Remember when I said I was excited to go and buy a new broom? I'm definitely one of those people who eagerly anticipates a change or upgrade to my daily routine, and a better broom fits into that category. When I first started cleaning, I surveyed my cache of cleaning products with a bit of dissatisfaction. I had a mop and broom that I had bought as cheaply as possible when we moved into the house, as well as a shelf full of mostly-empty bottles of cleaning products. After a quick trip through Target, I am armed with an assortment of goodies that have helped me in my project these past few weeks. Some of them are particularly great and warrant my valuable endorsement.
Libman Wonder Mop: For years, I've used one of those large sponges on the end of a stick. It didn't really fit into my mop bucket, was messy to wring, and always seemed to just smear the dirt around the floor. My new version is fantastic; it has a handle that allows me to wring it without getting wet hands (and it was simple enough for Mini-me to use, actually). It looks like an orange octopus that spreads out when it hits the floor, rather than simply rubbing in a single spot. Also, the head is detachable and washable...genuis! Cost: about $10
Libman Large Precision Angle Broom: My old broom was in sad shape and sported a family of dust bunnies living in its bent and stretched bristles. The handle had also broken, and left me bending to reach the floor as I swept because I was too cheap to buy a new one. Since I was buying a Libman mop, I figured I'd go all out and buy a Libman broom too. I love it (as much as one can love a broom). The bristles are stiff enough to sweep even tiny dirt particles off the floor, and the dust pan is angled so that they actually sweep into it, rather than getting trapped in a line as I sweep. One side is angled, so I've been able to sweep easily under my cabinets and between the cabinets and refrigerator. Cost: about $10
Pledge: I know that there are other dusting products, but this was a mainstay in my house when I was growing up, and I love the lemony scent and the way it makes my furniture shine. Also, Pledge actually traps dust that I wipe, rather than simply allowing it to float around in the air. Cost: about $3
Lysol Wipes: Is there anything that these wipes can't do? I like that they are simple, portable, and not messy. Since they are smaller than a cleaning cloth, they can also easily get into small nooks and crannies, like the corner of my vanity or the tiny ledges of cabinet doors. Pair with a toothpick, and there's nowhere for dirt to hide! Cost: about $4
Apple cider vinegar: I was iffy about using vinegar as a cleaning product, because I wasn't sure if it did any more than make surfaces look clean. After some research, it appears that a 5% vinegar solution does, in fact, kill bacteria and mold. That said, I prefer the smell of apple cider vinegar to basic white vinegar. I have diluted it with water, then used it to clean anything that Pledge, Windex, or a Lysol wipe won't work for: floors, door frames, window sills. Cost: about $3
Scott kitchen sponges: My favorite sponges for washing dishes and cleaning countertops are the kind that are yellow and absorbent on one side and green and abrasive on the other. They work well for caked-on food, and the same can be said for sticky spots on the floor or grime atop a kitchen cabinet. Cost: about $3 for 2
Paper Towels: I think I've used an entire roll since I started my endeavor on cleaning alone (not including standard kitchen messes). Though I prefer to use a washable cloth when I can, these seem to work well for cleaning glass and windows. That said, I have absolutely zero brand loyalty to paper towels. Do some brands work better than other? Absolutely; I especially like Bounty Select-a-Size. However, paper towels are one of those items that can break a week's grocery budget, so I have set the rule that I will not pay more than $1 per roll for them. There are times I can get Bounty for that much, with a sale and a coupon; if not, the Wal-Mart store brand is good enough for me. Cost: $1
Gerber flat cloth diapers: I had several of these laying around from when Mini-me was an infant and I was experimenting with using them as burp cloths. As it turns out, they are soft and absorbent and perfect for cleaning. I've used them for even delicate surfaces, including our TV screen and the exposed light bulbs over our bathroom counter. I have some old washcloths and towels too, but the diapers are hands-down my favorite cleaning rag. Cost: about $8 for a dozen
I definitely have used an assortment of other products as well; however, they aren't as consistently used and don't exactly wow me. I'd say that this is the list I can't live without!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Busy...busy...shockingly busy
It's now been 17 days -- over two weeks -- since I decided I'd start spring cleaning my home. Just that statement alone really discourages me. More than two weeks to clean a house? What kind of person can't manage to clean a house in less than two weeks? When I began, I envisioned one "quadrant" per day, resting on Sundays, which would mean that the entire house should take, tops, 14 days to complete. I thought that was completely doable.
But it's obviously not. I feel like I simply forgot a great many considerations. Among them, that three kids aren't going to sit placidly around while I clean the house; I've been busy taking them to the park and to doctor and dentist appointments, fixing meals, grocery shopping, and changing diapers. Add to that the fact that housekeeping isn't my only job; I work part-time in the evenings, and that means I'm gone after the kids are asleep (prime cleaning time).
And finally...I forgot household maintenance. It was nice to clean my kitchen, step back, and smile happily at the pristine order I had created. That cleanliness, though, lasted just over 24 hours, and that rule applies to every other room as well. I find myself doing repetitive chores, like sweeping the floor, vacuuming, doing laundry, and wiping the table, on an almost daily basis. The more of the house I GET clean, the more of the house I have to KEEP clean. I have a choice; I can either maintain, or I can allow it to sink back into disarray and then start all over again. I haven't yet decided which is the better option. What I have realized is that it's completely impractical to assume that I can deep-clean one room in my house every day. When I add maintenance to the mix, I think I can realistically plan on two to three rooms a week (and this week I didn't even get that).
The good news: all you faithful readers (I think there are two of you) get to enjoy the exciting saga of my housekeeping failures and victories for at least two more weeks. (Still to come: the girls' room, Baby Boy's room, the front bathroom, the laundry room, the master bath, and the master bedroom.)
The bad news: I don't think there's any point in getting a manicure anytime in the foreseeable future.
But it's obviously not. I feel like I simply forgot a great many considerations. Among them, that three kids aren't going to sit placidly around while I clean the house; I've been busy taking them to the park and to doctor and dentist appointments, fixing meals, grocery shopping, and changing diapers. Add to that the fact that housekeeping isn't my only job; I work part-time in the evenings, and that means I'm gone after the kids are asleep (prime cleaning time).
And finally...I forgot household maintenance. It was nice to clean my kitchen, step back, and smile happily at the pristine order I had created. That cleanliness, though, lasted just over 24 hours, and that rule applies to every other room as well. I find myself doing repetitive chores, like sweeping the floor, vacuuming, doing laundry, and wiping the table, on an almost daily basis. The more of the house I GET clean, the more of the house I have to KEEP clean. I have a choice; I can either maintain, or I can allow it to sink back into disarray and then start all over again. I haven't yet decided which is the better option. What I have realized is that it's completely impractical to assume that I can deep-clean one room in my house every day. When I add maintenance to the mix, I think I can realistically plan on two to three rooms a week (and this week I didn't even get that).
The good news: all you faithful readers (I think there are two of you) get to enjoy the exciting saga of my housekeeping failures and victories for at least two more weeks. (Still to come: the girls' room, Baby Boy's room, the front bathroom, the laundry room, the master bath, and the master bedroom.)
The bad news: I don't think there's any point in getting a manicure anytime in the foreseeable future.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
(Not so Grand) Foyer
It's literally been almost an entire week since I began cleaning a new area of the house, for myriad reasons. In short, though, I felt an itch to clean something, and I settled on the entryway of our house. It's small, and it's the last of the areas that a guest might pass through on a visit that I haven't already cleaned.
Action plan:
1. Clean light fixture
2. Dust picture frames and entry table
3. Wipe down doors and door frames
4. Wipe base boards and mop
How can I put this? I completely forgot about the light fixture. As in, I didn't even recognize that it was part of the project until I sat down to write this post, looked over my shoulder, and noticed that it had not been touched. I'm losing my organizational prowess! Three light fixtures missed in the last three rooms cleaned! I need to finish this post and then get on the ball.
I used Pledge and a cloth to clean the picture frames and table in the foyer. Again, whether it's an area that we see consistently or there were few decorations to collect dust in the first place, it wasn't too dusty. As I brushed off the surfaces, however, Mini-me came wandering over and asked to help. She was too short to reach the picture frames, of course, so I gave her a damp rag and sent her to wipe down the base boards. She happily obliged and was engaged for the next ten minutes or so.
