One fact of life being home 24/7 with children is the constant mess they make. Little messes here and there, often turn into one huge mess if they are not taken care of in a timely manner. Now, I am no OCD housekeeper. I would rather be outdoors working in the garden or enjoying the pool. However, the house must be cleaned. And yes, I know, that one day I will miss seeing all of the messes, but that day often seems very far off.
Mondays and Thursdays are designated laundry days in our home. Thursdays are also house cleaning days. Although, I vacuum our floors on an every other day schedule, it is amazing how much gunk is drug into the home from children and pets! Especially from the boy factor!
How does one really keep a house clean? I read the organizing posts and magazine articles, but do these people really live in reality? After I mop the floors, it never fails that a child or animal will make a mess. Last week it was a full glass of sweet tea spilled on a freshly mopped floor. The time before that, the dog had a major accident. Now if I don't mop, nothing major takes place. Must be karma.
How many of you have just folded all the laundry and then another basket full of dirty laundry appears? Egee is horrible about this. Therefor, she has been shown how to use the washer and dryer. Little Man is next on the list!
The children's rooms are there domain. However, I do insist at a certain point the room be cleaned. It is usually when I can no longer walk into the room without stepping on items all over the floor. Egee is getting better at cleaning her room without me suggesting it. Little Man could care less about a clean room. Although, he is very proud of a clean room once it does get cleaned.
The children are in charge of cleaning their bathroom. (Although, I must point out the need for them to clean it.) Egee will unload the dishwasher. (Her new job!) Little Man will load the dishwasher. (His new job!) They are old enough to take on more responsibility around the house.
So, here is to another day of cleaning! Maybe the house will stay clean a bit longer.
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Porch Weather
What a strange spring we have had this year. Warm to cold, cold to hot, and who knows what else! Yesterday was a very warm day with a lot of wind. Partly overcast in the afternoon that led to pop up showers. A perfect afternoon for yard work.
Yard work is a never ending chore in the spring. I have mulched, made new beds, revamped old beds, etc. I have given the turtles their new outdoor home and will hopefully, finally get the side patio area into some kind of functional space.
My front porch was the attention getter yesterday. The pollen season has almost come to an end and it was time to wash it off the porch and furniture. I sprayed the entire porch area with water. This made pools of pollen water. The yellow green stuff was everywhere! (Sweeping the porch only stirs up the pollen.)
My white rocking chairs were covered in pollen and mildew. I generally use a bucket of water with oxyclean to scrub them down using a sponge. But that just irritates the eczema on my hands. So, this time I decided to use diluted bleach solution and my mop. This method of cleaning my chairs was wonderful. They came out bright and clean.
A gave everything a final rinse and was finished. The mop method shaved about thirty minutes or more from the cleaning routine.
The black square on my table is industrial strength velcro. We have a tremendous amount of wind and my flower pots were always blown off the tables. So, I placed a piece of velcro on the table and the other part on the bottom of the pot. Now, my flower pots stay put! It is easy to remove the pot for replanting.
Now, I have a clean front porch and furniture. I will be able to enjoy the nice warm evenings (when home and not a baseball practice) rocking in my rocking chair watching the sunset.
Yard work is a never ending chore in the spring. I have mulched, made new beds, revamped old beds, etc. I have given the turtles their new outdoor home and will hopefully, finally get the side patio area into some kind of functional space.
My front porch was the attention getter yesterday. The pollen season has almost come to an end and it was time to wash it off the porch and furniture. I sprayed the entire porch area with water. This made pools of pollen water. The yellow green stuff was everywhere! (Sweeping the porch only stirs up the pollen.)
My white rocking chairs were covered in pollen and mildew. I generally use a bucket of water with oxyclean to scrub them down using a sponge. But that just irritates the eczema on my hands. So, this time I decided to use diluted bleach solution and my mop. This method of cleaning my chairs was wonderful. They came out bright and clean.
A gave everything a final rinse and was finished. The mop method shaved about thirty minutes or more from the cleaning routine.
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Now, I have a clean front porch and furniture. I will be able to enjoy the nice warm evenings (when home and not a baseball practice) rocking in my rocking chair watching the sunset.
Monday, May 14, 2012
War on Rooms!
What is it about kids and cleaning? It seems that once I get things cleaned, things are a mess again. Little Man aka The Tornado leaves destruction in his path. Today I must have been insane, for I decided to declare war on the children's bedrooms. I have tried to ignore the mess, but I am at the breaking point.
Their version of clean and mine are at different ends of the spectrum. Little Man's version of picking up is as long as there is a path all is fine. Egee's version is about the same, but it does grind on her nerves at times. She has on occasion decided to clean her room without me fussing about it.
