February 2026 – Sweat & Sparkle

As far as holidays go, Valentine’s Day used to not even make it onto my list of favorites. Halloween and the 4th of July are my undeniable pet holidays, and my husband and I put a lot of time, effort, and money into their decorations and celebrations.

I used to think Valentine’s Day was a silly, commercial holiday. Nauseating. Money-grabbing. Forced gestures of obligatory affection. Romance on demand.

Over the years, my stance on Valentine’s Day has softened. I still don’t know what a grown woman is expected to do with stuffed bears or other various animals, and while I love flowers, I always felt sorry for guys who are pressured to drop triple digits on jacked-up rose prices or else be considered unromantic.

It’s not the trite gifts or compulsory gestures I care about. I just like the idea of a day that celebrates love. Take away the expensive roses, jewelry, candy, stuffed animals, dinner reservations, and you have just this: a simple, appreciative bow to the one we love.

I adore love quotes, because there is nothing more beautiful, nothing stronger, nothing more valuable in this world than genuine, lasting love. I believe that every day, not just on Valentine’s Day. And if tomorrow is a chance to celebrate the love I share with my husband, then why wouldn’t I want to do just that?

At the beginning of each year, I launch an ambitious spring cleaning project. My goal is to empty every closet, drawer, cabinet, and box in the house, clean it out, wipe everything down, and then replace what we are keeping, but neatly and better organized. I started the process last year but fizzed out, so I am determined to do the entire house this year.

To stay on track, I created a checklist with every single item and area that I want to clean out and organize. This way, I can track my progress, and I can also choose what to clean out, based on how much time I have. For example, an entire closet will need several hours on a weekend or a day off, but if I just have a short window of opportunity, I can clean out and organize my box of nail polishes (yes, I have a bit of a nail polish problem, but I swear I use all of those colors!).

This past weekend, thanks to the polar weather, I mostly stayed inside and got started on the list. I cleaned out both bathroom vanities and medicine cabinets. All I can say is, I don’t need to buy any body lotions, body washes, or scented body scrubs for a looooooong time! But at least now they are all grouped together neatly, and I know I can sit out the next several Bath & Body Works sales.

This morning at work, I figured, why not keep the momentum going? I cleaned out my desk drawers and cabinets, then organized loose items like extra notepads into cute little containers in a drawer.

I just feel so much better when things are neat, orderly, organized. I can’t wait until the entire checklist is marked off, and the whole house has been de-cluttered and tidied.

Sometimes it’s funny to uncover something I forgot that we had. In the small table beside my seat of the couch, I had stashed some embroidery thread and small scissors. I couldn’t remember why I had those, since I don’t embroider. After wondering if I was simply going crazy, I finally remembered that I had used embroidery thread to decoratively stitch the edge of a blanket that I made for my husband a few years ago. How could I forget? I kept the thread and scissors in that little table because it took forever to go around the edges of that blanket. I cut the blanket extra long since my husband is so tall, and I would sit in the evenings, chatting or watching TV with him, working my way around that blanket one section at a time with the thread.

We’ll see what memories I uncover during this year’s round of spring cleaning!