The door faces reminded me of the cabinet doors in our kitchen; they aren't flat, but have indentions of about an eighth of an inch that collect dust. I found that the easiest way to clean these tiny lips was with a Lysol wipe and a toothpick.
I actively looked for a "surprisingly dirty place" in this room, and was initially (proudly) convinced that there was nothing there that merited consideration. Then I wiped my apple-cider-vinegar-dipped rag across the top of the door frame and was rewarded with a layer of thick dust. I was shocked, but at least the area was small and easy to clean. Again...if it's out of sight, it's almost certainly more dirty than you'd believe.
Finally, I mopped. Not on my hands and knees this time; I didn't have the energy. At this point it was 11:30, all three kids were whining for lunch, and I was tired. I just used my standard mop and assumed that, if nothing else, the foyer had achieved a higher level of cleanliness than it had when I started.
Action plan:
1. Clean light fixture
2. Dust picture frames and entry table
3. Wipe down doors and door frames
4. Wipe base boards and mop
How can I put this? I completely forgot about the light fixture. As in, I didn't even recognize that it was part of the project until I sat down to write this post, looked over my shoulder, and noticed that it had not been touched. I'm losing my organizational prowess! Three light fixtures missed in the last three rooms cleaned! I need to finish this post and then get on the ball.
I used Pledge and a cloth to clean the picture frames and table in the foyer. Again, whether it's an area that we see consistently or there were few decorations to collect dust in the first place, it wasn't too dusty. As I brushed off the surfaces, however, Mini-me came wandering over and asked to help. She was too short to reach the picture frames, of course, so I gave her a damp rag and sent her to wipe down the base boards. She happily obliged and was engaged for the next ten minutes or so.
The door faces reminded me of the cabinet doors in our kitchen; they aren't flat, but have indentions of about an eighth of an inch that collect dust. I found that the easiest way to clean these tiny lips was with a Lysol wipe and a toothpick.
I actively looked for a "surprisingly dirty place" in this room, and was initially (proudly) convinced that there was nothing there that merited consideration. Then I wiped my apple-cider-vinegar-dipped rag across the top of the door frame and was rewarded with a layer of thick dust. I was shocked, but at least the area was small and easy to clean. Again...if it's out of sight, it's almost certainly more dirty than you'd believe.
Finally, I mopped. Not on my hands and knees this time; I didn't have the energy. At this point it was 11:30, all three kids were whining for lunch, and I was tired. I just used my standard mop and assumed that, if nothing else, the foyer had achieved a higher level of cleanliness than it had when I started.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Mount Vernon
I would estimate that I have cleaned somewhere between 40 and 50 percent of the house in the past two weeks. I had thought that the methods and schedules I was implementing were designed especially by me, for me, but I discovered today that I'm not nearly as creative as I thought I was.
Basically, I started cleaning at the back of the house; specifically, next to our back door. I have worked in a circle since then, tackling one "section" of the house each day. The sections have always been adjacent, with the exception of the detour to my closet, and they have me working consistently farther from the back door and closer to the front door. Today, though, I found out that this particular style of cleaning has a name: the Mount Vernon method.
In Lynn Bowen Walker's book, which I wrote about in my last post, she says that the Mount Vernon style of cleaning was so named because it is the way that George Washington's staff kept that enormous house clean. To "Mount Vernon-ize" a house, you start cleaning on one side of the front door and you work around the perimeter of the house, cleaning and de-cluttering as you go, until you have been through every room and you arrive back at the front door. (Then, you do it all over again...but more on that later.)
I'm going to assume that I'm doing a "reverse Mount Vernon". I started by the back door, not the front, because the back of the house -- the kitchen, breakfast area, and living room -- seemed the dirtiest and were the most often used. Otherwise, the practice is working well, and I can understand why it worked for a large house a long time ago (although I am a bit miffed that I'm not quite as creative in my methods as I thought I was).
The thing that most caught my attention, though, was the fact that the Mount Vernon method is repetitive. In other words, the trip throughout the house along the perimeter isn't going to be accomplished in one day, and, even if it was, it's never ending. I think I got so caught up in the excitement of a sparkling-clean house that I viewed it as a project with a beginning and ending date. As I work, I recognize that I should consider this more of a permanent change and ongoing effort.
Basically, I started cleaning at the back of the house; specifically, next to our back door. I have worked in a circle since then, tackling one "section" of the house each day. The sections have always been adjacent, with the exception of the detour to my closet, and they have me working consistently farther from the back door and closer to the front door. Today, though, I found out that this particular style of cleaning has a name: the Mount Vernon method.
In Lynn Bowen Walker's book, which I wrote about in my last post, she says that the Mount Vernon style of cleaning was so named because it is the way that George Washington's staff kept that enormous house clean. To "Mount Vernon-ize" a house, you start cleaning on one side of the front door and you work around the perimeter of the house, cleaning and de-cluttering as you go, until you have been through every room and you arrive back at the front door. (Then, you do it all over again...but more on that later.)
I'm going to assume that I'm doing a "reverse Mount Vernon". I started by the back door, not the front, because the back of the house -- the kitchen, breakfast area, and living room -- seemed the dirtiest and were the most often used. Otherwise, the practice is working well, and I can understand why it worked for a large house a long time ago (although I am a bit miffed that I'm not quite as creative in my methods as I thought I was).
The thing that most caught my attention, though, was the fact that the Mount Vernon method is repetitive. In other words, the trip throughout the house along the perimeter isn't going to be accomplished in one day, and, even if it was, it's never ending. I think I got so caught up in the excitement of a sparkling-clean house that I viewed it as a project with a beginning and ending date. As I work, I recognize that I should consider this more of a permanent change and ongoing effort.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Queen of the Castle
A few posts ago, I mentioned a book that I'm currently reading; it's called Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged, or Just Plain Tired Homemaker by Lynn Bowen Walker. A dear friend of mine mentioned it to me a year or so ago, and another friend gave it to me as a gift before the military moved her family to the other side of the country a few months ago. Anyway, Lynn approaches homemaking with an annually-organized eye: she makes suggestions for Easter projects, for example, two weeks before you actually need them so that there's time to put the ideas together. Right now, I'm working through some chapters on cleaning, and it's been very inspiring and encouraging to read her thoughts and suggestions. I'm so, so glad that I'm not the only mother with young kids that has struggled to keep a tidy, organized home; that knowledge alone has helped me tremendously. And, even though I'm on this "quest" to scrub my house until it sparkles, one chapter I read recently really stuck with me. Lynn mentions that our role as homemakers is to create a peaceful home...one where our children feel love and support, where our husbands look forward to coming home, and where utter chaos is kept in check. But a peaceful home is not necessarily a home out of a magazine or a display window; it's more important to bake cookies, read a picture book, or take a walk together than to mop the kitchen, at least in most cases.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Cleaning out my closet
Officially, our master bedroom will probably be the last room I begin deep cleaning. I've heard that it's always like that: people very often will decorate and clean the areas of their homes that guests are likely to see and leave the master bedroom bare or dirty. That certainly applies to us. If I have a spare moment or extra money, I'm much more likely to devote it to "the rest of the house" than my own room.
But I have had a tub of pre-pregnancy clothes sitting in a large Rubbermaid tub next to my desk since the week after Baby Boy was born. Every now and then I'd pull out a shirt or pair of pants and try them on, but mostly I hadn't had the heart or the time to empty the entire thing and address each individual piece. Besides, my closet was already crammed full of clothes that I was currently wearing, or had been wearing and were now too big, or wore once a long time ago and hope to fit into again. It was time for a change.
While all three kids slept, I started pulling items out of the closet. The rule was that if it had a spot, stain, or hole that couldn't be easily fixed, it was removed. If I hadn't worn it in the last two months, it was removed. If it was too big, it was removed, and if it was too small, and I really wanted to keep it, I put it on a shelf to re-examine in June. If it was completely unstylish, it was removed, and if I couldn't find anything to wear with it, it was removed. I also pulled out items that I can't imagine why I still had...for example, a pair of ski bibs that I last wore in 2006. I tried on shoes, shirts, dresses, skirts, and pants, and I purged my scarves (of the winter variety; I had far too many for this southern climate!). In the end, I had five trash bags full of items to donate. One bag of clothes went to a bigger friend, one to a smaller friend; the shoes were donated to Soles for Souls, and the remainder went to the Goodwill.
