The Porcelain Throne

A friend and I were talking last week about how to be better homemakers.  She mentioned an insight she gained by watching this video by Whitney Johnson and how she says to Disrupt yourself to be happier ~ step 1 is to pick a place where no one is playing or wants to play and do something about it.  Her interpretation as a mother - pick a place that no one cleans or wants to clean and do something about it.  For both of us this meant one place.  That blessed toilet.

The toilet and I are not friends.  He seems to know that I don't like him, and so he feels the need to tempt my toddlers to put their hands on him, like down under the seat our around the back (ugh!) as they climb up to the sink, gross, and I quickly wash their hands.  Or if I'm ever doing something in the bathroom, he somehow lures the baby to step over right next to him and she want to grab the toilet brush which also makes me snatch her away in disgust and I give him a nasty look - YOU GROSS TOILET!  I'll do the quick scrub of the bowl and a brief disinfectant wipe down around him, but part of me figures that the less time I'm around that toilet (esp the one in the kids' bathroom) the better.

I also have a memory of talking with a fellow mother at a neighborhood bbq 2 years ago and for some reason we were talking about cleaning toilets and she said when she does she has to unscrew the seat and get all the nasty stuff under there.  I'd never done that, but her comment planted a seed in my thoughts that it needed to be done.  Of course that would increase the time and effort taken if I were to clean the bathrooms that well, and I want to spend as little time around that toilet as possible. Poor toilet, no one wants to take care of him, until yesterday, when I finally chose to disrupt myself...

Yesterday I was in a morning slump and my friends words came to mind.  I knew I needed to face my fears and if I did, I would be rewarded with energy and happiness.  It took a while to muster up the strength.  I put on the big gloves and took a deep breath, then went for it.  I didn't know how to unscrew the seat and ended up having to take off the gloves so I could feel around and get the screws off (now I know they have plastic bolts under the seat, did you know that?) but I'm glad the gloves got me through the initial repulsion of the whole idea.  After getting over that hurdle and after the gloves came off, I worked hard and fast and washed inside and outside and all around those Porcelain Thrones, all three of them.  I probably washed my hands 100 times in the process and they are very dry today and my fingers were all cracked 3 toilets later, but it feels good.  I told the kids at FHE about my labors and accomplishment and they are all going to aim better and help keep them clean.

The toilet and I are friends now, and instead of cringing when I make the rounds turning off lights and making sure little people have flushed, I beam at that Throne with great pride - "Hello you clean and pretty toilet!"  Instead of disgust at it or disappointment in myself, I feel a great sense of accomplishment and happiness!

SO, moral of the lesson, go pick a place in your home, life, or whatever that no one is doing or wants to do anything about, and DO something, and see how you feel after!  

See, I have proof!  They were taken apart, and both sparkling clean!  Now back together and lovely - you pretty toilet.