Yesterday was a difficult day for me - which hopefully explains why this post is a day late. I've been helping my sister move, and we spent Sunday cleaning the old rental house. We didn't finish, so we left all of our cleaning supplies there, and went back yesterday morning to do the rest. Kris noticed that a huge box of her cleaning supplies was gone, and assumed that our husbands had loaded it onto the last moving truck the day before. She found some supplies under the bathroom sink, and started to clean there. I went downstairs, and vacuumed my nephew's room - the only room that wasn't cleaned out the day before. After I finished, I went into the other room to get my carpet cleaning machine that I had left there over night. It wasn't there. I looked in the rest of the basement, and couldn't see it. I went up stairs... no carpet cleaner. I even went up into the attic room, but couldn't find it. I made the search again, just to be sure, and then I told Kris that it was missing. She couldn't believe it. We started the search again, and as we went from room to room, we started noticing other missing items... her floor steamer, my Tupperware container (that I've had for 25 years), dirty rags, sponges, a box of garbage bags, etc. We finally came to the conclusion that we had been robbed the night before.
We called the police, and they came. While we waited for them, we started a list. You can't believe what these guys took! We went outside and looked through the 2 sheds, thinking perhaps this was a prank (because it was so random and bizarre), and that they just hid everything outside, and that's when we noticed that all of the boxes full of donations for our charity (that were left in the garage) were missing, along with a wheelchair. What loser steals a wheelchair??!!
We went shopping to replace a few of the items that we needed to complete our cleaning, and as we looked through the cleaning supplies, more things came to mind that were missing. One of the most bizarre things... Kris's garbage can. It was FULL of garbage, and they emptied it out on top of the pile of things going to the dump, and took the can!!! And the scissors... and the cooler with ice cold water bottles... and, and, and...
It was a depressing day. It took us twice as long to clean, and we were mad for the whole day. Who in the world breaks into a house to take the cleaning supplies?? I'm surprised they left the roll of toilet paper!
I thought about this all last night... how happy I am that I'm not a bad person like that. How happy I am that I surround myself with good people that bring happiness to others. How great it is that those I associate with would never act this way. I guess that I've just spent so much time with good people who want to help others - the members of Lifting Hearts for example - that I'm shocked and dismayed when I encounter the opposite kind of person. Thank heaven for good people! And shame on those who aren't.
And speaking of cleaning... I'll give you TUESDAY'S TIP here too:
Become a member of Happy Chemo and receive TONS of discounts on products and services, including house cleaning! Go HERE to see what's it's all about!
Showing posts with label Cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cleaning. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Friday, October 21, 2011
THURSDAY THOUGHTS - The Things That Matter Most
I've been busy this week, and so this is a day late - sorry about that. I'll be posting two things today - this post and one with a healthy recipe.
Guest Post:
This week we cleaned out our garage. I had dreaded even beginning this project, but was surprised at the feelings I had as my husband and I shuffled through all of the "stuff" we found. My Grandma Belle used to say, "Where does all of the 'stuff' come from?" As we continued plowing through the garage, I wondered the same thing. Let me explain myself.
First, we found four pair of skis, three sets of poles and six pair of ski boots...and my husband and I don't ski...go figure! Behind the ski equipment were four white plastic garbage bags filled with VHS tapes that my son spend a lot of money collecting years ago. We found a large picture of Cosmo Kramer from the TV Series Seinfeld, that used to be above the fireplace in my son's apartment when he was in college. Next to that was an old phone system that we absolutely knew we needed several years ago. There were some collage frames of my kids and their friends; one included the photo of my son's friend who died in s drug overdose almost eight years ago.
Because one man's junk is another mans' treasure, I called my sons to see if there was anything they wanted to keep before we headed to Deseret Industries and the dump. Their answers were very telling. Nick said to throw the VHS tapes away and to keep the photo collages of his friends. He has a DVD collection now that is bigger than the VHS collection of the past. Matt said to throw Kramer out but to keep the collage with his special friend's photo. Ron and I gave the phone system to D I because who uses those anymore? We have a cell phone now and no land line. I couldn't help but think how things change over the years and the the "stuff" we once thought we had to have just was not that important any more. When we purchased those skis and boots years ago we had to make sure they were the best that money could buy. Now two of the boys are married, all three of them work very hard at their jobs and skiing has taken a back seat. Although I did keep those in case one of them decides to take a run on the slopes again.
As I thought about this experience, I told myself once again that technology changes, styles change, even TV stars come and go. A child born within the last two or three years would not know who Cosmo Kramer was! All the "stuff" we think we need eventually runs its course to be replaced by more "stuff." The things that mattered to my boys and matter to most of us are the relationships we make with the special people in our lives. Time honored values such as love, integrity, determination and a host of others DO NOT CHANGE. They are eternal in nature.
