Friday, May 15, 2009

Furious Friday

Moxie's losing a little luster these days friends. Trying to chase down a night's sleep is about as fruitful as chasing a leprechaun, and I'm getting a little fried. Probably because I bragged that I don't require much sleep, and that I am naturally high energy. That was when I was getting four or five consecutive hours. Right now I'm sputtering along two or so, waking a lot. Not to worry, your fearless leader may be weaving, but I'll still get you there.

This morning, as with all mornings of late, it's not so much a matter of when I get up as when I can reasonably start crashing around cleaning without waking everyone.

Today (is this getting old?):

*Made the bed.
*Cleaned back bathroom, including window tracks, toilet, baseboards, tub/shower.
*Made out with my dryer, and stuffed it to the gills.
*Rotated two more loads, and hung up all my clothes. (I hang everything of mine because I am 6'1" and if I dry anything I will lose length and that is not acceptable.)
*Started tea, made breakfast, took the pills that keep my OCD at an anecdotal level rather than a life-threatening one.
*Folded blankets and pillows in living room, kicked Reilly's 700 soccer balls into their room.
*Cleaned out sink, including wiping down fixtures, counters, etc.
*Cleared off kitchen counter.
*Swept kitchen floor.

Yeah, I've been up for a while.

Okay before we roll with some serious Moxie madness, I have to acknowledge one Moxling, who not only doesn't need my help whatsoever, but whose efforts this week have conjured up feelings of deep pride as well as hatred.

This bitch takes tedium s-e-r-i-o-u-s-l-y!

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


All I can say is Jacob, you get a gold star from Moxie, I'm uber-impressed!


(Teacher's pet...I'm just sayin'.)


Moxie has an ill-timed doctor's appointment this morning, so suck it FlyLady! Anyway, I'm going to use my one-hour timer trick to see what I can get done, and then follow through once I get home later. I may be paying paying a visit to a Moxling, if she texts me a confirmation, it's always helpful to know someone's house when issuing personal challenges.

Today I'll be focusing on:

*Wiping/polishing everything.
*Catching up on laundry.
*Dusting the house within an inch of its life, only to repeat tomorrow.
*De-clutter, seriously. I can't handle things. Shudder.
*Put away all my clean laundry. (This is always fun, as I am perpetually two hangers short, no matter how many packs I buy. Btw, the only acceptable hanger is white tubular. This is a Moxie Mandate. If you're using coloured or wooden hangers, throw them away today and buy five packs of white tubulars. They cost like a dollar, so no excuses. And while we're at it, all laundry baskets, dish towels, bath towels, and as many appliances as possible should be white. It's soothing. No, don't think OCD, think Cape Cod.)
*Give my refrigerator a make-over.
*Cut off my oxygen supply until my ass finally organizes the appliance cupboard.

HERE ARE YOUR CHALLENGES:

*I want you hypervigilant about laundry and dishes. I don't care how you do it, but I want everyone's sinks clean tonight. (Try plugging them once they're empty and running hot water and adding some bleach for 20 minutes or so. You have no idea how gratifying bleached sinks are...you may even find yourself attacking your bathroom sinks as well.) I also want your laundry bins EMPTY, all your clothes clean, dry, hanging, and folded when you go to bed. It's a tall order but nothing my Moxlings can't handle.
*Use the time afforded to you by the hum of washing machines and dishwashers, no, not to tend your children, duh, but to sweep and vacuum all floors.
*Next, peek in your bathrooms and give a cursory wipe-down, to maintain that hard work you did the other day.

Okay that ought to keep you guys busy today, just remember to make the most of the movements you're already making, and to narrow your focus to crumbs, smudges, drips right in front of you rather than drown yourself in woe about the entire house. A house, like everything else, is merely the sum of its parts, we're breaking down the parts, thus reducing the sum of our angst.

The reason I'm being a hard ass today about laundry and dishes is because I want every single one of you to wake up tomorrow feeling caught up on what I'm told are the two most daunting chores for you guys. Make no mistake, this is not because I'm nice, it's because I'm going to work your asses off tomorrow. :)

Enjoy your coffee and online procrastinations. Your laundry and dishes will be waiting for you, as will we.

A QUESTION FROM A READER:


Dear Moxie,

I hate, hate, HATE mopping floors. I really don't see how it does much good and I just don't have the time or will to scrub on hands and knees (which in my opinion is the only thing that does any good). What do you suggest I use? I hate the residue of most cleaners.