I'm left with a logical, clean, and pleasant closet. Rather than bursting at the seams with items that I never wear (which hid the items that I DID), it's organized and airy. I can find anything, and every item inside is actually used and usable.
I've never really been one that had problems with organization. I have a detailed home and computer filing system; I plan our menu every week; I attempt to schedule my chores. But My Love says that the crux of my organizational "obsession" (his word, not mine) is my closet: it is color-coordinated (ROYGBIV fashion) and also organized by item type and season. Organization gives me a great deal of pleasure and makes me feel in control, but I want it all: organization AND cleanliness. In this particular case, taking a break from my cleaning sweep to de-clutter seemed like the best choice for me, especially since I mentioned that I was a bit dissatisfied with the results of my last day's work. A neat closet was the visual motivation I needed to keep going with another week's work.
But I have had a tub of pre-pregnancy clothes sitting in a large Rubbermaid tub next to my desk since the week after Baby Boy was born. Every now and then I'd pull out a shirt or pair of pants and try them on, but mostly I hadn't had the heart or the time to empty the entire thing and address each individual piece. Besides, my closet was already crammed full of clothes that I was currently wearing, or had been wearing and were now too big, or wore once a long time ago and hope to fit into again. It was time for a change.
While all three kids slept, I started pulling items out of the closet. The rule was that if it had a spot, stain, or hole that couldn't be easily fixed, it was removed. If I hadn't worn it in the last two months, it was removed. If it was too big, it was removed, and if it was too small, and I really wanted to keep it, I put it on a shelf to re-examine in June. If it was completely unstylish, it was removed, and if I couldn't find anything to wear with it, it was removed. I also pulled out items that I can't imagine why I still had...for example, a pair of ski bibs that I last wore in 2006. I tried on shoes, shirts, dresses, skirts, and pants, and I purged my scarves (of the winter variety; I had far too many for this southern climate!). In the end, I had five trash bags full of items to donate. One bag of clothes went to a bigger friend, one to a smaller friend; the shoes were donated to Soles for Souls, and the remainder went to the Goodwill.
I'm left with a logical, clean, and pleasant closet. Rather than bursting at the seams with items that I never wear (which hid the items that I DID), it's organized and airy. I can find anything, and every item inside is actually used and usable.
I've never really been one that had problems with organization. I have a detailed home and computer filing system; I plan our menu every week; I attempt to schedule my chores. But My Love says that the crux of my organizational "obsession" (his word, not mine) is my closet: it is color-coordinated (ROYGBIV fashion) and also organized by item type and season. Organization gives me a great deal of pleasure and makes me feel in control, but I want it all: organization AND cleanliness. In this particular case, taking a break from my cleaning sweep to de-clutter seemed like the best choice for me, especially since I mentioned that I was a bit dissatisfied with the results of my last day's work. A neat closet was the visual motivation I needed to keep going with another week's work.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Less clutter=less dust
Today I tackled the second half of our large, open "living room", the part which officially is the office/play room/dining room area. I had a few things going for me: first, since this part of the house is used consistently, it's also consistently cleaned. Second, the girls are largely responsible for keeping their portion clean, so I had very little clutter to deal with. Going into it, I assumed that this part of the house would be much cleaner than the rest has been so far. At the very least, I assumed I wouldn't have any significantly dirty parts to deal with.
Action Plan:
1. Clean light fixture
2. Remove items from each shelf of eight-foot bookcase and dust
3. Clean window, valance, and blinds
4. Dust computer desk and office shelves
5. Dust china cabinet and buffet server
6. Wipe down floor boards and vacuum
Right away, I ran into a pretty major road block. In every room I've approached so far, I've moved from the highest point down. In this case, the highest point was a light fixture in our vaulted ceiling that I estimate to be about 12 feet off the ground. We have a step ladder, but it's only eight feet tall, and I was (understandably) afraid to climb that high without another adult to spot me or call 911 if I fell and fractured something. So I skipped the light fixture outright and moved on to the book case.
Our book shelf is one of my favorite pieces of furniture, largely because My Love built it himself. It's eight feet tall and eight feet wide, and it's been crammed with books, Bibles, office supplies, and toys in alternating proportions for the duration of our residence in the house. When I considered removing everything from it to dust, it was a daunting task, but I began it with my trusty can of Pledge and a cleaning rag. The lower shelves, as it turned out, were the cleanest. I suppose I'm more aware of dust and debris in the areas which the children can reach, though I did have to scrub away a few dingy fingerprints along the floor. My surprise came as I dusted the top of the bookcase, which has not been cleaned or seen since I first arranged a row of knick-knacks up there the day the book case was finished. Though nowhere as disgusting as the grime atop the kitchen cabinets, I was shocked at the amount of dust that could accumulate on a surface over time. It took -- wait for it -- FOUR cleaning rags to remove all the dust; each of them turned grey with use before I pulled another from the closet. Essentially, I notice that surfaces that no one sees on a daily basis are consistently the dirtiest. Also, I revisited a lesson from my kitchen cleaning experience: the fewer things there are to collect dust, the easier they are to clean. However, the book case doesn't boast dusty wine bottles that I can nonchalantly toss into the garbage. Instead, every whatchamacallit on the shelves has some sort of sentimental value: the alpaca will teddy bear from Ecuador; the samurai swords my father bought on a trip to Japan; the Winnie the Pooh figurine hand-painted by an old friend. I simply resigned myself to wipe down every surface more often and accept that it will repeatedly get dirty (kind of like my kitchen floor).
Cleaning the single window seemed like a breeze; I've done five now, and this one was small. However, I still haven't figured out how to clean the blinds or remove the screens from outside. I think I'm going to need to devote a Saturday afternoon to scrubbing windows and screens from the outside. (Right now, the windows don't look clean because of the outdoor smudges.)
I have heard that you're supposed to use a particular kind of cleaning product and cleaning wipe for electronics, but I don't have one around the house, and I assumed that a tiny amount of water on a slightly-damp soft cloth couldn't hurt anything. I wiped off our computer tower, monitor, and keyboard. The dust between individual keys was giving me fits; I think I've seen some kind of telemarketing commercial for a product that blows dust off a keyboard, and it must be the only thing that works, because a cloth just didn't cut it. I hated to do it, but I left the computer and computer desk only about 99% clean and added "computer keyboard" to my mental list of failed projects that I'll need to re-evaluate at a later date.
All the furniture in our dining room is wood, though it doesn't match; this is also the least-decorated room in the house. There's one photo of the girls in a large frame, and we also have an antique plate from my grandfather on a stand atop the china cabinet. That's literally it. Any guesses on how long it took to clean this quadrant of the room? Only about 15 minutes, but I do need to go back and clean the light fixture. It's a hanging one, so I can reach it, but it had been on all morning and was too hot to touch. I turned it off after dusting the rest of the room, assuming I'd let it cool and then come back to it, but it completely slipped my mind until I sat down to write this post.
I approached the base boards with Lysol wipes (I had to buy a new can over the weekend!), which seems to be the most effective way. Unlike in the kitchen, I didn't go back over them with a dryer sheet. I'm going to assume that there is less dust and dog hair blowing around the carpeted area than on the tile. And...a quick run with the vacuum cleaner, and I was done!
This portion of the house seemed to go by really quickly. Honestly, it was simple, to, but I didn't "feel" like it was clean when I was done. I'm not sure whether it was because I skipped a few areas, such as the light fixtures, or because it wasn't as dirty in the first place (which means there wasn't a huge change to notice). Regardless, I can now say that the common areas in the house are acceptably clean, and that makes me feel like I've accomplished a great deal.
Action Plan:
1. Clean light fixture
2. Remove items from each shelf of eight-foot bookcase and dust
3. Clean window, valance, and blinds
4. Dust computer desk and office shelves
5. Dust china cabinet and buffet server
6. Wipe down floor boards and vacuum
Right away, I ran into a pretty major road block. In every room I've approached so far, I've moved from the highest point down. In this case, the highest point was a light fixture in our vaulted ceiling that I estimate to be about 12 feet off the ground. We have a step ladder, but it's only eight feet tall, and I was (understandably) afraid to climb that high without another adult to spot me or call 911 if I fell and fractured something. So I skipped the light fixture outright and moved on to the book case.
