Laundry List
Posted on July 29, 2006 15 Comments
I am sitting around my apartment by myself for what feels like the first time in months. Today, for the first time in July, I have nothing to do, nowhere to be, no obligations. Now it vaguely occurs to me that an e-vite beckons for a gathering tonight. But my body aches, my throat is sore, my mailbox is wildly out of control with unopened bills and my laundry pile is eclipsing my floor. From my perch on the couch, I peek one eye open, observe my cat meowing furiously from across the room and jam my head back into the pillow, a wild sense of dread growing inside me.
What have I done to arrive in this sad state? I’ve had a marathon week that started with a bachelorette party last weekend during which I said good bye to a close friend who’s moving to California. It continued with a minor health scare and doctor’s appointment. It stalled dealing with personnel issues at the office. It involved me getting stranded in New York with no help at all from American Airlines (but I had a suprisingly accomodating and comfortable, if short, 5-hr stay at the Long Island La Quinta Inn near MacArthur Airport!). And it ended with a severe lack of sleep and a crazy-long work day. I nearly fell asleep in the cab ride home as the city lights blurred past.
As I awake today, puffy-eyed and cranky, it occurs to me just how much I’ve neglected over the past month. I have not seen my bank statement in weeks. Have I paid my student loan bill? How much did I spend last week? Exactly how many work trips do I have receipts for in my wallet … will I get my reimbursement checks in time? I’m scared to see my credit card statements. I think I’m growing cellulite. I have no groceries. My refrigerator smells. I have no idea where Brian is, but I have a good sense that he’s at work on this summer Saturday, in the same boat as me.
Luckily, I’ve taken next Monday and Friday off, for my sanity. I’m tempted to call a Merry Maid. I’ve never used one before, but it sounds like heaven. I can sit here and type, check my finances, organize myself, and she can clean. But hiring someone to clean seems like a sign of weakness. It’s throwing the towel in. And mostly, it’s paying for something I can do myself.
There has to be some break in all of this. How can it be this hard to build a nest egg, to build a life? Does everyone feel this tired, this exhausted, this run down, just trying to balance their work life with family, friends and dry-cleaning? I feel like I can barely get out from under it all, and when I do, there will be more work and cleaning to do, more phone calls to make and e-mails to send.
If I can map out my weekend here, perhaps it will help. Today, I have to drop off my suits at the dry-cleaner. I have to do five loads of laundry. I have to clean my apartment. I have to open this week’s mail, pay bills and manage my finances. I owe my parents a phone call to make plans for next week’s family reunion. I need to eat lunch. I would like to get new work shoes, since I broke a heel this week and another pair was ruined in a storm (they were flimsy to begin with). I have to make an appointment to get my hair done. I need to do some maintenance to my eyebrows and nails. If the weather cools off, I’d like to run three miles today. I hope to see my boyfriend sometime today.
And there it is. The growing sense of dread is back. Will I ever get all this done? I guess now is the time to try. I think I’ll start with lunch.
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15 Responses to “Laundry List”
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July 29th, 2006 @ 8:35 pm
You will make it. Do the easy things first so you can make some headway on the list.
Also, don’t bother with Merry Maids… if you are like me, you will feel the need to clean before the maids show up in order to not look like a slob.
July 30th, 2006 @ 1:56 am
I say reward yourself with a maid for having such a hard week. And really, who cares if they think you’re a slob, that’s why they’re there!
Outsourcing isn’t a sign of weakness, if you have something else that you can be doing with your time like saving your sanity, it’s worth it and shows that you’ve got your priorities straight.
But I’m guessing that you’ve already cleaned since it’s almost 10PM…
July 30th, 2006 @ 2:04 am
Excellent post. You will probably be fine, although I believe there is no harm in delegating what is overwhelming to you. You can call the maids, if you think it will be worth getting a sense of being on top of things. It sounds like you have been living life, rather than being it’s slave. That has a tendency to make things a bit messy at times.
Try what I call “Clean Slating™”. Take the clothes that are eclipsing your floor and pile them up. Dump all your email into a folder. Now you are in control and not the pile of email in your inbox. Delegate from there. I write a bit about all this on my blog:
http://tinyurl.com/ehahj
The goal is this:
http://tinyurl.com/mcvln
Keep in mind that you are totally together for a person your age. I’ve been reading for a bit, and if anything, you seem a bit anal to me. You might be one of those people that need to take easier from time to time. Your well ahead of the game, and right on track with your finances so far. So relax. You’ve got another 40 years to keep at this….
July 30th, 2006 @ 12:17 pm
you poor thing! your exhausted, just throw in a couple of kids and your world WILL be upside down
.
Instead of cleaning service, maybe check into a laundry service, they too are worth their weight in gold. (lol and they fold clothes very well) If you don’t feel comfortable with them washing the unmentionables, save that load for yourself.
