Fall Cleaning is Awesome!

Today I am gearing up for the annual big fall house cleaning.  Maybe you aren't a neat freak, or maybe you've never attempted Fall Cleaning.  So I thought I would include my list of things to clean for those of you who didn't grow up in an uber clean family.


1. Clean the fridge--throw away the old leftovers, things that have expired. Then I take everything out and wash the shelves with hot soapy water.  If your fridge has a funky smell (and you don't have old leftovers) this will take care of it.  If it smells musty, use some bleach in your water. This year I'm taking on our downstairs fridge as well, which has been neglected for a very long time.  It's rusty and moldy.  Should be fun...


2. Pull out your appliances (fridge, stove) and clean and mop behind them.  Same with furniture-move it away from the wall and vacuum behind it, then dust the woodwork.  If you have allergies, this is a great place for dust to hide so getting rid of it will only help you.


3. If you usually dust around knick-knacks, pull them all off the shelves and dust under them.  Take everything off your kitchen counter and get rid of the crumbs (a bug attraction) and if the tops of your kitchen cupboards are exposed, clean up there too.  Also dust light fixtures, ceiling fans (they get so gross) and if you have mini blinds wipe them down well.  I also walk around with a duster and hunt for spider webs in every corner and nook and cranny.  Fall is when spiders move into your house for the winter so if you can get rid of them now, it will help you later.  


4. Clean closets.  I don't know about you, but I love my house neat and I have an issue with throwing things in a closet to get rid of them temporarily.  So every few months my closets are a total disaster.  Every fall and spring I go through them and throw away things I don't need or use (or donate to charity).  Try on all your winter clothes from last year and if they don't fit or you don't wear them, toss them!  It's a great way to keep from collecting too much junk over the years.  Do linen closets, hall closets, bathroom cabinets, bedroom closets and basement closets.  I don't have a full basement, but I have a closet under the stairs.  If you have one of those or a full basement, take everything out and sweep and mop it out, then get rid of as much as you can and reorganize it in there.  I did this in the spring with my under the stairs closet and I was good and didn't mess it up, so I probably won't do it again this time.


5. Sweep out and organize the garage.  This one is self explanatory. 


6. Wash all the windows and glass on the outside of your house.  You'd be amazed at how dirty these get, especially if you live in the city.  


7. If you have any holes in your lawn, plant some fall grass seed.  I don't have to clean my gutters (I don't have any, weird, they built my house cheap!) but if you do, clean them too.  Also I clean all the tracks in my doors--patio and front doors.  I look for holes around the door seams too, where bugs can get in and I caulk them shut.


8. If you have a wood burning fireplace and want to use it, call a chimney sweep.  Chimney fires are very common.  If you burn damp wood, it smokes a lot and all that creosote builds up in your flue.  If you don't clean it, it will suddenly ignite and burn off--which is not an issue unless your chimney has cracks in it or the insulation has broken off--that's how the fire gets into your house, usually your attic.


9. Check out your furnace before you turn it on--a woman near Three Lakes just lost her home and suffered burns because she turned on her furnace for the first time without checking it.  Take off the panels and clean the dust and lint off the parts inside, check the belt and replace the air filter.  They recommend changing the filter every month during the winter, but if you have a nice furnace or get expensive filters I think once a year is fine.  Unless you have allergies--then you should do it more or get a HEPA air filter.  You can also hire someone to come in and check the furnace.  If you haven't cleaned it and your furnace is more than 5 years old, I would definitely do that.


10. Dirty clothes dryers are a big cause of house fires.  I say this every six months, but CLEAN YOUR DRYER!!!!  Check out your venting system--if your vent is more than 20 ft to the outside of your house (I think the rule is add 5 feet for every bend in the pipe) then you could have serious lint issues in your dryer and hose because you're not getting enough suction and then because it's not venting well it gets too hot and can spontaneously combust.  This happened to a friend of mine and she nearly lost her home in the fire that resulted.  Take the hose off your dryer and take a look at how much lint is building up.  If you don't think lint is that flammable, they use it in homemade bombs as the ignition.