Our book shelf is one of my favorite pieces of furniture, largely because My Love built it himself. It's eight feet tall and eight feet wide, and it's been crammed with books, Bibles, office supplies, and toys in alternating proportions for the duration of our residence in the house. When I considered removing everything from it to dust, it was a daunting task, but I began it with my trusty can of Pledge and a cleaning rag. The lower shelves, as it turned out, were the cleanest. I suppose I'm more aware of dust and debris in the areas which the children can reach, though I did have to scrub away a few dingy fingerprints along the floor. My surprise came as I dusted the top of the bookcase, which has not been cleaned or seen since I first arranged a row of knick-knacks up there the day the book case was finished. Though nowhere as disgusting as the grime atop the kitchen cabinets, I was shocked at the amount of dust that could accumulate on a surface over time. It took -- wait for it -- FOUR cleaning rags to remove all the dust; each of them turned grey with use before I pulled another from the closet. Essentially, I notice that surfaces that no one sees on a daily basis are consistently the dirtiest. Also, I revisited a lesson from my kitchen cleaning experience: the fewer things there are to collect dust, the easier they are to clean. However, the book case doesn't boast dusty wine bottles that I can nonchalantly toss into the garbage. Instead, every whatchamacallit on the shelves has some sort of sentimental value: the alpaca will teddy bear from Ecuador; the samurai swords my father bought on a trip to Japan; the Winnie the Pooh figurine hand-painted by an old friend. I simply resigned myself to wipe down every surface more often and accept that it will repeatedly get dirty (kind of like my kitchen floor).
Cleaning the single window seemed like a breeze; I've done five now, and this one was small. However, I still haven't figured out how to clean the blinds or remove the screens from outside. I think I'm going to need to devote a Saturday afternoon to scrubbing windows and screens from the outside. (Right now, the windows don't look clean because of the outdoor smudges.)
I have heard that you're supposed to use a particular kind of cleaning product and cleaning wipe for electronics, but I don't have one around the house, and I assumed that a tiny amount of water on a slightly-damp soft cloth couldn't hurt anything. I wiped off our computer tower, monitor, and keyboard. The dust between individual keys was giving me fits; I think I've seen some kind of telemarketing commercial for a product that blows dust off a keyboard, and it must be the only thing that works, because a cloth just didn't cut it. I hated to do it, but I left the computer and computer desk only about 99% clean and added "computer keyboard" to my mental list of failed projects that I'll need to re-evaluate at a later date.
All the furniture in our dining room is wood, though it doesn't match; this is also the least-decorated room in the house. There's one photo of the girls in a large frame, and we also have an antique plate from my grandfather on a stand atop the china cabinet. That's literally it. Any guesses on how long it took to clean this quadrant of the room? Only about 15 minutes, but I do need to go back and clean the light fixture. It's a hanging one, so I can reach it, but it had been on all morning and was too hot to touch. I turned it off after dusting the rest of the room, assuming I'd let it cool and then come back to it, but it completely slipped my mind until I sat down to write this post.
I approached the base boards with Lysol wipes (I had to buy a new can over the weekend!), which seems to be the most effective way. Unlike in the kitchen, I didn't go back over them with a dryer sheet. I'm going to assume that there is less dust and dog hair blowing around the carpeted area than on the tile. And...a quick run with the vacuum cleaner, and I was done!
This portion of the house seemed to go by really quickly. Honestly, it was simple, to, but I didn't "feel" like it was clean when I was done. I'm not sure whether it was because I skipped a few areas, such as the light fixtures, or because it wasn't as dirty in the first place (which means there wasn't a huge change to notice). Regardless, I can now say that the common areas in the house are acceptably clean, and that makes me feel like I've accomplished a great deal.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Company's coming!
When I became a stay-at-home mom, I learned quickly that it can be a lonely and boring job. Yes, I'm around my children all day, every day, but I was lacking adult conversation and encouragement that I was doing anything right. Over the last few months, it's been a pleasure for me to build up acquaintances with my fellow local mothers, and these wonderful ladies have helped me fill the gaps in my sanity.
Today, our local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group had scheduled an outdoor play date at a local park. The weather, however, was being completely uncooperative. We had storms all night and morning, leaving the playground saturated and the equipment too slick for play. On a whim, I offered to have all the moms and kids over to my house so that we wouldn't have to cancel the play date.
There was a flurry of text messages, and it suddenly occurred to me that I had a scant 30 minutes to make my house appear clean and inviting. I felt a familiar panicked sensation, recognizing quickly that I wouldn't have time to clean everything before our company arrived, and I regretted having made the offer in the first place.
But then...I actually made a pass through my house. And, wonder of wonders, it actually looked moderately clean! The past week's work had paid off. I quickly swept the kitchen and had the girls put away a few toys. I put a new roll of toilet paper in the front bathroom and took out the garbage. I turned on some music. Suddenly, the house looked appealing and fresh, rather than dingy and cluttered.
I read somewhere, probably in this book, which I'm currently reading, that it's easier to keep the house moderately clean all the time so that you can be hospitable whenever the time comes than it is to have a cleaning frenzy before a big event. I had initially scoffed at the idea; the author had obviously never had three children under the age of five and a large dog all at the same time. I think, though, that today was proof of how well that advice really works. When the house doesn't feel like a disaster, I'm much more likely to invite over company. At the moment, that company might be for me just as easily as for my kids, but I want the kids to feel comfortable inviting their friends from school or soccer team over to the house for snacks or a study group when that time comes. I want them to be proud of their home, not ashamed of it. In that regard, I think a little vigorous spring cleaning once a year followed by consistent daily upkeep will be completely worth it.
Today, our local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group had scheduled an outdoor play date at a local park. The weather, however, was being completely uncooperative. We had storms all night and morning, leaving the playground saturated and the equipment too slick for play. On a whim, I offered to have all the moms and kids over to my house so that we wouldn't have to cancel the play date.
There was a flurry of text messages, and it suddenly occurred to me that I had a scant 30 minutes to make my house appear clean and inviting. I felt a familiar panicked sensation, recognizing quickly that I wouldn't have time to clean everything before our company arrived, and I regretted having made the offer in the first place.
But then...I actually made a pass through my house. And, wonder of wonders, it actually looked moderately clean! The past week's work had paid off. I quickly swept the kitchen and had the girls put away a few toys. I put a new roll of toilet paper in the front bathroom and took out the garbage. I turned on some music. Suddenly, the house looked appealing and fresh, rather than dingy and cluttered.
I read somewhere, probably in this book, which I'm currently reading, that it's easier to keep the house moderately clean all the time so that you can be hospitable whenever the time comes than it is to have a cleaning frenzy before a big event. I had initially scoffed at the idea; the author had obviously never had three children under the age of five and a large dog all at the same time. I think, though, that today was proof of how well that advice really works. When the house doesn't feel like a disaster, I'm much more likely to invite over company. At the moment, that company might be for me just as easily as for my kids, but I want the kids to feel comfortable inviting their friends from school or soccer team over to the house for snacks or a study group when that time comes. I want them to be proud of their home, not ashamed of it. In that regard, I think a little vigorous spring cleaning once a year followed by consistent daily upkeep will be completely worth it.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Living room
Day 3: The Living Room
The living room is longer than it is wide, so we have partitioned it off with a couch and a book case. One side is considered the actual living room, and the other side is our office/play area. Today, I tackled the living room itself.
Here's the action plan:
1. Take down and wash curtains
2. Attempt to clean the blinds AGAIN
3. Wash insides of windows and window tracks
4. Clean fan and light fixture
5. Clean fireplace
6. Dust all furniture
7. Vacuum floor
8. Steam clean carpet
After cleaning the breakfast nook on my first day of work, I knew what to expect with the windows. When I removed the curtains, I encountered dust and cobwebs. That didn't particularly please me, but I also wasn't surprised. A quick trip through the washing machine ended up taking care of the curtains, but I still have yet to find a successful way to clean the blinds. I earnestly tried to wipe each individual blind piece down with a cloth, but they still didn't come clean. My Love says that this size blinds cost $5.95 at Lowe's; there may be a few new sets in our future.
Cleaning the fan and lights was an uneventful task except that I was unable to hide the fact that I was climbing something from the kids. Mini-me stood at the base of the chair and kept up a running dialogue: "Mama, what are you doing?"
"I'm cleaning, sweetie."
"What are you cleaning?"
"I'm cleaning the lights and the fan."
"Oh...how did they get dirty?"
"They just did. They got dusty, and I need to get the dust off."
"Oh...can I help?"
