This reminds me of the saying we writers sometimes use: “I don’t want to write. I want to have written.”

Exactly!

Sigh. I completely understand. And I’m now in that time of year that I get the yen to really clean. I’ve been plotting and planning what needs to be done, but I have yet to lift broom or mop.

I like cooking, I really like the end product (well, most of the time), but the cleanup…

Hi Kim! If all those thoughts could be mobilized into pure energy, think what we could accomplish! My entire house is always so neat and orderly in my thoughts—particularly the basement, which is my nightmare!

Linkmeister, cleaning up after cooking was something I hated so much that I started to dislike cooking (overwhelming to look at every pot and pan piled up on the counters and in the sink waiting....). But a good friend, who has more organizational skills than I, said, “Well, clean as you go, silly. Then when you’re finished cooking, everything will be clean except the dishes you eat from.” You know, that works pretty darned well in most cases. One pot or pan at a time, while other things are cooking. It’s very nice to sit down to eat knowing that most of the clean-up has already been done. (This works especially well for large family gatherings.) Of course, it would still be nice if the clean-up crew would arrive as the food starts to cook....

Ah, yes, “clean as you go.” My late father’s cooking mantra.  When we were cooking for four or five it was a necessity; now that I cook for two it’s not quite such a big deal.

To be fair, whenever there’s a big family deal, my sister/brother and their kids usually do a fairly good cleanup afterwards.