I'm running around like a headless chicken.
We have opted not to fork out $200 to have someone clean our house to inspection standards for us. I'm doing it. I started this past weekend with the ideal that if I get most of it done now, it should ony be a matter of a touch-up here and there after all the furniture is gone for us to pass. The military inspections to leave military housing aren't that bad, but they're not easy either. They're picky about appliances and bathrooms, but they don't require that you clean windows. It varies from inspector to inspector, we have found, some being easier than others. We're hoping for one that understands that I've been alone and injured for the better part of a year.....and is thus a little sympathetic. That being said, we'll probably get an inspection Nazi who'll fail us for miuntiae.
So, today I removed everything in the kid's bathroom and cleaned it....then shut to door on it. No-one's allowed in there, we're all going to have to use the half-bath upstairs on the en-suite in my bedroom.
I also removed all the decoration from the walls and spackled the nail holes. I have piles of 'stuff', things, in my dining room, all topped off with a little note designating from which room they came. Hopefully the packer and movers will appreciate my work now and everything will go a little smoother (and faster).
I also wiped out all my cabinets and drawers in the kitchens and bathrooms. I didn't realize how many 'junk drawers' I had accumulated...I stuff things in drawers, think "I'll use that later"...and I never do. So I trashed most of it.
Tomorrow...the kid's rooms. I have most of their stuff packed already. What's left is going to get stacked on their beds with another little note on the top, designating which kids it belongs to. The boys like to sleep upstairs on the hide-a-bed in the summer anyway, so their room can also get cleaned to inspection standard and the door can be shut. Shea..well, her stuff can go under the bed or in the dining room.
I really don't know why I'm doing all this now. I still have 3 1/2 weeks until Dave comes home. I guess I just feel that I have to take the pressure off of him and not leave a bunch of stuff needing to be done when he gets back. I want the first couple of days together to be as hassle and stress-free as possible....after all, getting re-acquainted again is hard enough.
So, I have a plan, and as much as possible, I'm sticking to it. I'll probably have cleaned my fingers raw by this time next week and be suffering toxic effects of ammonia inhalation...but as long as we pass inspection and get out of here on time it'll have been worth it.
Oh, and in case anyone was wondering - 25 days.