Domestic Disturbance

Every time I take a gander at my flat’s kitchen, I’m reminded of the “ugly relative that you don’t want anyone to see, so you either hide him or ignore him.”

Compared to the rest of the flat, which looks all clean and decent, the kitchen is really an eyesore. The floor is made of patchy linoleum, one of the cabinet doors has been dislodged, the countertops are dirty, and the walls have this tacky wallpaper designed as bricks.

Since I moved in almost 3 weeks ago, I’ve been constantly ignoring the kitchen. I’m hoping that if I ignore it long enough, it’ll go away. Or maybe, by some power of magic, the kitchen will suddenly become spic, span and gorgeous. Ergo, while I’ve buying a lot of stuff for the living, dining and sleeping areas, I haven’t bought a thing for the kitchen yet.

Today, I’ve decided to face my fears head on. At around 9 in the morning, I stood in front of the kitchen, *winced*, then assessed the damage, *winced*, then imagined how much work would go into cleaning it, *winced*, and decided that I should do something about it. And yes, I winced again.

Heading down to Park and Shop, I found myself in the home area for the first time. In a few minutes, household-cleaning implements occupied my cart; cleansers, dishwashing liquid, sponge, cleaning towels, garbage bags, and paper towels.

By 10 am, my daunting task began. Channeling my inner Tim Allen, Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson, I proceeded to clean and arrange the kitchen as best as I could. My actions became some sort of a mantra which I chanted in order to stay sane: scrub, wipe, sweep, mop, scrub, wipe, sweep, mop, scrub, wipe, sweep, mop.

It escapes me how a small amount of space can rack up so much dirt. The range hood was filled with some sticky gunk that wasn’t grease, the sink had white splotches and the shelves were covered in dust.

Thanks to my new best friend, Cif, (the cleanser formerly known as Jif, according to the pack); I survived the cleaning frenzy in one piece. While the kitchen isn’t as spanking new or picture pretty, it was decent, at the very least. The counter tops were clean, the sink was rid of its spots, and the floor has been swept (which revealed more of the ugly linoleum – but that would be another story.)

After an hour of cleaning, I look at the results and bash my head in frustration!

Just kidding…

I’m actually happy with the results. At the very least, the place is now clean. And now, I can start buying stuff for it. I do need plates and glasses, after all.

It might not be the best looking kitchen in the lot, but it’s a start.