Since laundry is not really an issue for me, the washing/drying part, and we have so little clothing I tend to only do my laundry once a week... is this ok?

Any tips tricks for spot cleaning carpets? I thought that I had the know how and skill to get spills quickly but I find I often have stiff carpet which tells me I have nothing but ignorance. Somehow those pesky children also seem to sneak spills past me and then GROSS!!!

Thank you,

Moxling Jennifer


Jennifer,

Thanks for the questions, I can answer them all!

1. The answer lies in your question. Hands and knees baby. It sucks, but your kitchen isn't that big. Linoleum right? Get a bowl of hot bleachy water (you'd probably want to use a glove, even though I don't--ha ha!), and a scrubby sponge, and work from one end to the other. Five minutes. Bleach is a miracle of God, and no residue. If you really just can't, because hate me, and want me to think about it all the time, get a Swiffer Wet Dry. You do not have enough floor space to be losing sleep over this (that's my job.) Don't forget bathrooms.

2. Um, yeah, that's quite alright. Nowhere is it written that laundry must be the Goliath of your life. If your system works and you aren't plagued by hostile stares from piles taller than you are, then you're already 50% ahead of everyone else. :)

3. Spot treating. My best advice is to use Oxi Clean, either the spray kind or the powder kind shaken up with hot water, and pop a cap off any type of spray, like throat spray, breath freshener, etc. Pour the Oxi liberally on your stain(s), and then put your index finger inside the cap and scrub as hard as you can until you either a) see the spot fading, b) pass out, or c) see no progress and unsubscribe from my blog. Also, fresh stains respond really well to hot sudsy dish soap. If nothing else, I ain't against usin' a throw rug yo. Last year when my darling Reilly managed to get her hands on the most crack-ho coulour of dark purple nail polish on earth, while I was gone, she somehow spilled it across ten feet of our eleven ft. living room. Yeah. No. It was kerosene or a rug.

Hope this helps. -C

10 comments:

  1. I like to post my personal list here as it helps keep me accountable. In the next 2 hours I would like to complete (with 3 children underfoot):

    fold all remaining laundry and put away
    wash all dishes (by hand) and put them away
    vacuum living room and dining room
    sweep and mop kitchen
    scrub bathroom sink and toilets

    I think that's about all I can hope for while alone with the kids.

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  2. Megan - Great minds think alike :-)

    Tonight I would like to vacuum carpets in front of apartment, get through as much laundry as I can, clear/clean dining room table, shred and recycle clutter/mail pile on kitchen counter (this is my trouble spot C!)and go through all the shoes in my closet looking for things to get rid of. Maybe take a shot at organizing my baking cupboard. Take some pictures of either the stuff I'm proud of or the stuff I really need help with.

    C- Regarding my floors, I can't stand the smell of bleach but I'm more interested in the floors so I'm up to the task. Hopefully I can commit to having the whole 3 floors done by Sunday evening.

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  3. (blush)

    Apple for the teacher? =) lol

    Seriously though, getting all of the upper cabinets done feels great. Not only are they organized and clean, but now they have so much more room in them (ie, more room for me to hoard more beautiful junk, muahahahahahah)

    But it sounds like I wasn't the only one kicking ass and taking names around the house yesterday. Hooray for us all! (pats everyone on back)

    I will never be the person to care enough about the floor to get on my hands and knees to scrub it. Period. I'm far too lazy. To get that same hands and knees scrubbed look, however, they do sell large rectangular stiff nylon brushes on a pole (like a broom handle), so you can get the same cleaning action without the back ache. I have had amazing success on the most disgusting of floors (of which Jennifer's would not in any way be included...I mean who are we kidding I could eat off of any of your floors, carpet included!) with such a brush and a commercial grade floor stripper (which I think you can get at both costco and the cash n' carry). Bleach is the greatest, ultimate cleaning supply, but I myself cannot be trusted not to ruin my clothes and all of the fabrics in my home, so I choose never to use it. I use comet, tsp, pinesol, etc instead, in lieu of bleach.

    I have also used A LOT of different carpet stain removers, since my little tiny dog seems to take great pleasure in holding it in, until he is warm and inside and on the carpet. The one I have had the best results with is the stain remover from the Rug Doctor (which is available at like safeway, near where they rent the carpet cleaning machines). There was also a miracle stain remover I once got at walmart (I know, boo hiss, I get it) in their auto care section, I think it was some auto carpet/upholstery cleaner (which i just used in side as well), called, hmmm, I think OxiMagic, and it was.

