Progress?

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

It looks more and more like we will be moving back to the states (well, actually, for my husband and daughter it will be their first time there...)

And it looks more and more like will have to move in with my dad for at least long enough to find a place of our own wa Allahu alim...

There are a few reasons I like that idea:

1. I love my dad.
2. We won´t have to pay for heating costs.
3. We won´t have to pay for much of anything else, either.
4. We will have a room to ourself (i.e. I can start to kick Jayjay out of my bed inshaAllah)
5. I can help my dad with the housework--his house is BIG--and he´s a MAN...you get the idea.

There are a few reasons I don´t like that idea:

1. The house is dirty-dirty-dirty. There are rugs everywhere that need to be thrown out; there are things that have not been cleaned in a good 15-20 years; there are lots and lots of things that need to be repaired or replaced...including entire walls...ugh; in pretty much every room, the ceilings, walls and maybe even floors need to be painted; all of the floors downstairs have to be refinished; etc. I suppose if I get the basic stuff done, though, I won´t complain about the other crud, inshaAllah...
2. My husband has never met my father...I don´t know if they will even like each other...alhamdulillah they are both good guys. InshaAllah it won´t be a problem!
3. I am an adult with my own family. It seems wierd that I would live with "Daddy."

...........

I guess the dirty thing is what has me staying up nights worrying about it.

There are things that would definately have to be done within the first few nights there, because my husband is hyperallergic and my daughter is really small...

Things like cleaning every room from top to bottom, and in the same breath, pulling up the dirty old carpets and tossing them out. Who knows what has GROWN under those carpets all the years that my mother used to live there...I mean, she didn´t bat an eye if juice spills didn´t get cleaned up or anything else that fell on the floor. The woman once left a stain of blood on my dad´s chair from her period...and he had to clean it up...

I am not saying that my dad is dirty. But he lives in a big three bedroom house all by himself. He usually only uses the bathroom, kitchen, his bedroom and the computer room...that´s it. The toilet and tub are clean...the kitchen table and counters are clean...his bed is made with clean linens...he thinks life is great! It´s just that he hasn´t gotten around to getting all of the junk that my mother accumulated all those years out of his life...

Honestly, I am a little upset and a little disappointed in all of the things that he HASN`T gotten around to doing. A while ago, he was so excited about being able to get things done for the first time in his life. He had a little hope. Now he spends most of his time outside of the hope (probably avoiding it just like he used to) and doesn´t really have the time to put a lot of care into things...

That..and he´s a guy. It´s not that he doesn´t really care, but I don´t think he KNOWS how to clean things as well as a person who has lived alone for a longer amount of time...or most women...face it..we´re just cleaner creatures than most men. Sorry Dad.

So....here are things that I need...and I may force my father to stop at Target or KMart or ShopKo or Walmart or Ikea or anywhere ON THE WAY HOME FROM THE AIRPORT!

-hangers
-canister vacuum...bagless is great
-fabric softener
-scented clorox
-a damp mop system
-dish towels
-microfiber cloths
-white primer paint
-white satin paint
-two vinyl shower curtains
-duct tape

I already have a box cutter and all kinds of other stuff, too, mashaAllah to help me get the carpets up, etc. My dad has all kinds of tools, so inshaAllah if something comes up I can research online how to fix it, inshaAllah...

........................

Here is my battle plan for the first night that I am at home:

-Put my old bedlinens or whatever is on my old bed in the washer and when that´s done...in the dryer.
-Clean out my brother´s old room, including the closet...that will be Jayjay´s room.
-Move my old bedset into her room and give it a good dusting.
-Damp mop the floor once more and make the bed.
-Put her clothes into the dressers and closet.
-Attack the bathroom.
-There is a problem with the wall in the tub...use the shower curtains to protect it.
-Clean the tub and toilet and sink.
-Toss old and unused and ugly linens out (or put them in a box to give away) and put clean, fresh attractive linens and towels back into the linen closet.
-Toss out old toiletries and junk in the linen closet. Arrange the nice stuff that we want to keep.
-Clean out the medicine cabinets.
-Mop the floor...and clean the corners with a sponge where needed...


After that, I can sleep and get on with the upstairs hallway, kitchen, pantry and carpets on the second day, inshaAllah.

Once the house is actually clean, though, I would like to paint the ceilings and mouldings white and maybe even paint the floors upstairs white, inshaAllah...and later on, a nice stencil design around the corners of the rooms and hallways would be nice, but Allahu alim whether we will even be there that long...stil, if I am in the states, I can at least help my dad out some with making his house a home, inshaAllah!

Fi aman Allah,

Katherine