Personally, I would be ohh so excited to have a savings account. Of course I would need to stop eating,amusing the kids, etc …
Good luck, I am sure once your feeling fine physically, everything wont feel so overwhelming …
July 30th, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
Unfortunately, as you already have realized, it never seems to end. When you do think you’re caught up on all the chores, there they are again. The laundry never stops, the cleaning never stops, the finances never stop. And, we women have the ‘Super Woman’ complex that makes us think we can do it all ourselves.
When I reach the same point as you have, which I seem to do at least once a month or so, I set little goals for myself – I’ll sort the laundry into must wash & I’ll get to later. I’ll break the mail and all other chores down the same way. We can to do anything for 15 minutes without feeling overwhelmed. Set little goals and you may find yourself a wee bit less overwhelmed. You may have more goals to accomplish, but you may get a much better sense of accomplishment.
Your blog is great. As a 45 year old, well on the way to an early retirement, I still find good financial knowledge in your postings.
July 30th, 2006 @ 7:34 pm
I can totally relate to what you’re going through right now, after coming back from a three day meeting (plus hours and hours of overtime to prepare for it), a family reunion, poor airline service, long drives, blown budgets, outstanding credit card bills, etc etc. I feel completely guility for staying indoors on a beautiful day, but I’m just too darn exhausted. Don’t even mention laundry or exercise. Anyhow, I wanted to leave you with some advice, but unfortunately your post just made me want to wallow in my own disorganization and burnout. As one of your readers mentioned- just wait until we throw kids into the mix. Argh!
I’m sure it’ll come together for us at some point. Hang in there.
July 30th, 2006 @ 9:20 pm
Angela, I’m with ya sista. Let’s wallow together.
July 30th, 2006 @ 9:51 pm
as a 51 year ol woman-some advice is call your parents and see your boyfriend -if you need clean clothes-do the laundry-no one is going to write on your headstone someday that you were a great housekeeper-just pick up the apt. if you can’t find things-carol
July 31st, 2006 @ 6:54 am
I’m so with you (although your week sounds far worse than mine was!). I ended up sick on Wednesday with asthma and a mild flu, which had me laid low for Thursday and Friday. No fun when your body caves in on you – the mind is willing, the body aint so.
Don’t look at ‘outsourcing’ as a sign of weakness – if I could afford a maid once a month, I’d so do it. The laundry piles up, the bills do too, and yet the most important things in life are friends and family. Attend to them first, do what you can afterwards and you’ll climb out of the hole. And if it takes a bit longer, at least you’ll have your family and friends to support you along the way.
July 31st, 2006 @ 2:14 pm
Wow Sounds like things are pretty rough! I am really wanting to go to business school in New York and I am worried about the financial situation and student loans!!
July 31st, 2006 @ 5:23 pm
Hang in there! My husband and I have gone through weeks like you’re going through right now. Set your alarm for a 1/2 hour nap, then set a timer for an hour. While it’s ticking away, pay bills, pick up, do some laundry, etc etc etc, but when the time goes off, then make yourself sit down and relax. We’ve done this quite a bit, and it’s amazing at how much you can get done in an hour, but you still have some time for yourself. Spread it out over a week… don’t let yourself stress out about having to get it all done right away.
As anonymous said, call your boyfriend and your parents. Who really cares if you have a messy apartment?
July 31st, 2006 @ 8:30 pm
I understand the feeling. I often go, “Should I be feeling this drained at 26??” This world-weary?
The catch with the Merry Maids is that they don’t actually do a good job of cleaning much of the time. The maid service is paid well, but the maids are overloaded with jobs and paid crap. Read the book Nickled and Dimed if you want to see an example of that.
August 1st, 2006 @ 2:07 pm
I know you’ve already moved on from this post, but just in case – We’re a 2-income, 2-kids-under-3 family, and we often feel overwhelmed. But it’s gotten a lot more organized since we’ve started doing FlyLady. I’d check her out if I were you. She’s sort of geared toward stay at home moms, but I’m a professional, and I’ve been able to adjust it. It’ll be a little bit hard while you’re travelling, but on the other hand, if you keep it up while you’re home, won’t it be lovely to come home to a beautiful relaxing apartment! And the best part is, it’s easy. We’ve seen major improvements in our level of overwhelmed, and we still have time to have fun together, which is rare among 2 kid households!
August 1st, 2006 @ 2:08 pm
Oh, I forgot to add that Flylady is FREE!! and the website is http://www.flylady.net
August 1st, 2006 @ 2:59 pm
Oh, man did this one hit home. That feeling that you can’t get out from underneath it all, that there’s not enough of you (or your paycheck) to go around, etc. I wish you luck and hope you make the most of your days of rest and productivity!