11. When you're cleaning your dyer, clean your washer.  Washers build up E-coli and mold and other nasty stuff.  Fill it up with hot water (no detergent) and add a quart of bleach.  Allow it to run on its longest wash and spin cycle.  Fill it back up with hot water and a quart of distilled white vinegar and run it through the longest wash and spin cycle again.  Now it's clean!  You can also take out your bleach/additive dispenser and soak it in warm vinegar water to clean it.


12. If you have pets and don't wash their bowls a lot, this is a good time to clean out all the slobber and gunk.


13. Fish tank.  Enough said. *blech*


14. Check for cracks in the silicone around sinks and toilets and tubs and fill them.  If you don't scrub the foot of the toilet or behind it much, do that too.


15. If you still feel like cleaning after all this, detail your cars! :)


If you have a husband who is willing to take on half this list, delegate it to him.  But if you're me and you get *paid* to stay home and take care of this, have no fear.  Girls can do house repair stuff and clean appliances too!  If you don't know how to do something, just Google it :)

9/11...Ten Years Later

Everyone is remembering 9/11 this week, since it's the big 10 year anniversary.  Me, I watch the t.v. shows every year.  Last year while painting our new townhouse it was literally all I watched on t.v.  Now every time I think about that week I spent painting, I think of 9/11.

This year it's meant more.  It always means something more when it's a big anniversary.  I can't believe it's been ten years.  It feels like yesterday.  My husband wonders why I watch it so much, but it was the day my whole life changed.  How could I not want to remember that?  Sometimes I think he'd rather forget, but that's just how he is.  He wants to forget everything bad and move on.

Ten years ago I could still technically say I lived here in Woodbury, but my house was empty and had a for sale sign slapped on the front yard.  Most of the time I wish I had just stayed there until it finally sold in November.  2001 was a hard year for me.  I had just graduated high school, which I had no desire to do.  If I'd been thinking, I should have flunked out so I could go back a third year :)  But since I had graduated my parents were finally free to do the thing they'd been desperate to do--move back to Wisconsin.  How excited was I to be forced back to Wisconsin?  Let's just say there is probably still a trail of my fingernail marks all the way down Interstate 94.  At least this time we didn't move far, we were still in the Twin Cities, just on the Wisconsin side.  

It might as well have been the other side of the world.  We didn't have long distance or cable or Internet, so I was totally isolated out in the country.  All my friends were away at college but even if they were still in the Cities I couldn't get a hold of them to hang out unless they happened to call me.  My ex and I had a lot of angry conversations about why I hadn't called him to hang out and I had to repeatedly remind me that I couldn't.

As a member of the class of 2001, I felt like I was the only one not excited to go to college.  It kind of seemed fun, but it didn't compare to wonderful, beautiful high school.  The only good part about it was that I got to spend the days back in Minnesota, away from my parents, and forget the seventh ring of hell where I now lived.  Yeah, I didn't get to live on campus.  My parents gave me their car so I could commute.  I was desperate for a new car, so I took the deal.  Also commuting meant I could keep my job at Panera Bread and they were all I had left of Woodbury.  They were like my other family, so I literally needed them after loosing all my friends.

My ex decided to join me at Northwestern in St. Paul.  Okay, I might have twisted his arm a bit.  I didn't want to be alone and I didn't want him off at some other school meeting hot girls.  Now that we lived over a half an hour apart, school was the only time we could really see each other.  Except this was college, not high school, and since we had totally different majors we had no classes together.  The one time of day we saw each other was a half hour for chapel.  He might as well have not been there, honestly.

