They Were Warned!

This summer I've been gently reminding AND nagging my family about cleaning up after themselves.  (see previous post)  When I came downstairs one morning to a pile of dirty dishes while the dishwasher sat unattended ... well ... drastic measures were needed.

Thankfully, my kids are pretty clever.  I had a clean kitchen by the end of the day!

Even the Smallest Victories Should be Celebrated!

Some people climb mountains; others perform brain surgery. People make million dollar deals for corporations or run for Senate seats or save children from burning buildings. Every day men, women and children accomplish incredible things. Media coverage shares these victories so that the whole world can celebrate anothers accomplishments.

Me? I got my toilet clean. And I'm really quite happy and proud of myself. This toilet has been a homemaker's thorn in my flesh. Since we bought the house, this bathroom fixture has had layer upon layer of hard water scum and crud. I've scrubbed and tried all kinds of cleaners.

But today was a day for miracles! God's grace was on me. That which was gross is now sparkling clean. God is indeed good to me!

Spring Cleaning Tips

When the kids were little, the house was small, and I had unlimited energy, I would attack the our home with gusto and have it done in no time. Now, however, we have a large house, have accumulated lots of stuff and my schedule has many outside requirements. Not to mention that I'm twenty years older!

Now I need a schedule and a plan. If I didn't I'd be easily overwhelmed and inefficient.

Some random bits of advice and tips for your Spring Cleaning:
1. Divide and conquer.
2. Start small and easy.
3. Decide what areas bug you the most.
4. Be content with the messy process.
5. Designate a spot for "get rid of" pile.
6. Don't let children near your "get rid of" pile.
7. Be ruthless with your junk.
8. Make detailed lists. The more you can cross off the happier you'll feel.
9. Have the right cleaners on hand.
10. Have ziploc bags, plastic bins, etc so that you can organize and store your things.
11. Enlist the help of your kids. Bribes and rewards work well.
12. Don't bite off more than you can chew in a day.
13. Reward yourself with your favorite treats.
14. Assign negotiable tasks to your children; non-negotiable, must-be-done-in-a-certain-way jobs are yours alone.
15. Don't underestimate the power of caffeine and well-timed sugar.
16. Cleaning days are NOT cooking days. Frozen pizzas or MacDonald's is more than OK.
17. Resist the temptation to get overwhelmed or discouraged. Life is a process, not a destination.
18. Play "happy music" in the background. The faster the beat, the faster you'll work.
19. Wear comfortable clothes & shoes. Who wants to bend over or crawl on the floor in tight jeans?
20. Enjoy! Working hard feels good and nothing compares to a clean, well-ordered room, closet or drawer. Even if it only lasts a few hours!



I started with the front hall closet. This was the smallest and least complicated area in the house. (Early success is a key!) Completely emptied out, I swept and wiped down the shelves. I decided that only half of the items would go back. Some coats were put away for the season, but many went in the box headed for Goodwill. I store our abundance of tableclothes in bins on the floor of the closet. All were measured, labelled and had their pictures taken. Someday, I'll put together a digital inventory.

This week I tackled the upstairs bathroom. The closet on that room had been a source of irritation for a long time. Linens and toiletries were so intermingled that no one knew where to put things any more. Again, my strategy is to empty, clean, sort, organize and then put things back. Three large bags of garbage went out from the closet, drawers and cupboards. Every inch was scrubbed clean. Ahhh ..... I find myself going in and opening the closet or drawers just to see how tidy they are!

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning hearkens back to the Jewish tradition of cleaning the home before Passover. In remembrance of their hasty retreat from Egypt, the Jews cleaned every bit of leaven from their homes. Agrarian societies continued the practice. Following a closed-up winter, doors and windows were flung open to let the breezes freshen up the house.

At our house,"spring cleaning" happens sporadically. For a number of years we had graduation open houses. This always entailed large-scale cleaning and organizing. I usually cleaned more than I needed. No one came to check my closets or the cupboards next to the oven. No white gloves ran across the top of window or door frames. The problem with the graduation open houses is that you have a deadline AND food to prepare.

