Well, the time has come. I can no longer pretend that the legion of dust bunnies under furniture are just here for an early Easter celebration. I must admit the weird suction noise in my kitchen isn't an invisible piece of velcro ripping open again and again. It's my shoes sticking to the floor. And I can't blame all the hair in the bathroom on our cats ... because ... we don't have cats.
All those months of saying to myself, "Professional writers don't have to clean. We have more important things to do!" have come back to bite me on the bu -- butternut squash (which may or may not have rolled under the refrigerator).
So writing must go on the back burner for a little while, and I have to descend from Author Olympus with scrub brush and mop in hand.
No, this week I'm not celebrating cleaning. But I am celebrating how nice it will look when I'm done. (And the fact that it should buy me 2-3 months of not cleaning!)
Have chores gotten ignored because of writing in your house? Tell me what your problem areas are so I don't feel so bad...
Foxy's Friday Freebies!
Foxy has been nosing around the net.
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -
- Free short stories, novellas, and novels
- Giveaways for books and swag
- Free services for authors
Here are Foxy's suggestions for Nov 28, 2014:
3 Free Novels – win your choice of 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go (Travel Tales) by Marcia DeSanctis or Deadly Tasting (Mystery) by Jean-Pierre Alaux & Noel Balan or The Sharp Hook of Love (Historical Romance) by Sherry Jones. Fill out the online entry form on France Book Tours. (ends Nov 30)
Free Novels and $10 Amazon Gift Card – win a $10 Amazon Gift card and a zombie-themed novel series by Karice Bolton via rafflecopter on BookBratz. (ends Dec 1)
Free Children’s Chapter Book – win The Best Part of the Day by Sarah Ban Breathnach, illustrations by Wendy Edelson, via online entry on Feathered Quill Book Reviews. (ends Nov 30)
Free - Any Book Released in November 2014 – win your choice of any book that released in November (up to $22) via rafflecopter on Mythical Books. (ends Nov 30)
3 Free Novels – win your choice of 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go (Travel Tales) by Marcia DeSanctis or Deadly Tasting (Mystery) by Jean-Pierre Alaux & Noel Balan or The Sharp Hook of Love (Historical Romance) by Sherry Jones. Fill out the online entry form on France Book Tours. (ends Nov 30)
Free Novels and $10 Amazon Gift Card – win a $10 Amazon Gift card and a zombie-themed novel series by Karice Bolton via rafflecopter on BookBratz. (ends Dec 1)
Free Children’s Chapter Book – win The Best Part of the Day by Sarah Ban Breathnach, illustrations by Wendy Edelson, via online entry on Feathered Quill Book Reviews. (ends Nov 30)
Free - Any Book Released in November 2014 – win your choice of any book that released in November (up to $22) via rafflecopter on Mythical Books. (ends Nov 30)
For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.
If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here! Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com
Black Friday Special - Soul Cutter is 99 cents until Dec 2!
Buy Links: Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Smashwords
This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful for that week. It can be about writing or family or school or general life. This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!
35 comments:
Well, I suppose the other good thing about cleaning is it gives you some time to recharge your authorial batteries!
I want to one day be successful enough to pay someone else to do the cleaning.
Is that so wrong?
Oh there are plenty of dust bunnies at my place... so need to bring out the vacuum one day:)
My problem area seems to be laundry. Washer and dryer are in the basement - far from my studio. I'm thinking to set up a small office space there so I can drag my laptop with me - stay until the laundry is complete. It's the up and down the stairs that wears me out.
Congratulations on that good feeling to come.
I actually like to clean (but writing does get in the way) It's when I can clear or clean my brain, too. I just started reading Soul Cutter.
Cleaning is done at my house only when necessary. The cats don't care; I don't care. If I'm having company, I'll clean. Otherwise, the computer and I have a great day.
My problem is folding the laundry, I just can never find the motivation. ;) That and dusting the book shelves. Soo many books.
I am looking at the dust bunnies on my floor and know that cleaning is a big chore on my list this weekend. I have edits to do too- but cleaning can only be put off for so long. :) Good luck!
~Jess
Don't even talk about cleaning... I do a cursory once over every week just so we don't die of botulism or something, but there is some serious work needed in every room if I was to call my house actually clean.
But I did clean out the refrigerator last weekend, so that's done.