"No, honey, you're too short."
"But I can climb up on a chair like you and reach them."
"Sweetie, you'd need a bigger chair than this one to be able to reach the lights."
"Well, you could go buy me one."
Eventually, I set she and Cuddles down at the dining room table with some play dough that they had found in an Easter egg hunt at their grandparents' house over the weekend. They were content to make "crackers", "pancakes", and "pretzels" for the next half hour (at which point, obviously, it was time for lunch).
The "most dirty place in the room" award goes to our fireplace. I found that incredibly interesting, since it hasn't been used since we moved into the house over four years ago. It doesn't really get cold enough to need fires around here, and we also don't want to worry with cleaning up ashes or keeping little fingers out of the grate. I figured I might find some dust in the fireplace, but no real dirt. Oh, was I wrong! To begin, I removed a decorative candle stand that we keep in there to keep it from looking stark. The top few coils were laced with spider webs covered in dust. As a side note, I abhor spiders. They make me scream and run the other direction. I almost stopped cleaning right then, but the fact that the webs were dusty led me to believe that the spider had likely already met his or her demise. I was correct; I later discovered his/her body underneath a candle that had been lit at Valentine's Day. As to the task at hand: I wiped down the candle stand with ACV, which was equally effective at removing dust, spider webs, and ash. I then wiped down the inside of the fireplace itself. To my surprise, our flue was open (and I have no idea how it got that way). I closed the flue, and when I did, a shower of ash fell into the fireplace. It was actually quite a chore to wipe it all out; when ash gets wet, it simply makes gray and black streaks, so I went through multiple cleaning rags and bowls of ACV in order to get it clean. My last fireplace task was to dust our screen. This proved to be the most difficult thing I've done yet other than cleaning the blinds. Dust particles clung to the mesh screen when I wiped them with the ACV. I ended up brushing the screen vigorously ("Mama, why are you hitting that?") to dislodge the dust. That just made the dust float in the air, but I was hoping that whatever surface it landed on would be easier to clean.
A quick pass over the furniture with Pledge and a rag, and I was ready to vacuum. Yes, again...the Beast had left a trail of dog food crumbs from her bowl to the couch, and the floor looked just as dirty as it had before I vacuumed yesterday. There was no help from the kids today, as they were busy with peanut-butter-and-local-honey sandwiches (which they would rather than than just about anything else I could make). And then I paused; in a strange twist of events, steam cleaning the carpets has become My Love's job. (The one time I tried I left puddles in the carpet.)
It was really pleasant for me to discover that most of the house isn't going to be as dirty as the kitchen was; dusting and vacuuming are chores I actually keep up with pretty consistently, and I'm hopping it will pay off as I work toward having the entire house cleaned at one time.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
"Ah hep yoo"
I already mentioned that Mini-me is learning to help with housework, but I am pleased to announce that Cuddles is getting in on the action too. The girls are responsible for cleaning their own room, which they share; there are also sometimes fights over who gets to feed The Beast, and Cuddles, especially, loves to help unload the dishwasher (which means I rush to unload everything breakable while she spends twenty minutes emptying the silverware basket).
This morning I needed to run the vacuum in the living room area. When I got it out, Cuddles came running over to me, saying, "Ah hep you." She's almost two years old, and our pediatrician says that a stranger should be able to understand about half of what she says. Mama, however, gets closer to 80%, and in this case I figured it out after about three repetitions: "I want to help you." The "ah" sound universally means "I want" when it comes from her, as in "Ah Daddy" or "Ah cookie." And, like most two-year-olds, she seems to only say the first part of most words (the important part, right?). So "Daddy" is actually "Dahyee", for example, and "help" is, apparently, "hep".
I was in the process of vacuuming when she squeezed herself between me and the vacuum cleaner. She reached up as high as she could and could almost touch the handle with her fingertips. After a few passes, she gave up on that. Her next technique is the same that she uses to push a big yellow toy dump truck around the house: she placed both hands on the base of the vacuum cleaner, leaned forward, and pushed with all her might. It was cute, but it meant that I couldn't propel or steer the vacuum at all, and she was almost stepped on twice. I re-directed her to hold onto the hose attachment, and that seemed to make everyone happy.
Cuddles stayed with me for a full five minutes or so, which is more than twice as long as I should expect her to do anything, according to a recent article I read in Parenting magazine (or maybe it was Parents; I can't remember!) that specifies that young kids usually have an attention span of one minute per year of age. Those five minutes would normally have allowed me to finish my chore, but I moved at such a slow pace to accommodate her that I was only about halfway done. When she left, I finished vacuuming quickly, then she came running back: "Ah hep you." Now she wanted to help me coil the cord around the clip that holds it in place (a favorite task of Mini-me's too, incidentally). Again, I let her "help", but the task took at least twice as long as it should have.
For some reason, I wasn't frustrated by all of that. Granted, it had taken me the better part of 20 minutes to do something that should have taken five, but I was really proud of my little girl.
First, it excited me that she wanted to help at all. How many adults don't assist when they see something around them that needs doing? That's a life skill I want to develop in my kids, and it looks like starting them out as toddlers isn't too early at all.
Second, it's a big deal to me that she (and her brother and sister) learns at a young age how to do her chores so that she can take care of herself, her home, and her family when the time comes. I'm afraid that it will seem like my house is dirty because I didn't know any better, but it's not true; my mother is an incredibly wise and talented woman, and she made sure that I knew the essentials of housekeeping before I left her house. (Imagine the state I'd be in without that education!)
And finally, I enjoyed that little moment of giving Cuddles my undivided attention, even if it was while doing a chore. We have three kids, and it's easy to feel like they don't each get the individual attention they deserve. I hope vacuuming the living room floor isn't the best memory she'll have of me when she grows up, but I do hope she will remember that our family had fun together and loved one another enough to help out when it was needed.
This morning I needed to run the vacuum in the living room area. When I got it out, Cuddles came running over to me, saying, "Ah hep you." She's almost two years old, and our pediatrician says that a stranger should be able to understand about half of what she says. Mama, however, gets closer to 80%, and in this case I figured it out after about three repetitions: "I want to help you." The "ah" sound universally means "I want" when it comes from her, as in "Ah Daddy" or "Ah cookie." And, like most two-year-olds, she seems to only say the first part of most words (the important part, right?). So "Daddy" is actually "Dahyee", for example, and "help" is, apparently, "hep".
I was in the process of vacuuming when she squeezed herself between me and the vacuum cleaner. She reached up as high as she could and could almost touch the handle with her fingertips. After a few passes, she gave up on that. Her next technique is the same that she uses to push a big yellow toy dump truck around the house: she placed both hands on the base of the vacuum cleaner, leaned forward, and pushed with all her might. It was cute, but it meant that I couldn't propel or steer the vacuum at all, and she was almost stepped on twice. I re-directed her to hold onto the hose attachment, and that seemed to make everyone happy.
Cuddles stayed with me for a full five minutes or so, which is more than twice as long as I should expect her to do anything, according to a recent article I read in Parenting magazine (or maybe it was Parents; I can't remember!) that specifies that young kids usually have an attention span of one minute per year of age. Those five minutes would normally have allowed me to finish my chore, but I moved at such a slow pace to accommodate her that I was only about halfway done. When she left, I finished vacuuming quickly, then she came running back: "Ah hep you." Now she wanted to help me coil the cord around the clip that holds it in place (a favorite task of Mini-me's too, incidentally). Again, I let her "help", but the task took at least twice as long as it should have.
For some reason, I wasn't frustrated by all of that. Granted, it had taken me the better part of 20 minutes to do something that should have taken five, but I was really proud of my little girl.
First, it excited me that she wanted to help at all. How many adults don't assist when they see something around them that needs doing? That's a life skill I want to develop in my kids, and it looks like starting them out as toddlers isn't too early at all.
Second, it's a big deal to me that she (and her brother and sister) learns at a young age how to do her chores so that she can take care of herself, her home, and her family when the time comes. I'm afraid that it will seem like my house is dirty because I didn't know any better, but it's not true; my mother is an incredibly wise and talented woman, and she made sure that I knew the essentials of housekeeping before I left her house. (Imagine the state I'd be in without that education!)