College wasn't quite as horrible as I thought once it started.  I still remember going to the State Fair a few days before with my ex, and I was kind of excited (of course I still lived in Woodbury at that point, so I was still a happy person).  Since Northwestern was only a mile from the State Fair grounds, we'd gone to the bookstore to get our textbooks and then to the Fair.  It was also our anniversary, so we were pretty happy.  And then next week when school started, I still lived in Woodbury so I was still happy.  There was only one minor issue when on Tuesday I only had one afternoon class and I forgot what time it started.  I realized that it was starting in about five minutes when I was still at home (twenty minutes away) and panicked.  I actually hit our mailbox with my car.  It was a class I needed for my major (drawing) and I was looking forward to it so it was a big deal.   

That weekend we moved and suddenly it was real--I had to leave Woodbury, the only place I'd ever been happy besides Three Lakes and Sheboygan.  I was thrown into depression.  Plus it was Labor Day weekend so I had three days to be miserable at the new house.  I could still see Minnesota from my bedroom window, and all I remember is sitting in my window, staring at it.

By the time Monday, September 10th rolled around, I at least felt like I had this college thing down.  I knew what time I had to show up on campus, where my classes were, what I had to do for them, and it wasn't so bad.  The only bad part was that I had to live in Wisconsin.  At least my car still had Minnesota plates.  I could pretend.

September 10th I was actually wearing my I ♥ NYC t-shirt with a picture of the Twin Towers on it, which I found really ironic later.  I also had on super low rise flared jeans and a sparkly belt, just for an idea of the fashion back then--back when the top parts of our jeans were so tight some of us were losing circulation in our legs and a lot of muffin top happened...wow that makes me feel old.

I remember that day so clearly because I got in a fight with my best friend that day.  It was an email fight, since he was at UW Green Bay and over three hundred miles from me.  It was a stupid fight--I made a joke about his new girlfriend, but without realizing it my joke had rung true and he took offense.  After a few angry messages, we vowed to stop speaking to each other (at least until he broke up with that girl.)

September 10th, 2001 I thought, was the worst day of my life.  I was so upset about our fight that I wanted to cry all day.  We'd been friends our whole lives and never had a serious fight like this.  I couldn't believe that this had happened.

I was still thinking about it the next morning as I got in my car and began my forty minute drive to school.  My first class was at 8:40 and I was running late as usual.  I should have left at 7:45 but it was almost eight now.

And then the whole world changed.

I always listened to KDWB on the drive to school.  I usually flipped stations a lot, but I always started with KDWB.  I think most people in the Cities between the ages of 12-25 listened (and still listens) to that station.  I had just turned it on as I reached the bottom of our hill to turn onto the highway.  It was 8:03 central time, I remember because I looked at the clock (I can still see it) when I heard the words come out of Angie Taylor's mouth--"Oh my God, another plane has hit the other tower!"

I gasped, my hand went over my mouth, and I got chills, but had no idea what she was talking about.  It sounded bad from her tone of voice.  She went on to describe that two planes had hit the World Trade Center, for those just tuning in.

I still had chills, but I thought this has to be a joke.  A week earlier, KDWB had made a big deal that they were going off the air, forever.  They told everyone they were shutting down and we were all upset, and it turned out to be a big prank.  It was fake.  I don't even remember what the point was, but I think they went off the air for about a second before they came back and said "Just kidding!!!!"

So understandably I thought this must be a joke, again.  I was actually saying out loud, "this has to be a joke."  And I thought, what a sick joke!  I'm done with them, making up all this crap.  As I crossed the bridge into Minnesota, about ten minutes later, they were still talking about it.  And they sounded horrified, and I began to wonder if maybe, this wasn't a joke.  So I changed the station, to see if anyone else was talking about this.

It was real.  I had 12 buttons on my radio and every one of them was talking about it.  All I could say was "oh my God" over and over.  I could hardly drive.  I don't think anyone could--traffic was horrible that morning.  We were all inching along and no one noticed.  Every car I saw was just staring ahead in shock.  I went back to KDWB and Angie Taylor was wondering if this was some kind of accident.  I didn't know how she could think that--two planes?!?  No one hits something accidentally, twice.  I knew that we were at war.  I knew that someone had done this on purpose, I remembered the '93 attacks.  But at that point, I didn't think anything else would happen.