Our garage is clean now....and it is a great feeling to be able to know where things are and to walk around without having that cluttered feeling. As I looked at the clean garage, I decided to be
more aware of the "stuff" in my life that I really don't need. I vowed to give more attention to the people that I love and the values that matter. When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, it had the same affect on me. I realized that much of the "stuff" I gave my energy to just wasn't worth the energy I gave to it. I think those with Cancer know what I mean. Thankfully, I have been Cancer free for quite a while now. Maybe cleaning my garage taught me the same lesson that my Cancer diagnosis did....just in a different way....and I am grateful.
Kathy Christensen
Survivor
Member of Lifting Hearts
Guest Post:
This week we cleaned out our garage. I had dreaded even beginning this project, but was surprised at the feelings I had as my husband and I shuffled through all of the "stuff" we found. My Grandma Belle used to say, "Where does all of the 'stuff' come from?" As we continued plowing through the garage, I wondered the same thing. Let me explain myself.
First, we found four pair of skis, three sets of poles and six pair of ski boots...and my husband and I don't ski...go figure! Behind the ski equipment were four white plastic garbage bags filled with VHS tapes that my son spend a lot of money collecting years ago. We found a large picture of Cosmo Kramer from the TV Series Seinfeld, that used to be above the fireplace in my son's apartment when he was in college. Next to that was an old phone system that we absolutely knew we needed several years ago. There were some collage frames of my kids and their friends; one included the photo of my son's friend who died in s drug overdose almost eight years ago.
Because one man's junk is another mans' treasure, I called my sons to see if there was anything they wanted to keep before we headed to Deseret Industries and the dump. Their answers were very telling. Nick said to throw the VHS tapes away and to keep the photo collages of his friends. He has a DVD collection now that is bigger than the VHS collection of the past. Matt said to throw Kramer out but to keep the collage with his special friend's photo. Ron and I gave the phone system to D I because who uses those anymore? We have a cell phone now and no land line. I couldn't help but think how things change over the years and the the "stuff" we once thought we had to have just was not that important any more. When we purchased those skis and boots years ago we had to make sure they were the best that money could buy. Now two of the boys are married, all three of them work very hard at their jobs and skiing has taken a back seat. Although I did keep those in case one of them decides to take a run on the slopes again.
As I thought about this experience, I told myself once again that technology changes, styles change, even TV stars come and go. A child born within the last two or three years would not know who Cosmo Kramer was! All the "stuff" we think we need eventually runs its course to be replaced by more "stuff." The things that mattered to my boys and matter to most of us are the relationships we make with the special people in our lives. Time honored values such as love, integrity, determination and a host of others DO NOT CHANGE. They are eternal in nature.
Our garage is clean now....and it is a great feeling to be able to know where things are and to walk around without having that cluttered feeling. As I looked at the clean garage, I decided to be
more aware of the "stuff" in my life that I really don't need. I vowed to give more attention to the people that I love and the values that matter. When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, it had the same affect on me. I realized that much of the "stuff" I gave my energy to just wasn't worth the energy I gave to it. I think those with Cancer know what I mean. Thankfully, I have been Cancer free for quite a while now. Maybe cleaning my garage taught me the same lesson that my Cancer diagnosis did....just in a different way....and I am grateful.
Kathy Christensen
Survivor
Member of Lifting Hearts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A Cleaning Solution...
My husband forwarded me this email. He thought it might help some of you in our group - or anyone else who reads our blog...
Cleaning for a Reason - For those going through chemo.
If you know any woman currently undergoing chemotherapy, please
pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning - once per month for 4 months while she is in treatment. All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women.
There are four locations that help in Utah:
Logan - Spotless of Utah
Spotless of Utah
Murray - 2 Local Gals Housekeeping
2 Local Gals Housekeeping
Ogden - Healthy Homes Housekeeping
Healthy Homes Housekeeping
Salt Lake City - Merry Maids of Salt Lake City
I just looked at the website, and they accept 50 applications per day. To read the "How To" on the applications, click on the website at the bottom of this post, and then click on the left tab - "Cancer Patients".
If you have finished chemo, but know someone who could use the help, please refer this website to her...
http://www.cleaningforareason.org/
Cleaning for a Reason - For those going through chemo.
If you know any woman currently undergoing chemotherapy, please
pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning - once per month for 4 months while she is in treatment. All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women.
There are four locations that help in Utah:
Logan - Spotless of Utah
Spotless of Utah
Murray - 2 Local Gals Housekeeping
2 Local Gals Housekeeping
Ogden - Healthy Homes Housekeeping
Healthy Homes Housekeeping
Salt Lake City - Merry Maids of Salt Lake City
I just looked at the website, and they accept 50 applications per day. To read the "How To" on the applications, click on the website at the bottom of this post, and then click on the left tab - "Cancer Patients".
If you have finished chemo, but know someone who could use the help, please refer this website to her...
http://www.cleaningforareason.org/
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