And finally, I enjoyed that little moment of giving Cuddles my undivided attention, even if it was while doing a chore. We have three kids, and it's easy to feel like they don't each get the individual attention they deserve. I hope vacuuming the living room floor isn't the best memory she'll have of me when she grows up, but I do hope she will remember that our family had fun together and loved one another enough to help out when it was needed.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Epic Fail
I mentioned a few days ago that I was trying to clean my breakfast nook blinds and failed pretty badly. Actually, since then I've tried to clean five different sets of blinds, and I have yet to find an effective method. However, to paraphrase Thomas Edison, I haven't failed; I just discovered several different ways that are NOT useful for cleaning blinds.
Method A: The Cheater
My first attempt involved as little work on my part as possible. I was dusting every other surface in the house with a rag and some Pledge; why not the blinds? This didn't work, though. The dust clung stubbornly to the blinds, rather than wiping easily away like it does on a tabletop. I couldn't effectively scrub, because the blinds moved back and forth. I called it quits on this one after about five minutes of work.
Method B: The Sock Puppet
The next thing I tried came from here. It recommended using an old, large sock to cover my hand, then dunking the sock into a water and vinegar mixture. Theoretically, I could run my hand over each individual blind and the dust would stick to it. Apparently I have some particularly stubborn dust at my house, though, because all this effort did was create a muddy look on the blinds themselves. When I tried to rinse the sock in the ACV, the dust just stuck to it, and I felt like I was simply putting dust back on the blinds. I cleaned most of the blinds this way, but they looked so visibly dirty that I had to assume that this method was a failure.
Method C: The Splish Splash
Further searching revealed a series of websites like this one that recommended placing the blinds in a bathtub with warm water and dish soap. I tried the breakfast nook blinds in the tub, but they were too long to fit, so I can't, in good conscience, count that as an attempt. However, I DID put our living room blinds in the tub to give the method an honest effort. I let the blinds sit in the bathtub for about then minutes, then started separating the pieces and swishing them through the water with my hands. The site above recommended wearing gloves, but I didn't have any, so I skipped it. I now understand why they are essential. The mini blinds' edges are just barely sharp enough to cut fingers. It's only about as bad as a paper cut, but I do have about ten tiny cuts on both my hands. Now, this technique did get more dust and dirt off the blinds than any of the others have so far; the tub had noticeable dirt in the bottom when I was done. However, when I re-hung the blinds, they actually looked far worse than before. The dirt that remained had just rearranged itself and caked together, making muddy-looking streaks.
Method D: The Old School
At this point, I was starting to assume that it would be easier to throw the blinds away and buy new ones than to actually keep trying to clean them, but I wanted to at least try to finish the job I'd started. I got a roll of paper towels and set about wiping away all the excess water from the still-damp blinds, hoping to get off the dirt as I went. (And I got a lot of dirt.) However, when I stepped away and looked at the big picture, the blinds were STILL dirty. I then grabbed my handy-dandy Lysol wipes and started wiping each individual piece off with it. This method might have been effective, if I hadn't spent 15 minutes cleaning one set and gotten discouraged at the lack of pay-off for the amount of labor. (It would also be expensive; Lysol wipes are probably the most expensive cleaning item I'm using.)
Method E: The Big Guns
By now I was really frustrated, to the point that I was seriously considering tearing down each set of mini blinds in the house and throwing them away. Then I remembered that I had stumbled across another site that recommended what I thought at the time was an overly-involved and time-consuming method. Basically, it suggests hanging a set of blinds outside between two ladders and cleaning them, by hand, a little at a time with a spray bottle of cleaning solution (or ACV?) and a hose. We don't have two ladders, and I certainly don't have the time or space to take the blinds out in the driveway and clean them while corralling my kids, but it's starting to appear that this may be the only remaining option. (Except that I have read on another website that there are professional blind-cleaning companies. I wonder if they're worth it?)
Method A: The Cheater
My first attempt involved as little work on my part as possible. I was dusting every other surface in the house with a rag and some Pledge; why not the blinds? This didn't work, though. The dust clung stubbornly to the blinds, rather than wiping easily away like it does on a tabletop. I couldn't effectively scrub, because the blinds moved back and forth. I called it quits on this one after about five minutes of work.
Method B: The Sock Puppet
The next thing I tried came from here. It recommended using an old, large sock to cover my hand, then dunking the sock into a water and vinegar mixture. Theoretically, I could run my hand over each individual blind and the dust would stick to it. Apparently I have some particularly stubborn dust at my house, though, because all this effort did was create a muddy look on the blinds themselves. When I tried to rinse the sock in the ACV, the dust just stuck to it, and I felt like I was simply putting dust back on the blinds. I cleaned most of the blinds this way, but they looked so visibly dirty that I had to assume that this method was a failure.
Method C: The Splish Splash
Further searching revealed a series of websites like this one that recommended placing the blinds in a bathtub with warm water and dish soap. I tried the breakfast nook blinds in the tub, but they were too long to fit, so I can't, in good conscience, count that as an attempt. However, I DID put our living room blinds in the tub to give the method an honest effort. I let the blinds sit in the bathtub for about then minutes, then started separating the pieces and swishing them through the water with my hands. The site above recommended wearing gloves, but I didn't have any, so I skipped it. I now understand why they are essential. The mini blinds' edges are just barely sharp enough to cut fingers. It's only about as bad as a paper cut, but I do have about ten tiny cuts on both my hands. Now, this technique did get more dust and dirt off the blinds than any of the others have so far; the tub had noticeable dirt in the bottom when I was done. However, when I re-hung the blinds, they actually looked far worse than before. The dirt that remained had just rearranged itself and caked together, making muddy-looking streaks.
Method D: The Old School
At this point, I was starting to assume that it would be easier to throw the blinds away and buy new ones than to actually keep trying to clean them, but I wanted to at least try to finish the job I'd started. I got a roll of paper towels and set about wiping away all the excess water from the still-damp blinds, hoping to get off the dirt as I went. (And I got a lot of dirt.) However, when I stepped away and looked at the big picture, the blinds were STILL dirty. I then grabbed my handy-dandy Lysol wipes and started wiping each individual piece off with it. This method might have been effective, if I hadn't spent 15 minutes cleaning one set and gotten discouraged at the lack of pay-off for the amount of labor. (It would also be expensive; Lysol wipes are probably the most expensive cleaning item I'm using.)
Method E: The Big Guns
By now I was really frustrated, to the point that I was seriously considering tearing down each set of mini blinds in the house and throwing them away. Then I remembered that I had stumbled across another site that recommended what I thought at the time was an overly-involved and time-consuming method. Basically, it suggests hanging a set of blinds outside between two ladders and cleaning them, by hand, a little at a time with a spray bottle of cleaning solution (or ACV?) and a hose. We don't have two ladders, and I certainly don't have the time or space to take the blinds out in the driveway and clean them while corralling my kids, but it's starting to appear that this may be the only remaining option. (Except that I have read on another website that there are professional blind-cleaning companies. I wonder if they're worth it?)
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Lessons Learned: Kitchen
After I stepped back from the kitchen and sank onto the couch with a cold glass of sweet tea, I thought about the things that will be needed to simply maintain a clean-ish kitchen on a daily basis. Obviously, for example, I'm not going to scrub the tops of my cabinets every day, or even every week. If I can manage to do it every few months, though, the grime might not be as bad. I think it also helps that I pared down the dust-catching items in an area that has the potential to be one of the grimiest in the house.
Again, I simply must sweep every day. But now that I'm on Day 2, I think the best time to sweep might be just before dinner (so that My Love comes home to a clean house). Sweeping after breakfast was a cause that was lost by snack time.
In general, though, I feel like keeping my kitchen counters wiped down daily and wiping the cabinets down when they are visibly dirty will keep the kitchen in shape. It also makes me feel better to get dirty dishes out of the sink as soon as possible.
Friday, April 13, 2012
The Meaning of "Grime"
Day 2: The Kitchen
I was really inspired by how much better the house looked and I felt after Day 1, so I actually got up early this morning eager to clean. (How long will THAT last?) I attacked the kitchen with gusto. Here was the kitchen action plan:
1. Remove decor from above cabinets, purge as necessary, clean as needed, and wipe cabinet tops
2. Wipe down all cabinet doors
3. Go through cabinets for dishes that can be given to Goodwill
4. Clean microwave
5. Clean oven
6. Clean kitchen counter and all appliances on it
7. Clean refrigerator
8. Scrub sink
9. Clean garbage can
10. Wipe down floorboards and mop
Some of the best advice I found on house cleaning during my "spring cleaning" run on Pinterest was to start from the top and work my way down. That way, any dirt I remove from a high location doesn't muss an already-clean low location. The highest point in our kitchen is the 12-inch gap between our top cabinets and the ceiling, so I started there.