I was crossing the 694/35E interchange when President Bush came on the radio with his famous speech from the elementary school in Florida.  We were all inching along and I thought, everyone must be listening to this.  Every station was airing it.  When I heard him talk, I wanted to cry.  I knew this was really happening.

I pulled into school at 8:50, and by that time everyone on the radio was buzzing that something had happened to the Pentagon, but they weren't sure what.  An explosion, for sure.  They didn't know more.  I wanted to stay in my car, but by this time it was nearly nine and I was really late for class.  It never occurred to me to not go to class, and I wish I wouldn't have.  I wish I would have gone to the student lounge and watched t.v. so I could have seen everything happen in real time.

Just before nine, I burst into the silent classroom, near hysterical, and everyone looked at me like I was crazy.  And then it hit me--they had no idea what had happened.  No one in the dorm was allowed to have t.v.

"Hi, have a seat," our group leader smiled strangely at me.

"Don't you know what happened?" I gaped at her.

"What?" she still looked like I was nuts.

"Two planes hit the Twin Towers!  Something's happened to the Pentagon!  It's war!  We've been attacked!" I announced to the class frantically.

I expected the class to break into hysterics, but I was met with more blank stares.  Did they think I was kidding?  I wanted to slap them.  They did not understand what I was saying.  I sat in my seat, drained.  Our group leader went on with class.  We were about to have prayer time, and some genius said "well, maybe we should pray for New York."

I could not understand the lack of reaction.  Were they all stoned?  Was I the only person awake in this room?  My group leader asked me to explain what had happened again, since I was the only one who knew.  And I told them again, but was met with no more of a reaction.

I was so frustrated.  I couldn't wait for that class to be over, I had to know what was happening.  As soon as we were dismissed, I booked it to chapel, where I would see my boyfriend.  Chapel was required, the whole student body was supposed to be there.

By now it was eleven and most people knew SOMETHING BIG had happened.  But no one was sure what, and there were still a ridiculous amount of people who didn't know anything had happened.  

"How do they even put out a fire that high?" I asked my boyfriend.

"You didn't hear?  They didn't.  The towers collapsed," he said frankly, apparently having been in touch with the outside world.

"No way," I gasped, horrified.

"I swear, that's what they said," he put up his hands.  "I haven't seen it,"

A girl sat down in the empty seat next to me and caught the end of our conversation.

"What's going on?  What's everyone talking about?" she asked me.

"You didn't hear?  Two planes flew into the Twin Towers and," I looked to my boyfriend for confirmation, "they collapsed!"

"Oh my gosh," she gasped, but didn't seem like she really understood.

The Dean of students got up, and started chapel by explaining to everyone what had happened to our country.  People were still whispering about it, and after he'd said a prayer for New York, he went on with chapel.  Out of everyone I'd seen on campus, he looked the most upset.  He told us that after chapel, they would put down the video screen and stream live video from CNN for anyone who wanted to stay and watch.  We'd be excused from class, if we wanted.

As chapel was dismissed at eleven thirty, the giant screen slid down, and my friend, boyfriend and I hurried down for a closer spot to it.  Shockingly enough, people were actually leaving to go to lunch or class.  The screen flicked once, twice, and then the first vision I saw was the shot from the helicopter at the smoking towers.  The whole auditorium went silent.  My friend and I clung to each other, while my boyfriend just sat there.  The t.v. told us that indeed, the towers had already fallen.  They showed the video of everyone running in panic as the south tower fell.  I'll never forget that video--I haven't seen the exact version of it since.  The shows always show part of it--but they cut it out before the end, because at the end there was a woman in a white suit hiding behind a taxi.  I'll never forget her.  And then they showed the north tower sinking down into itself like it had just given up life. 

