Yesterday I asked for an itemized list of your cleaning trials and tribulations. Ever the A+ student, Bethany completed her assignment, and I hope more of you will do so.
wavybrains said...
--I like Thursdays because I am done with teaching for the week and the next four days feel wide open. I love Fridays because I love to start the weekend with a clean house.
--I hate dishes. The only way for me to deal with this is to keep up with them which I HATE. I don't like folding laundry, but I deal with this by storing everything in organized bins. I hate mopping, but we have a scooba, so I can't complain too much about this one.
--If we owned fewer dishes and clothes
--I like the clorox green works cleaning line, soft scrub's new scrubby pads, kirkland detergents, and blue scotchgard sponges.
--Is there a magic subtance that would make things sparkle? No? Okay then. I would like to find a hardwood cleaner that truly works. Ditto tub cleaner.
--If I start my day right (i.e. not at the computer), that is the key to everything for me. However, I do some of my best cleaning late at night, but I need a major motivation (visitors) to do it.
--I like it to *look* clean and be organized. Deep clean just isn't on my radar right now, but it does feel awesome when it happens.
--I think we could get rid of 50% of the stuff in this house and never look back. I think we could get rid of 60% and truly improve the quality of our lives by inviting better karma in. However, I am cursed with a packrat spouse, a toddler, and limited time for purging.
--The lists remind of chores that I never think of--wiping baseboards, dusting, etc. But, most days, I'm still struggling with basics.
--Kitchen is clean, dinner is planned, rest of house is passable. Had preschool this morning and teaching tonight so it's a win.
MOXIE SAY:
-Thursday does seem like an ideal day to be done with major commitments. Lucky bitch.
-Why must everyone loathe dishes so? What did they ever do to you? (Okay okay, except pile up and crust over and commandeer the kitchen and generally ruin your life.) But if you do them as you go, it's nothing, and so much less time than once they've become a THING. Can we revisit the idea of trying this? Mathematically, it's the least time spent. I love that your coping skill is to do them Bethany, lol.
-And laundry--what's to hate?Throw your shit in to some soapy water and let the sucker agitate while you do Sudoku or whatever. Rotate. Fold. Put away. It's not like we're talking washboards of yore ladies. Bethany I must know more about this bin method. Are they folded or crumpled when they go in? If you say the latter I will be forced to slit my throat.
-Mopping too huh? Why are you so hateful? And wtf is a Scooba? Is it the cousin of a Rumba/Roomba (sp?)?
-Owning less of is a dream, and something with which I can help you, because I am unsentimental bitch, not about my own things, just about yours, and I will throw away your grandmother's china to make your life easier. It's brilliant that you recognize excess as a source of your stress. (ooh ooh let me help!)
-I don't care for the Clorox green products meself, and stand by my use of all the most eco-hating abrasives. Although, in cleaning Marionette's house recently, I became a born-again vinegar appreciator, thought that pungent easter smell gets old right quick.
-Sparkle? That only happens in your mind, save for bleached sinks and polished chrome. And in movies. All purpose? Abrasive = Soft Scrub with lemon, non-abrasive = Lemon Scented Lysol. Wood cleaner...Murphy's Oil? And for the tub, I've said it before, AJAX baby!
-Visitors you say? On my way...I get the nighttime second wind thing, but I am not a computer lingerer so you get no sympathy there.
-Holy shit you want to get rid of 50-60% of your shit? That's awesome. Don'tinvite karma in, it doesn't have arms, invite Moxie in.
-Surface clean is brilliant and I'm glad the blog reminds you of lesser-known chores to hate.
Thank you my prized pupil. The rest of you, follow suit. This was really helpful to me.
Also do the basics. Our old washer and dryer are on the porch so I will be forced to sit out there playing the banjo until they leave.
Come on guys.
Freaking fabulous!
ReplyDeleteWell yesterday, I did kick some major housecleaning ass. However, I couldn't get around to posting about it since, just when I was done, that man O' mine arrived home early and we whisked away into the sunset better known as the hospital. There we had our 12 week scan and saw the little one inside me wriggling and kicking around and basically telling the sonogram lady to piss off and get yo own womb! It was so super amazing. However, though our appointments were at 3 and 3.30 we didn't crawl out of the hospital until after 5 being that the consultant was so behind on appointments. Which meant running home, feeding the troops and then leaving again for my monthly meet with a group of women I get together with.
So yeah, that left little time for the pc and hence, I didn't make it. I'm not posting excuses here, just rather letting it be known I would never willingly abandon you!!!!!!!
Today, I had a lady round at 12, so I kicked ass in the kitchen, bathroom, livingroom, swept floors, dishes, counters, and cleaned the entire downstairs in the blink of an eye since this lady has never been to my house! She came for a reading, so, I wanted to be stress free and not sitting there worried ''omfg can she see that tumbleweed of dog hair in the corner?'' yeah, I don't invite that kind of stress into my life. So between yesterday and today I shouldn't need to clean ever. again.
Whew, is today over? xx
Re: Bins. You would faint. Seriously. So look away while I describe for others. I get the large stacking bins like what you can get for recycling (IKEA and Freddies both have decent ones). I stack them 3 high and I have a large row next to the dryer. Then, I just unload the dryer into the bins--All Kevin's t-shirts get a bin, all his jeans get a bin, all my pajamas have a bin, etc. There are a few clothes that absolutely need hangers and those get hung up as they come out of the dryer. I suck at folding, so no, things are not folded.
ReplyDeleteRe: Scooba. A scooba is a roomba that mops. We have a dog and a cat who love to leave muddy paw prints across the kitchen and an impossible entry for mats, so daily mopping is pretty much a neccessity. The scooba is awesome for this--fill it with water, come back 30 minutes to a clean floor. It doesn't get the edges the best though, but it's good for daily touch ups.
Re: Getting rid of things. Your commentary on this made my day. Seriously. Is it sad that I sometimes pine for K and T to take a little 3 day jaunt to some remote (cell-phone less) locale, and that I could rent a dumpster and schedule a big goodwill pick up, and just GET RID OF STUFF. Just go from one room to the next. I am totally capable of being ruthless and damn it feels so good--just no real opportunity right now.
Mes-Obviously our baby has a touch (and let's hope that's all) of OCD and will continue to infuse you with strength you didn't know you had so as to keep your digs clean. I'm so excited to see him! The tumbleweed of dog hair is my favourite, and you are so engaging and fabulous she wouldn't have noticed a dead body in the corner. I love/hate days when I am certain I will never have to clean again. It's the sweetest five minutes ever.
ReplyDeleteBethany-The bins scare me but whatever works! As for Scooba, my answer is to get rid of the cat and dog, though I realize this is unlikely to be embraced by anyone. As long as you get to those edges, Moxie's happy. Is it too macabre to suggest putting K & T in the bins and invite me over and we'll throw everything away and blame it all on intruders? Just a thought.
Way to be guys, way to be.