The majority of the "decor" (another of those words that sounds much too glamorous for what we actually have) was empty wine bottles from years and years ago. I thought they were sophisticated. As it turns out, they were just dusty, as was everything else up there (a giraffe-shaped cookie jar, some bright red candles, and a decorative olive oil bottle). I don't mean just "dust" either. If you're imagining something that you could brush away with a feather duster, you're in the wrong time zone. This stuff is now officially what I will think of when I hear the word "grime". It's basically dust that was glued down to all available surfaces with the residue of everything I've cooked on the stovetop for the last four years. I had to scrub so vigorously to get it off that I quickly decided that the effort was only worthwhile for the decorative items I really wanted to keep. That means that all the old, empty wine bottles went into the garbage can, and we now have a much more streamlined look in our kitchen.
The grime was also caked on top of the cabinets themselves. In theory, a little elbow grease would have been enough to remove the stuff, but in practice, it turns out that I'm a very awkward height. Our stepladder put me too far away from the countertop to reach the cabinets. I then tried a chair, but could barely see past the lip at the cabinets' edge. Finally -- since the kids were entertained with "Jake and the Neverland Pirates", I just stood on top of the counter itself. I could now reach, but I'm so tall that I couldn't stand upright. I spent about thirty minutes with my head inclined about twenty degrees to the left and my arm lifted up just over shoulder level, scrubbing at this caked-on dust with all my might. (On a side note, Lose It! says that an hour of housework burns 154 calories!) I used a bowl of my trusty apple cider vinegar (ACV) mixed with water, then finished up with a Lysol wipe. When I was done, I was sore and sweaty, but, by golly, my cabinet tops (which no one ever sees) were clean.
The rest of the morning was uneventful. I used ACV to wipe off every surface in the kitchen. At one point, Mini-me announced that she wanted to help, and I discovered another advantage of the vinegar: I could give her a rag dipped in the stuff and not worry about its toxicity. I had her wipe down the lower cabinets and the dishwasher, and she did a good job, for a four-year-old. I went behind her with a Lysol wipe on the end of a toothpick to get into the crevices where the cabinets jut out a bit to be decorative. I think anybody would be surprised at how much dust collects on that tiny surface!
Cleaning the oven is likely going to be a future source of experimentation for me. I have a self-cleaning oven, so last night I turned it on while we slept. Apparently (after the fact), you're supposed to open windows and make sure children and small animals aren't around the oven while it's cleaning. Oops. Also, though the self-cleaning part cleaned the majority of the oven, there were caked-on bits on the oven door that didn't come off even after a vigorous scrubbing. So I checked out this website, which recommended sprinkling the inside of the oven with baking soda and vinegar. I tried that and found that the mixture made a satisfying sizzling noise and bubbled as though it was doing something; however, it didn't touch the gunk. I got frustrated, closed the oven, and decided to come back to it later. The next day, though, when I opened the oven to cook dinner, the gunk was completely gone, as if it had eroded away. (Further examination of the website revealed that I was supposed to let the baking soda and vinegar sit overnight.) I just wiped out a few little white streaks and was done.
In part two of my "nastiest place in the room" series, I'd like to call your attention to the area underneath the pull-out drawer beneath your oven. I assumed that since it was under the oven, it couldn't be TOO dirty, but in that I was about as correct as assuming that the area under a booster seat couldn't get dirty. This place was filthy. My one consolation was that it was an isolated area that no one sees or touches. There was more of the grime down there, plus some dust bunnies, crumbs, dead bugs, and a few lost Goldfish and Cheerios (we eat a lot of those around here). Again, I wiped and then scrubbed it with ACV, followed by a Lysol wipe.
The refrigerator took a surprisingly long time to clean because I removed every jar and bottle and wiped each of them down as well. I also cleaned the shelves and drawers in the sink. However, it was also one of the most satisfying things I've cleaned yet, because I saw immediate results. It also seems to be lasting a bit longer than the other, more high-kid-traffic areas I've targeted. My nice, clean floor, for example, is dirty already, and I'm about to head off to do my daily sweeping.
So far, I'm pretty happy with my apple cider vinegar, which is also cheaper than most cleaning products and seems safe to use on just about any surface; however, in really icky places, I've been chasing it with a Lysol wipe (which I need to buy more of). The baking soda also worked so well on the oven that I may experiment with using household products to clean other areas of the house.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The Dirt'll Keep
Today I started out with the intention to clean the kitchen with the same gusto as I had used on the dining room yesterday.
The three kids didn't cooperate with that idea. They had the audacity to sprinkle crumbs on my newly-mopped floor during breakfast and then demanded my undivided attention with puzzles and Dr. Seuss books. Baby Boy was cranky and tired and wanted to be held.
At first I was frustrated; I am the kind of person that loves a schedule, and I had it in my head that I was going to attack one "sector" of my house every day until it was done; these shenanigans were putting me off schedule.
Then Baby Boy fell asleep in my arms, and I forced myself to slow down and enjoy it. He's a beautiful child, and his hair is at that point where it's short and soft; his head just begs to be rubbed and kissed. So I gave in; I sat in the rocking chair, humming to him, giving him lots of kisses, and enjoying the sweet baby smell that comes with a freshly-washed infant. It's cliche, but there will always be dirt on the kitchen floor. There won't be many of these moments left for me, and I want to be sure I take the time to enjoy them, even if it means I don't meet my requisite cleaning goals. The fact that I even have a house to get dirty is an enormous blessing, but the perfect children that get it dirty in the first place are precious beyond words.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Lessons Learned: Breakfast Nook
I think the biggest lesson I learned from cleaning this particular portion of my house is that I DO, most likely, need to sweep every day. I also need to clean up small messes -- table crumbs, for example -- immediately after they happen. Very often I get busy and forget. Other times (I'm almost ashamed to say), I intentionally leave the floor and table alone because I know they will just get dirtier, so I wait for an appropriate level of dirt before cleaning. I don't want a clean floor to turn into an obsession; I honestly don't think I can keep it clean for more than a few hours (which is how long nap time lasts). But I don't want to deal with "gross" again, either.
As far as windows, I probably need to clean the inside and outside once every two to three months. I saw a recommendation for twice a year somewhere online, but the weather is pleasant for so long around here that we have them open often, and I don't want dirt, bugs, and dead frogs working their way onto my floors.
Now I just need to figure out the screens and blinds and add them to some sort of rotating schedule as well.
Can you get carpal tunnel syndrome from overuse of a sponge?
Day 1: Eat-in kitchen
To say that our house has a "breakfast nook" makes it seem much larger and more sophisticated than it really is. When I think of a breakfast nook, I imagine a gazebo-like outcropping of a fifty-year-old home, likely with a window seat, looking out into an immaculate backyard flower garden. Our home is not fifty years old and has no gazebo, window seat, or flower garden. What we DO have is a large kitchen with a bar across the middle of it. On the far side of the bar we have our everyday table and chairs (for my husband, my girls, and myself) and a well-used high chair (for Baby Boy).
I hope I'm not alone in saying that this particular portion of our home is always dirty. Always. Almost without exception. I could sweep it every day (at times I have, actually) and still find unidentifiable crumbs on the floor a short hour later. The sides of the table where the girls sit are sort of permanently encrusted with a combination of peanut butter, pancake syrup, and goldfish crumbs. The Beast does her part at cleaning up large table scraps, but her attentions can't begin to make up for a thorough cleaning.
The Action Plan:
- Take down and wash curtains.
- Clean blinds.
- Wash windows.
- Remove and wash window screens.
- Dust wall art and wine rack.
- Scour clean booster seat and high chair (washing covers as appropriate).
- Clean chairs and table, then polish.
- Empty baker's rack, thoroughly wipe surfaces and drawers, and reorganize contents.
- Wipe floorboards.
- Sweep and mop.
That process took about five hours, with appropriate breaks in the middle for feeding the baby, changing diapers (on Cuddles AND Baby Boy), and fixing snacks and lunches. It wasn't as easy as I expected, and I was unpleasantly surprised at the amount of dirt I removed.