    I am debating whether to keep the organizational ball rolling through my kitchen, or to take an easy day to just maintain and bask in my recent victories. We shall see how it goes.

    My cleaning song of the day: "Love Game" by Lady Gaga

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  4. Still waffling about jumping on the wagon (I know I want to, but the *work*... I titled my blog Lazy Kate for a reason, and not just because it was a cute spinning pun!), but I was inspired to chew through all my laundry yesterday, including diapers as well as stripping the bed, washing its linens, and remaking it, something I've been avoiding for a period of time that would give you apoplexy if I mentioned it. We went to bed with clean sheets, and the only clothes in the hamper were what we'd worn yesterday. Go me!

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  5. Yay Katie!!! I'm in the same boat as you with the bed linens, I'm painfully bad about doing them. And stripping my bed so I'll have to make it before sleeping again is not enough to keep me from sleep :-)

    Jacob, thanks for the clarification on the state of my carpets but I FORBID you to say you'll eat off anyone's CARPETS ever again :-)

    I kind of like the idea of the stiff brush on a pole but wonder if maybe that is overkill on my small floor spaces.

    I've avoided bleach in my house forever for the same reasons but the state of the caulk around my bathroom sink could be yellow no more.

    Thanks for the tips on the stain removers.

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  6. Alright, I'm home. RN has come and gone. Waiting for one more medical supply truck, but that's no excuse...

    Quickly, yesterday:
    *rotated laundry at least 3 times (not enough though)
    *wiped down all doors and knobs
    *picked up or straightened 5 things in the front room
    *Wiped 5+ surfaces
    *Magic Erased entry walls and hallway (that was way overdue)
    *not only cleaned off my desk, but filed, trashed and recycled much of it (as opposed to stacking somewhere to be dealt with later)
    *vacuumed front room and hallway (the rest is tile, which got a cursory sweeping, but not spot cleaned yet)

    And I'm getting started on today. C, please don't send an intervention, but I skipped the dishes yesterday, so I'm starting there. I may be awhile...

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  7. I've done everything except the dishes from my personal list. I'm going to ask Shawn to do them.

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  8. Ran dishes, washed the bathroom linens, and am on the second half of scrubbing the kitchen sink. Since I detest bleach, this involves a thick layer of baking soda saturated with vinegar (I have a spray bottle filled with it - I spritz it down thoroughly every time I go by). I leave this paste on for a couple of hours, and eventually scrub it down with a sponge and warm running water. Works great on my stainless steel, and the vinegar smells WAY better than bleach!

    Okay, I may as well admit that I'm more or less on board. Don't expect me to be doing the full run of stuff immediately... but it's nice to be checking in with a support group of folks I know (or have at least met). You knew this was going to happen.

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  9. Megan-You're getting a coffee delivered by me personally, any day you want, for kicking that list's ass, and for asking for help. You make Moxie proud. :)

    Jennifer-I really think you'll be fine with bleach on such small floors, but if you're stressing it, I have also used lemon-scented Lysol, or lemon-scented Soft Scrub if it's pretty grimy, which yours aren't. Good goal of all three by Sunday!

    Jacob (aka Daniel-Son)-Chicks & Rabbits are the new apples. I love that your floors are the red-headed stepchild of your domestic duties, and of course it's no surprise that you have 15 suggestions for how not to have to do it the old fashioned way!

    And I knew the instant I saw the after photo of that cupboard that your ass was giddy with the anticipation of getting new shit. If you can keep it looking like this sister, go for it. :)

    Katie-Too late, the wagon drove by and someone pulled you in. You're a Moxling. You fit right in, I'm impressed. :)

    Sam-If a medical supply truck is no excuse, what the fuck is? I love love love that you Magic Erased the walls, and that you beat yourself to the punch by shredding your trash now rather than file it away for later. This is a big deal for you, and I am glowing with pride. No intervention scheduled, you're right on track!

    You guys make my day.

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  10. Thanks, C! I only ended up catching up with the dishes and counters yesterday. Oh, and rotating the laundry a couple times. Then I crashed. I'm blaming the chocolate cheesecake. And Lost. I had to watch the finale online. HAD to.

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