I have a secret to confess. It may get me laughed at. It may even get me shunned, but I can keep it in no longer. It weighs upon my soul like a — okay, that’s a little overdramatic. But I do have a secret!
Ready?
I like to clean.
Oh, not the entire house or for hours on end. As a matter of fact, the less I can get away with, the happier I am. Until, of course, I’ve cleaned something. Then my mind spins off on grand fantasies about cleaning the whole house, ahahaha. Right. That’ll never happen.
But particularly in rooms where you can tell it’s been cleaned, like the kitchen or the bathroom or vacuuming the floor, I am all about the cleaning.
I had similar feelings about washing cars when that was my way to earn my allowance as a teen. I hated going outside and getting the soap and hose, etc. Once I’d started to wash off the road grit, though, and could see the clean, shiny car underneath? Heck, I might go and get the wax and give the car a good polishing up, too, just because it looked so nice.
I have the same feeling about rewrites and edits, to make this all writer-related. I dread them, going into them, but once I’m in there, cleaning out the bad writing and shining up what’s on the page, I love it. I make more changes than I meant to in the first place, and the whole thing comes out looking better for the work. Fortunately for me, I can’t slack off and procrastinate about edits the way I can about cleaning.
Editors get the cleaning up on a manuscript started. I wonder if there are cleaning services out there that will come over and start the cleaning for you. You know, swipe off one strip of dust so you just -have- to finish the rest. Anyone looking for a startup business idea can take that one with my blessing. 
January 11th, 2007 at 7:10 am
All I have to do is come in and dust one thing? I’m there!
Alice
January 11th, 2007 at 7:11 am
LOL that’s great, a start up cleaning business *Grin* It could work though. I want them to do the full cleaning though.
January 11th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I’m with Shelli. If they’re gonna start it, they might as well finish after all lol!
January 11th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Yep, finish the clean up. I’m all about follow-through.
January 12th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Oh, they’d definately have to finish the job! Clean “streaks” would drive me nuts.
Good luck with your editing. I have to start a revision for a resubmit soon, so if you have any pointers. . .