Sometimes Creating Isn't Fun

Until recently, I shared the upstairs of my house with my younger sister, and since I've spent most of my time at school in another city, the "common" space has been an extension of her bedroom. The area of our house which was meant to be our two bedrooms and a shared living room became a labyrinth of boxes, dog hair, beer cans, and rabbit poop.

Needless to say, it was unhealthy, and I dreaded coming home every holiday break. Almost all of my socializing has been done outside my home because I was always too embarrassed to invite anyone over. And any possessions I cared about had to go to my on-campus apartment or stay shut in my room at home, where their safety was not guaranteed.   

But last week my sister, her boyfriend, and their dog got their own house. Other than their absence, nothing really changed in the amount of filth and clutter in our house. The only thing missing was our tv. 

I woke up today, and today was the day. I was sick of looking at their stuff, of smelling their dog, and of feeling cramped and unproductive. Today is the day I reclaimed my space. After five years of feeling unwelcome and miserable in my home, today had to be the day it all changed.

I started by putting anything that belonged to my sister or her boyfriend in her bedroom. I knew my parents might not to be fond of this because my aunt and uncle are going to stay there for a couple of weeks in early June, but I got around the issue easily. Now her stuff's all in one place! It's easier to pack!

Next, I vacuumed. And vacuumed. And vacuumed. Then I found the grossest thing ever. 

I don't know if my sister thought through her decision to buy two baby rabbits last summer. For one thing, we already had a cat and a dog. Neither of those animals can comprehend our stupid human affection for its prey, especially not the cat. He probably thought we bought him a fancy dinner because we worship him. I wouldn't have bought the rabbits. I think caging up baby animals in a house with their natural predators living nearby is kind of sadistic. But whatever.

As cute as they are, I think rabbits are probably the grossest and dumbest pets ever. They poop more than anything I've ever seen. These rabbits were so dumb that they pooped in their food bowl all the time. And when they were done pooping in their food bowl, they flung their bedding and poop out of the cage. As often as my sister cleaned the cage, I can't really blame them. I wouldn't want to eat, sleep, and shit in the same room either. My sister eventually got fed up with the rabbits and gave them away after a month or two. Instead of cleaning up the mess, though, my sister decided to drop a couple of boxes of random stuff on top of the poop and call it good. 

I screamed at the poop, vacuumed, and disinfected the whole area. I even found rabbit poop inside my foosball table. I guess at some point the rabbits' cage was on top of it. I was too angry for words. I was also horrified by the sheer filth. The rabbits had been gone for almost a year. I shouldn't have found any of their poop anywhere. I kept on with my mission.

I ended up bagging up three bags of garbage and collecting several piles of my sister's dirty laundry. And then, finally, I could start rearranging furniture and setting up my living room and workspace. 

It's not exactly the way I would like for it to be. My sister's unwillingness to move her stuff out of the house and my parents' decision to house my aunt and uncle keep me from setting up the spare room as my music and art studio until at least mid-July. But this is, at least, healthier and more functional than what I woke up to this morning.