Gratitude 16--Feeling Clean

This week all in our family are finally well. With family coming in to town this weekend--and dust so thick I was concerned small critters might find it a great place to burrow--I decided it was time to clean. I don't mind cleaning. In fact, I was very thankful to be able to clean this week. Some things that made me sigh with contentment and whisper, "Thank you, Lord," include:

1. The smell of clean.
2. Brooms.
3. Mops.
4. Dustpans.
5. Open windows.
6. Antibacterial wipes.
7. Ironing boards.
8. Electric irons.
9. Washing machines.
10. Dryers.
12. Clean Sheets.
12. Dust clothes that capture the dust instead of dislocating it so it can settle elsewhere when I have left the room and am not looking.
13.Windows with children's fingerprints. They won't always have them.
14. Clean windows that will gather more fingerprints.
15. Glass table tops that shine.
16. Sinks without toothpaste or whiskers.
17. Bathtubs with a basket of toys but no soap ring.
18. Polished china hutch from Greatgrandma.
19. Nativity figurines that sparkle in the light.
20. A bedside table without used kleenex, waterbottles, or empty glasses.
21. Being able to sit a book on the now clean bedside table.
22. The removal of dead spiders and their magnum opi.
23. Carpets that are not covered with a few layers of white hair haplessly deposited by a lovable Lab-experiment.
24. Woodfloors that no longer serve as a habitation for an entire colony of dust bunnies.
25. Bleached white sinks.
26. Mirrors that show one's reflection, not toothpaste splatters.
27. Tile floors that don't make you nervous to walk barefooted.
28. Green plants without the dead leaves of neglect.
29. Books in order on shelves.
30. Getting rid of the nuclear experiment that spilled in the microwave.
31. The satisfaction of a job finished.
32. The sleep of contented tiredness.