This year I want to do some heavy duty cleaning, sorting and organizing. As the mom, I know what's clean, and what's not. And yes, sometimes it really bugs me. Another thing that bugs me is knowing that behind closed doors, cupboards and and drawers are unorganized messes. And a third thing that really gets my goat is knowing that I have too much "stuff."

If you're an internet junkie (which you just might be if you're blog-reading), you can find lots of sites all about cleaning, organizing, homemade products, etc.

Saturday Cleaning

I remember cleaning as a kid on Saturday mornings. We were allowed to watch a little of the Saturday morning cartoons, but then we often cleaned the house. My mom is a spectacular house-keeper, so the house was never really very messy. Just the vacuuming, dusting, and bathroom cleaning. I remember mostly this duster-thingy that was like a Swiffer on steroids.

Well, it's late Saturday morning, and MY kids are supposed to be cleaning, folding laundry, working in the garden and baking. But what do I hear upstairs?

"Stay away from me if you value your life."
"I take no prisoners."
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Shhhhh ... mom will hear us and then we're really in trouble."
"JERK!"
"Owwwww!"
"Don't cry for me Argentina ................."
"Has anyone seen mom?"

Somehow, I think it would be wise if I got a little more involved up there. Especially if I really want the house cleaned.

Spring Cleaning, Part 2

God has been merciful, to me, a sinner! He could have let me wallow in the mess I've accumulated (in the form of books and papers), but He has shown great compassion and allowed me to progress fairly quickly through my first Spring Cleaning project!

I am half-way through the Playroom. Two cardtables piled with stuff have been cleared off and removed from the room. Seven sets of shelves have been sorted, dusted, rearranged and purged. Two large piles of books sit on the floor waiting to leave my house. Three bags of paper garbage went out on the curb. The ceiling and walls (especially the corners) have been dusted and cobwebs removed. The heat registers and the edges of the room have been vacummed. Mmmmm ... it's feeling good.

However, I have four laundry baskets of misc. paper stuff that needs to be sorted and filed. But first, I have to go through and weed out four drawers of the file cabinet. And I have five desk drawers to be cleaned out.

If you add it all up, it comes out to 27, which is 3 "cubed" which is a mighty fine number. I'm thinking I'll be pretty happy when this room is done.

Spring Cleaning, Part 1

I've titled this blog as "Part 1" in hopes that I do a lot of cleaning this spring and have profound thoughts in the process.

Four out of the past 6 years have found our family getting the house ready for a Graduation Open House. Though the cleaning has been thorough, it's a bit different from what I think of as "spring cleaning." For our Open Houses, we cleaned, sorted and organized. We also hid piles of stuff where guests wouldn't see them. For my spring cleaning, I want to go through closets, drawers, and shelves in order to sort and purge. Of course, I'll clean from floor to ceiling and from corner to corner .... but weeding out the junk is essential.

Like all Americans, we have lots of stuff. I wish we didn't. Years ago, I felt the Lord say to me, "Lighten the load." I know He meant that in many ways: schedules, activities, material possessions, interests, etc. I'm constantly evaluating my life to make sure it isn't over-crowded.

Actually, I like to get rid of things. If the areas of my house are too crowded and I can't keep them tidy with a minimal amount of work, I have too much stuff.

I've decided to start my spring cleaning in the Playroom. Really, it's the Homeschool Room now, but when we moved into the house 15 years ago, it housed all of the Legoes, Playmobil, Fisher Price, games, puzzles and children's books. More children and many more books later, it has become the hub of our homeschool and my ad hoc office. I thought this would be a good place to start. Since we have 6 weeks of school left, it keeps me in the center of things. (If I'd gone to the basement, you wouldn't see me for hours!) It might also re-energize me and get me thinking ahead for next year.

My biggest reason for starting in this room, however, is that the hardest items for me to part with are books. I could get rid of clothes, gadgets, furniture, etc and not blink an eye. But books .... that's hard. I had my youngest child go through the children's books and pull out any that she didn't like and wouldn't read. It was a great start. We just dropped off 3 grocery sacks of books off at the Northfield Great Book Raid. see http://northfield.org/node/4398



These books are still on my shelf:




Now I have four more sets of bookshelves to go through. Pray for me in this, my hour of need.