Babyproofing: Week one

It has been a week since I decided to tackle the disaster that is our apartment. In the interest of creating a safer and saner home, I’ve dedicated time every day toward picking up, putting away, throwing out and clearing off.

I’m proud of myself. The dishes have been done and everything looks tidier—kind of like my mom has stayed for the entire week. (I’m joking, but not.)

I feel a little more comfortable with Edie’s crawling, too. I still have to keep a close eye on her—her all-time favorite thing to do is sprint toward the dog bowls—but I don’t have to worry about her zapping a finger off anymore.

On the other hand, all this cleaning and wiping and purging is taking time away from other things. I have been working on my writing and freelancing less this week. There are a finite number of hours in the day, and something’s gotta give.

That’s pretty frustrating.

I hope I’ll find balance, or perhaps I’ll just embrace our cluttered home, as this mom has. (She’s also a pediatrician—somehow that makes me feel better.)

I do feel good about the work I’ve done in the last week. The steps are tiny, but I’m proud that I’ve made some progress! Each day’s accomplishment is listed below.

1. Quick gratification: I went through my closet and pulled out a bagful of shirts I rarely wear or that don’t fit my new shape well. I hope someone can use them more often than I do.
2. I dusted! (Begone, dust mites!) I also ditched a few small items on the book shelves. I decided that I had good memories from a high school study abroad trip in Mexico so I didn’t need the box I brought back; my husband and I also decided that having received something as a wedding gift didn’t mean we should keep something we didn’t love.
3. I shredded old bills, contracts and insurance forms we don’t need. Now I don’t have to worry about Finn eating the pile of papers.
4. I plugged all the power outlets. Also, because Peeper is pulling herself up to standing  (and because I found her chewing the paint off the crib bar when she woke up from a nap), my husband lowered the crib.
5. I cleared the perennial pile of unread New Yorkers and other paper detritus on the counter to make room for our wine rack, which Peeper could have pulled down on herself from where it was stored.
6. I went through some baby clothes Peeper had outgrown. I couldn’t part with most of them for sentimental and practical reasons, (Why give everything away if we end up having another baby?) but I culled a grocery bag’s worth of sleepers and such. Eric brought it out to the car for a Goodwill drop-off—only to have me ask him to bring it back in. You see, a friend started a business making quilts out of onesies, and that made me want to quilt a blanked for Peeper, too. So most of the clothes are coming back in the house. Sigh.
7. I didn’t do babyproofing- or uncluttering-specific tasks, but I did clean thoroughly for a play date we hosted. I realized I’ll have to be very conscious of replugging the power outlets: I had forgotten to after I vacuumed and remembered only when Peeper was making a bee line for it. ACK.

We’ll see how this next week fares as deadlines and new projects compete for my time.