So today, I began the process of cleaning. I must help Little Man with his room. Pointing out what needs to get put away. As he picked up, I sorted through his clothing and packed away all the items he has outgrown. I switched out his long pants and shirts for summer items. He grudgingly put away blocks and cars.
Egee can clean her room by herself. She doesn't like to do so, but she doesn't fuss. She takes pride in her room once it is cleaned.
Two hours later, cleaner rooms found their way into our house. So, today's school lesson was on home economics. A clean home is a happy home, at least for Mom! Now if they will just keep their rooms clean!
Their version of clean and mine are at different ends of the spectrum. Little Man's version of picking up is as long as there is a path all is fine. Egee's version is about the same, but it does grind on her nerves at times. She has on occasion decided to clean her room without me fussing about it.
So today, I began the process of cleaning. I must help Little Man with his room. Pointing out what needs to get put away. As he picked up, I sorted through his clothing and packed away all the items he has outgrown. I switched out his long pants and shirts for summer items. He grudgingly put away blocks and cars.
Egee can clean her room by herself. She doesn't like to do so, but she doesn't fuss. She takes pride in her room once it is cleaned.
Two hours later, cleaner rooms found their way into our house. So, today's school lesson was on home economics. A clean home is a happy home, at least for Mom! Now if they will just keep their rooms clean!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Cleaning and Weeding and Little Man
Our garage is in a constant state of flux. We clean it and then turn around and it seems to be in shambles. Why is it that it cannot stay clean? Little Man! The child is a tornado. Constant motion and destruction are his m.o.
I have tried to corral his force and turn it into a cleaning machine, but it is an on going battle. He came out to help me clean, but to no avail he drug out more than he put back. He is a very inquisitive child and hops from one curiosity to another in the blink of an eye. Thus, I am left with his trail. Hubby said he needs a reverse switch. I agree.
I cannot blame every bit of the mess on the little fellow, though his is a huge contributor. I had about a hundred mason jars in disarray that needed to be sorted and stored properly. So I made room on shelves in the storage room of the garage and began packing jars into boxes. That cleared a lot of floor space. Of course, Little Man found last years sea shells and promptly spread them about the cleared space.
I used the shop vac to vacuum the garage floor. That alone made an improvement. Plus it forced Little Man to pick up his shells before the shop vac at them. So off he trotted to the drive way to look at his treasures.
I didn't get all of the garage organized, but I did get the majority straightened. Once I start to feel overwhelmed, I have to stop and take a break. Otherwise, I started shoving things anywhere. At least, I am no longer ashamed of having someone walk through the garage.
The side garden needs to be mulched, but we have yet to order the mulch. The weeds are pushing the weed fabric up and causing it to balloon. The weeds are encroaching the garden beds. So it was time to bite the bullet and started pulling.
Oh, how I despise centipede grass! I pulled three five-gallon buckets worth of weeds out of the garden. There is still more to do! I think I am going to take up the weed fabric and use the weed-eater to do the job. Maybe tomorrow during the cool of the morning. That is unless Hubby orders my mulch by then!
I have tried to corral his force and turn it into a cleaning machine, but it is an on going battle. He came out to help me clean, but to no avail he drug out more than he put back. He is a very inquisitive child and hops from one curiosity to another in the blink of an eye. Thus, I am left with his trail. Hubby said he needs a reverse switch. I agree.
I cannot blame every bit of the mess on the little fellow, though his is a huge contributor. I had about a hundred mason jars in disarray that needed to be sorted and stored properly. So I made room on shelves in the storage room of the garage and began packing jars into boxes. That cleared a lot of floor space. Of course, Little Man found last years sea shells and promptly spread them about the cleared space.
I used the shop vac to vacuum the garage floor. That alone made an improvement. Plus it forced Little Man to pick up his shells before the shop vac at them. So off he trotted to the drive way to look at his treasures.
I didn't get all of the garage organized, but I did get the majority straightened. Once I start to feel overwhelmed, I have to stop and take a break. Otherwise, I started shoving things anywhere. At least, I am no longer ashamed of having someone walk through the garage.
The side garden needs to be mulched, but we have yet to order the mulch. The weeds are pushing the weed fabric up and causing it to balloon. The weeds are encroaching the garden beds. So it was time to bite the bullet and started pulling.
Oh, how I despise centipede grass! I pulled three five-gallon buckets worth of weeds out of the garden. There is still more to do! I think I am going to take up the weed fabric and use the weed-eater to do the job. Maybe tomorrow during the cool of the morning. That is unless Hubby orders my mulch by then!
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