Sewing Room
-M's office

I want to do a solid clean. Several times lately we've managed to get most of these room clean, but I want everything put away and every surface wiped down. I want to get rid of stuff, which is usually the point of spring cleaning. I want to feel comfortable taking pictures of each space and posting them publicly, which also means I want to finish decorating.

So that's my goal for this spring. Before baking or experimenting with recipes, I'm going to try to clean and clear out my house. I would ideally like to be finished before it really warms up, because then I'll want to focus on outside tasks. I have this really lovely gazebo/fireplace feature in my backyard, and we didn't spend any time out there at all last year. This year, I want to. I want the house washed, the windows washed, the yard fertilized and the dead garden beds cleaned up.

*Sigh*... I'll get this house under control, someday.