Thankscleaning

Go ahead and admit that you have a secret. The secret is a very dirty secret. It doesn't involve how the turkey was really catered in or just how many slices of pie your Uncle Henry ate.  The secret is not about how your cousin  made the supposed heart healthy casserole with a gallon of cream and five sticks of butter.  This secret has nothing to do with the grocery shopping, travel plans and  family rumors.  It is the activity that no one talks about but all commit to as part of the preparation panic before the big Turkey day. Yes, I am talking about Thankscleaning!

Everyone has heard of spring cleaning but few rarely ever commit to this extreme level of pre-holiday cleaning during the spring.  I don't know why any one came up with the idea of spring cleaning.  Like anyone wants to clean when the weather finally lets us comfortably step outdoors again!  They want to go outside and play, not shampoo the carpets.  No, the real deep cleaning happens this week.  The week that sets off all the holiday festivities for the next month and a half.

No one speaks of the pre-holiday frenzy but the signs are everywhere if you look.  Retailers are in on the secret by distracting us with a barrage of Black Friday commercials. Butterball is in on it with turning our attention to the hotline for last minute turkey blunders.  Pinterest recently got involved with posting pin after pin of homemade crafts, cookies and goodies. All the inviting pins lead to promises that it is easy for us to all create like Martha Stewart.  But while everyone pretends we are focused on these little details, we are all really cleaning and pinning those cute pictures to boards titled: One Day When I Have Time.  We aren't going to be making magazine worthy crafts any time soon because we are too busy with our frantic pre-holiday cleaning.

Why does no one speak of it? Because we want people to think we always live this way, of course!  But in reality, trucks are being backed up to houses to remove the excess junk that has accumulated over the year. Painters are being called. Carpet steamers are being rented. Couches are being moved so the carpet can be vacuumed and enough toys to fill three toy chests are found behind said furniture. Pictures are being blown off with a leaf blower because the average feather duster just won't remove a year's worth of dusting.  All the cleaning is done in a harried frenzy because the guests are coming! But when the guests arrive and the house gleams, the holiday hosts just smile a relaxed smile and act as if this is just a regular Thursday with a lot of food.  What? The house always looks this way!

I will be having Thanksgiving out of town at relatives' homes this year so I have not participated in this year's annual Thankscleaning. I did, however, do my typical cleaning because I must have a clean house for Christmas decorating. But it was just typical housecleaning, nothing that could compare to Thankscleaning which would involve me on my hands and knees with an old toothbrush giving the baseboards a good spa day.   No, baseboard pampering is not something I do on a regular basis.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I cleaned to Christmas music. I am guilty of not giving the turkey his holiday by listening to Christmas music so early. But in my defense, I don't think Pandora has a good Thanksgiving music station. So as I cleaned to holiday cheer, I thought about how thankful even cleaning can make a person. Maybe it was the holiday music, but I never knew cleaning could make me so sentimental.  While I cleaned I thanked God for a comfortable home to clean. I was grateful my home is often filled with laughter, warmth and happiness.  I was thankful for holiday plans with family and friends that I love. I thanked God for my upcoming marriage and how all the preparation has brought us even closer. I thought about all my blessings of good food, health, my job, my dog that hides from the vacuum cleaner, etc.  Thinking of all the gifts that God has blessed me with made cleaning a lot more enjoyable and left me with not only a clean home but a grateful heart.

We will eat on Thursday in our beautiful, cozy homes where even a dust flake no longer resides.  We will stay vigilant that all  will remain glittery and sparkling clean until the 2nd of January.  Then even with the best of intentions, we will forget that couches can be moved, walls can be painted and items can be donated to Goodwill until the next Thankscleaning! However throughout the year, hopefully we will take moments during our regular cleaning where we can reflect on all the things that we have to be thankful for including clean homes filled with family and friends.

Enjoy this season of good food and clean homes!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!