I couldn't believe they were gone.  I'd always wanted to visit the Twin Towers, they were my favorite part of the NYC skyline.  And now I couldn't--they didn't exist anymore.

My boyfriend, who was technically my fiance--I wore a diamond ring on my right ring finger from him--stood up after about ten minutes and said he was going to class.  He didn't hug me goodbye, he hardly looked at me.  The friend who was with me--she was his friend.  They'd met in a class he had, even though she and I had the same major, and she didn't like me because she had a crush on my boyfriend.  And she and I were hugging each other, watching this video, and he didn't even touch me.

Despite the horror of what was happening, I knew something was wrong then.  Here I was pressed against a girl who I barley knew and we didn't even like each other (we became friends after that) and the person I was supposed to marry had treated me like a stranger when I just needed him to hug me and tell me it was going to be okay.

Finally I forced myself to leave the auditorium and I went to have lunch in my car and listen to the people on the radio talking about everything.  I called my mom thinking she might not know, but she had turned on the t.v. and she did.  I can't remember what she said.  I can't remember a lot of the rest of the day, it's kind of a blur.  I thought of my best friend who I wasn't speaking to and I wished that I could talk to him.  His birthday was the next day and what a horrible day it would be now, and for the rest of his life he would always have to celebrate his birthday the day after 9/11.  I remember in drawing class we went out on canoes on the lake to draw and I kept hearing sirens start all over the city and I would jump, thinking something had happened here.

By the time I went home, I remember walking to my car and thinking that something seemed so strange, the air was empty.  I looked up at the blue, sunny sky (it was a beautiful fall day) and it seemed empty too--then I realized what it was.  The planes were gone.

Ever since I'd moved to Woodbury, I'd gotten used to the sky being constantly full of jets.  I remember my best girl friend and I walking through my new neighborhood in 1999, counting the planes.  We were so enthralled with all the planes!  I think we counted 12 in our ten minute walk.  Eventually I got used to them, and when they roared overhead I barley noticed.  Now all I could notice was their absence.   Every flight had been grounded for safety.

That night at home I did nothing but watch t.v.  All the shows were cancelled, we just watched 9/11 coverage.  And I knew then, I had to write about it.  I was taking notes as I watched, planning stories.

I've written tons of 9/11 stories since then.  Some of them were just about 9/11, but most of them were stories I already had that would end up having some part of 9/11.  But I realized this morning that I never wrote MY 9/11 story.  I've told it many times, we all tell our stories.  I've written parts of my story into my character's lives--I'm working on one right now where my main character is a freshman in college during the attacks, just like I was.  But never just mine.  So here it is.  

Of course life went on, as it does.  But I never felt normal again.  I never felt safe again.  I was now afraid to live in my country and that was something I'd never known.  I hated those terrorists for taking my sense of security away from me.  My fiance and I broke up a month later (almost to the day), and life changed drastically again.  For two years I'd planned my entire life around him and now the rug was ripped out from under me.  I had to start over.  I made new friends at Northwestern, picked up some bad habits from my Panera friends.  I drove by the Minneapolis skyline every day wondering if I would see a plane crash into one of those buildings.  

I made up with my best friend by September 14th and we both agreed that in light of everything that had happened, our fight was really stupid.  He broke up with that girl shortly after, and admitted that my joke had really been true, why he'd been so angry.  People all around talked about patriotism, wanted to join the army.  People who were in the reserves realized they were getting deployed--and I needled my now ex, because he had wanted to join the reserves until I talked him out of it.  People who hadn't cared about President Bush before the attacks loved him now.  My ex finished out the year at Northwestern, then transferred to the University of Minnesota.  We tried to be friends until we realized we hated each other, and we just needed a break.  We'd changed so much over the last year we couldn't be around each other anymore.  We finally cut the apron strings.

We all moved on.

But every 9/11 and every time I see a show about it, no matter where I am, I always am right back in 9/11/01, in my car, at Northwestern, watching at home that night on t.v.

We will never forget.