A hint from the janitor -- clean a little every day, and it never gets that bad!
I have a little plaque that says "Bless this Mess". I do clean things up once per week but sometimes I just want the dust bunnies to hop around each other and say hi. Closing some doors on messes also helps
If you could see my house! Rather, I'm glad you can't see my house. A total mess. I decided to visit family rather that have them come to me. So my messy house is awaiting my return. Yuk. I hate to think about it.
P.S. Do you make house calls?
My thing is clutter. I can ignore floors that need mopped and a less than shiny countertop, but I can't handle having stuff piled up everywhere. Our kitchen table is a prime example, as we come in the door and everything gets dumped on it. Drives me nuts!
OMG! My house was sorely neglected all summer and fall. Then we had company coming and cleaning was absolutely necessary. Now it looks so good. I want it to stay this way. But wanting and DOING are two entirely different things. I'll try, but I'm making no promises.
My wife does most of the cleaning but I'm responsible for my downstairs writing studio. As you might imagine, it isn't clean. The dust bunnies under my desk now all have names.
haha good luck with the cleaning! And ugh, YES and I always blame it on my writing! But today I tackled some clothing drawers and cleaned up my dressers and desk. I think the kitchen takes the biggest hit when I'm in the thick of writing! It's a disaster.
I used to be horrible at cleaning, allowing the dirt to build for months. It really took its toll, with things being harder to clean. Now I do one good 2-3 hour cleanup every single weekend.
Cleaning once every 3 months, that's four time per year, that doesn't seem so bad. LOL - it will be nice when it is done.
I'm afraid chores often take a back seat to writing, but it sure s nice when your house is all nice and clean. If only it would last.
Wouldn't it be great to earn enough royalties to have an army of maids (or dwarves) at your service? My dwarves clean alright but they hide all dust bunnies under the carpet. Dragon Hugs!
Doing the dishes after dinner. We eat rather late and I'm always too tired to clean up afterwards.
A couple of my neighbors have cleaning ladies that take care of things. As struggling writers, my wife and I take care of it ourselves. Good news is we have a 1-bedroom condo.
Celebrations are nice and so is cleaning.
I have to clean like it is my religion to clean L.O.L. My husband gets this weird itching if he rests his hand where ever there is dust. I have breathing problems.
Writing will not make me slowdown with cleaning. If any thing I will get cleaning out of the way so I can read and write in peace.
However I wrote only five thousand words for Nano Wrimo . Boo hoo.
Unfortunately cleaning must be done on occasion. Good luck to you in your cleaning endeavors!
I'd love to have a cleaning lady, but I am one of those women who would tidy up before she came. Bleh.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who doesn't clean due to writing. Even if I'm not a professional writer yet!
Dust and my kids' clutter that never gets put away are my nemeses.
Don't tell anyone, Lexa, but I actually like cleaning. Especially when my DH goes away and I know he won't be home to track grass clippings, mud, or sawdust into my clean space. There's something about clean floors and counters in the background of my writing space.
My desk is in the dining room of a one-room casa, so I can't hide from the dust bunnies or cat hair. We have 2 cats.
Lexa, you are not alone! I detest cleaning, especially when I am writing in the morning before work. And when the weekends come, who feels like cleaning??
Thankfully, we now have a cat to blame the hair on, lol.
The biggest problem area is our bathroom. For some reason, it just won't stay clean for longer than a week! Go figure!
I do try to clean for a few hours once a week so things don't build up, especially in the dreaded bathroom=(
When the dust bunnies rise up around my computer screen, I have to take notice. Drat! Where did I put that vacuum?
Yeah, I can relate. I often use writing as an excuse to avoid the cleaning... yet I find cleaning inspiring because I'm often thinking up new ideas when I'm doing the chores.
My house is tolerably clean except for the piles of school papers and books I need to organize!
Dusting is my least liked thing to do. Too much STUFF!
I'll be checking out Foxy for sure! Thanks for finding the offerings.
I went on a cleaning frenzy this past Saturday and it is so nice when you're done and the house is clean. Too bad it never lasts LOL.
Hope your sale has been a big success!
I'm with Julie, too bad the cleaning frenzy never lasts!
I love your Foxy's Friday Freebies!
Cleaning always take a backseat. I'm one of those people who washes clothes, folds them, and then spends the week digging them out of the basket. ;)
Here's to a clean house.
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