I performed the bulk of my cleaning with apple cider vinegar. A friend had told me that it was a good cleaning agent without the toxicity of ammonia, so I went with it. I had an enormous bottle that would have been appropriate for doing bicep curls; by the end of the morning, it was empty. As I wiped down an area and the water got too dirty, which was often, I'd dump it out and start fresh.
The tracks of the windows may have been the nastiest part of the entire room. Granted, they are sort of on the outside of the house, so what I was wiping up was literally dirt blown in from the back yard. Oh, and a few dead spiders and a small, desiccated frog. I was able to clean the window tracks easily enough, but I ran into a snag when I couldn't figure out how to remove the window screens. This site explained how to clean them, and it sounded pretty straightforward, but I will need to wait until I can get My Love to remove them later. I also cleaned the windows themselves the "traditional" way, with Windex (the generic brand, anyway). I found some advice about cleaning windows with a squeegee here. It sounded smart, but like a lot of work, so I skipped it. As it turns out, Windex really just seems to rearrange the streaks, so I may have to return to the squeegee method anyway.
I washed the curtains, and was appalled at the dust that came off. We hung the curtains (homemade by my mother-in-law) when we moved into the house four years ago. And they haven't come down since. Though they were dusty, it came off easily in the wash.
I also removed the window blinds and tried to give them a good cleaning, using several different methods which I'll detail in another post. Let's just say that it was a complete and utter failure.
Dusting of the light fixtures, wall art, and baker's rack were uneventful, quick, and easy. It's really amazing how much cleaner the room looked after cleaning just those items!
Cuddles's booster seat is perpetually dirty, and I had resigned myself to the face that it would always be that way. However, with diligent effort (and no instruction manual) I figured out how to remove and machine-wash the straps, then scrub the surface with apple cider vinegar followed by a Lysol wipe. It now looks brand-new!
The breakfast room table is significantly older than I am. We got the table when my grandfather passed away, and he's had it as long as I can remember. It's solid wood, but a bit rickety, and the stain has definitely seen better days. One of the most difficult aspects of the table is the drop leafs on each end. Unbeknownst to me, every spill and crumb that could manage it had worked its way into the crevices. When I dropped the leaves, I encountered "gunk" that I had to scrub off with the textured side of my well-used kitchen sponge.
Sweeping the floor didn't turn up anything more interesting than what a mom would find on her kitchen floor on a daily basis. After the sweeping, though, I bit the bullet. After hearing a friend tell me that she used to scrub her kitchen floor on her hands and knees every day (before she had kids, she admitted), I decided I needed to try it at least once in my life. I wiped down the baseboards with my trusty apple cider vinegar; according to this website it's something that should be done weekly. I'm not sure it's every been done. I understandably came up with a lot of dirt. Afterwards I scrubbed the floor with a sponge, hitting the sticky spots that I would normally miss with a mop. And I have to say, the kitchen floor almost sparkled.
I moved all the furniture and curtains back into their places and was proud. The house had that "clean" smell that I craved, and one room was as spic-and-span as I could hope to make it. Today went so well that I have the motivation to continue!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The Culprits
Sometimes I look at pictures of homes in magazines and comfort myself by thinking that no one actually lives in those rooms. Who, really, has white couches or shag carpets or $200 (breakable) umbrella stands next to the front door? Certainly no one with children or large animals in the house.
That said, I'm afraid it's going to sound, as I write, like my house is a cesspool of dust mites that guests should enter at their own risk. It's not that bad, really; it's just not as GOOD as I want it to be, and that's due in large part to our home's inhabitants, most of whom do all they can to make the house look "lived in" (a euphemism for dingy).
That said, I'm afraid it's going to sound, as I write, like my house is a cesspool of dust mites that guests should enter at their own risk. It's not that bad, really; it's just not as GOOD as I want it to be, and that's due in large part to our home's inhabitants, most of whom do all they can to make the house look "lived in" (a euphemism for dingy).
My Love
My husband and I have been married for nearly six years, and we dated for six years before that...so I definitely knew what I was getting myself into when I married a recovering slob. (I cried when he took me to his bachelor pad after the honeymoon.) Our deal is that he can keep his half of our bedroom however he wants, as long as the rest of the house is presentable. That said, he is completely in charge of outdoor lawn maintenance and cleaning. He is also amazingly versatile and selfless, vacuuming or doing dishes for me when I'm busy, stressed, or 40 weeks pregnant. However, he also consistently assures me that the house is more than clean enough for his preferences.
Mini-me
My oldest daughter is nearly five, and, to hear anyone from my extended family talk, she is exactly like I was at her age. Specifically, she likes to climb high things and then jump off, run barefoot through the mud, pick up slugs, and spin wildly in circles in the living room. She has a tom-boy-ish tendency toward enjoying a little mud in her life, but she is starting to enjoy helping me clean house; she can also be counted on to clean up her own messes (with some prodding).
Cuddles
My second daughter is two, and as different from the first as is possible within one family. Where Mini-me is independent, Cuddles is clingy; where Mini-me is energetic, Cuddles is mellow. She's learning to feed herself, which means that her booster seat has a constant parade of dried yogurt, graham cracker crumbs, and spilled apple juice underneath it. She's also notorious for pulling out everything in the toy box in search of a favorite teddy bear.
Baby Boy
Luckily for me, I have one child who's not mobile. This happy guy spends the bulk of his time playing in an infant bouncer or rolling back and forth on a play mat. However, he has a propensity toward enormous quantities of spit-up, so most feedings are followed by a quick cleaning of the floor.
The Beast
We own what our vet calls "the smallest Great Dane [he's] ever seen." Weighing in at just over 100 pounds, this gentle giant loves laying in the sun and napping in the hallway next to the kids' rooms. However, though she has short hair, she does shed. On rainy days she leaves streaks of mud from the back yard on our well-worn carpet. Also, she has an absolutely crazy tendency: she takes mouthfuls of food from her bowl, lays down in the middle of the living room, and eats the food, leaving crumbs in her wake that pretty much always make the living room look dirty.
So, there you have it...with a family of five, three young children, and a big dog, I'm going to assume that the bulk of the clutter and dust in our house is normal. Normal, but not necessarily inevitable; I'm off to conquer it! (Cue inspirational music.)
Off to great places
I started off my career as a homemaker innocently enough. Until this year, I worked full-time while I sent my two girls to daycare. I kept my house clean enough to avoid embarrassment, but I was certainly never going to be featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I always assumed that stay-at-home moms must have plenty of time on their hands to be able to keep their houses really clean; since I wasn't one of them, I would be content with so-so cleanliness.
This year, we were blessed with a third child, a boy this time. The cost of daycare didn't make it worthwhile for me to continue working, so I took the road of a full-time mom and stayed home with my children.
On the first day of stay-at-home-mommy-hood, I made myself a sweet little schedule: on Mondays I would run the vacuum; on Tuesdays I would sweep and mop; on Wednesdays I would clean the bathrooms; on Thursdays I would balance the checkbook; on Fridays I would grocery shop; on Saturdays I would do laundry. On Sundays I would rest. Simple and straightforward, I thought. My home enjoyed a full two weeks of something resembling a glossy sheen.
Then my pregnancy advanced, and I realized that I had neither the energy nor the unlimited time to keep my home clean that I had at one time imagined. (The blog detailing the busyness of being a mother to two energetic girls is a different tale, but, suffice it to say, I was unprepared for the commitment I encountered.) Chores began to slip. Gradually I turned to a once-a-month bathroom cleaning and only sweeping when there were visible Cheerios on the kitchen floor.
The thing is, I made excuses for a home that I can simply describe as "dirty" for months. First I was pregnant, then I had a newborn...but now my son is a chubby, happy five-month-old who sleeps 18 hours a day (thank you, God!), and I am out of reasons why I shouldn't make more of a go at this thing. After all, caring for my children and my home is now my career.
In the next few weeks, I'm undertaking a deep, deep cleaning of the house. I have "spring cleaned" before, but never to anything like the magnitude I'm planning. I'll be scouring, purging, and waxing every corner and crevice of the house, and I want it to be something I'm proud of when I'm done. I've found some great online resources to utilize, and I am almost ashamed to say that I'm excited to go buy a new broom. Since I'm devoting so much of myself here for the next few weeks, I'm recording it, if nothing else in order to keep myself motivated. And who knows? Maybe I'll stumble across something that can be useful to someone else as well.
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