Domestic Stuff

We cleaned house yesterday. Me and the kids. From top to bottom. (Well, the decluttering will come later this summer. But everything is in it's place, etc.)

Floors are clean. Walls are clean. Fixtures are clean.

Did I mention my house is CLEAN?????

Love, love, love it.

It will, no doubt, last about half a day, and then someone will spill blueberries on the carpet (which stains we even scrubbed yesterday with great success).

This is one of the biggest reasons I like living like a European in a small apartment.--Not that it's a small apartment, as far as apartments go. It's even bigger (believe it or not!) than our old house. More square feet. I'm not complaining. I guess I have never lived anywhere very large.--at any rate, I LOVE the fact that the kids and I can get this place ship shape in two hours.

Whatever happened to that nifty card file system, you ask? Well, it's around here somewhere, collecting dust. I'm no good at follow through. Perhaps in the pefection of next-year-which-is-not-yet, I will get better at doing it. Or beef up my daily routine to include more than it currently does (and I do have things I do every day, they just don't include cleaning the dirt out from under the washer and dryer).

So, how do I get my kids to help clean house? Well, I make it non-optional, but I also pay them, of course!

We all gather in the living room, where I present them with the dry erase board that contains a list of jobs that need to be done. I break things down into very specific jobs. Instead of "cleaning the bathroom" I list each thing that needs to be done in there separately, for instance.

Then we discuss who does what, and in what order. We write our names next to jobs Then we get to work. When a job is completed, it gets erased. Amazing how fast it goes when the team approach is used.

I've also been trolling around in my schedule for the perfect time to go grocery shopping, and I finally found the time slot that will be least disruptive to everything else that has to be done around here. It's a time when I'm usually just sort of sitting around before I leave for a regular weekly apointment, so getting out the door sooner means I have time to get to Costco witout sacrificing anything but computer time. So that makes me happy! It's funny how schedules need to change sometimes.

Meal ideas....all I ever cook is "mexican" "curry" or "pasta" or "pizza". I guess it could be worse. But it certainly could be better.

Yes, friends, there are deeper levels to me, but this is what I'm willing to share. ;-) Domestic Stuff.

Comments

elizabeth said…
good to find what works for you!
Sometimes I wonder if I'd ever make it as a mother, seeing how I'm lacking in my domestic duties with just 2 humans and a cat!
Blessed Rain said…
Yeah for clean house!
-want to come help me clean mine?
mamajuliana said…
Our house is too big. (And I am too lazy!) I wish we had a smaller house, all on one level. Three levels and WAY too much to clean! It doesn't help that this home is 150 years old and has no closets...it always looks cluttered!

Congrats on conquering your space! Long live clean...at least until the next mess.
Cathy Lane RPh said…
Deep breath in, exhale! Open the doors and window and let the change of air freshen the house.

The only thing I'd want whether a small or large house would be cupboards or even freestanding wardrobes.

My memere lived in an apartment many years after her husband died (I never met my grandfather) and 'inherited' a cabinet-makers' workshop full of wood projects, among them, several wardrobes. How I wish I had inherited those old lovely pieces of furniture.

I guess there's only one remedy to not having enough storage space...donate, donate, donate what doesn't get used within a certain length of time.
Alana said…
Geekywife, my domestic skillz here severely lacking when I was a wee newlywed. then, one year, I leaned that it's good to sweep the kitchen floor more often than monthly. Then, one year I decided that daily picking up dirty laundry off the floor is a good thing. and so on and so forth. Tidiness and cleaning do NOT come naturally to me at all, but I do like the results. So I keep trying.

Blessed Rain...NO!

Mamajuliana...big spaces have their advantages, too! Enjoy what you have. I've always loved big old houses.

Cinnamon...yes, the great declutter is going to happen in a couple of weeks after I finish the wedding dress. And then...I suppose I'll blog about it too.