Cleaning rage

Graz rooftops.

It started at ten in the evening with some casual dish-washing. First my own dishes, then I felt like doing something for the others so I washed their dishes as well. Then I found some more uncleaned dishes next to the stove and on our small kitchen table. Might as well wash those, too. More detergent, more washing.

Now that the dirty dishes were gone, the dirty surfaces of our kitchen were exposed in all their filthiness - round stains of all sizes from coffee cups and spilled juice, solidified ashes sticking to the table and greasy drops. They had to go, so I wet the cloth we use for cleaning the tables etc and started scrubbing. Then I put some forks and knives back to their drawers and, for the first time, realised how unorganised the drawer was from the inside - and dirty as well.

The girls were all at a party (albeit separate ones if I understood correctly) and Thomas was using my laptop to communicate with his girlfriend (he found a new programme called VoipDiscount and apparently it's better than Skype) - the flat was practically mine. Mine to do what I wanted in it and mine to make it look like I wanted. I had nothing better to do, so I took the drawer out and cleaned it. Next came the cupboards, stove and fridge.

Before I knew it, I was chasing the vacuum cleaner across the kitchen floor (it has huge cracks in it and food falls into them - it's really not a pretty sight unless you're a fan of last week's dinner's debris) and into the corridor. I made a trip to throw the garbage, then noticed huge piles of old newspapers and magazines right at our front door (how could I not see them before??) so I made some more trips downstairs to get rid of them, after hanging everyone's umbrellas neatly next to the door.

The only sounds were some muffled French from the Romanian room (the internet connection is the best there) and my own breathing, which, I realised, started getting louder and louder. I went into the bathroom and cleaned it. Sink, washing machine, bathtub, mirrors. The only thing I could think about was cleaning. Every other thought vanished, nothing was more important than this scrubbing and tidying.

I felt like screaming "somebody stop me!" but I don't think anyone would have. I was starting to sweat and feel uncomfortable - off with these outdoor clothes! I put the vacuum cleaner back in the storage room and attacked the toilet. Universal-Reiniger for the floors and WC-Reiniger for the seat. Watch me go!

Everything ends, though, and after a (lukewarm) shower I came to my room and realised what a mess it was, but I left it just as it was and sat down to my dinner and an episode of Lost. It's really late now. Good night.