Keeping House

I was blessed to have an involved mother, so this post is dedicated to her. She made it her mission to make sure all four of her children could cook, clean, do yard work, and whatever else she could come up with before we left her house. To be honest I hated it growing up and I often claimed my parents only had children for slave labor. However, now that I’m an adult I’m so grateful for the skills my mother bestowed upon me and the patience she had with my never-ending attitude.

Keeping house is easier said than done for some, but it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. What works for me is to have the house hold chores split up throughout the week. This gives me the time to still go to the gym, hang out with my friends, and not be embarrassed any time someone drops by my house. Grated my house is not perfect all the time, but I really do try. Here is my sample cleaning cycle.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Bathrooms	Kitchen	Laundry	Bathrooms	Bedrooms	Wherever needs it most	Day off
File Bills/paper work	Deep mop the floor	Dust main rooms	Wash Bed linens
Vacuum	Vacuum	Vacuum	Vacuum	Vacuum	Vacuum	Day off

Of course, every day I have to pick up the toys, wash dishes, & make beds.  I love a clean floor, so vacuum everyday it’s an easy way for the whole house to feel clean. If you don’t have a good vacuum buy yourself one, it is one thing that I believe is worth the extra money. Things need done every day to keep your home in order, but it doesn’t have to be all at once every day. This isn’t the 1950’s anymore I don’t think many of us wake up every morning, put on our pearls and heels, and then whistle a happy tune as we clean all day. If you want to do that though be my guest, I’d rather go get a cup of coffee with my girlfriends.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms are my specialty I know that’s a weird area to brag about, but when I clean a bathroom it’s just so rewarding for me. In college I was what was called a hall girl, meaning I cleaned while the rest of the dorm dreamed. I had forty minutes every night to clean two sinks, four toilets, and seven showers. I put my heart into that job and I wanted every girl that lived on my hall to wake up in the morning to a clean bathroom. I had to bust my hump to get it that way everyday but I had so many girls tell how much they loved my work and girls form other halls coming to use my bathroom because it was so clean. I took ownership of that bathroom, so I encourage you to take ownership of your home as well. It will reward you even if you are the only one how sits on that throne; rule it by keeping it clean.

It’s not that hard. I promise. Twenty minutes is the most is should take when you are cleaning at least once a week. First let the products do their job, I start by putting the toilet bowl cleaning in to set in the bowl before I move the rest of the bathroom. Make your way to the tub/shower use a liquid cleanser i.e. Softscrub, while you have the product out drop some into the sink that way you don’t have to pull it out twice.  Then scrub it down, personally I use a sponge that has a scratchy side that way I can scrub it done really good. Then I rinse out the tub. The next step is to spray the shower walls with a shower cleaner there are several kinds out there I like one that is going to kills germs and mildew. If you want to go ‘Green’ there is also several wonderful products to use. Don’t forget to spray down the shower curtain or doors as well. To keep your shower easy to clean try using a daily shower spray or an automatic shower cleaning system, they are easy and save you time in the future. After the shower/tub is completed, move along to the toilet using a toilet brush give it a good scrub. Then clean the seat and outside of the bowl. I like to use a disinfecting wipe for this job, I don’t have to spray anything and I can throw it away, which makes me happy. Then I scrub the sink; remember I already have my drop of cleaner in the sink so it’s a quick step from toilet to sink. Just a note here never use the same rag you used on your toilet on anything else then the toilet. Gross! The next steps are easy clean the mirror and take out the trash. I like to clean my floors by hand it feel like it’s too hard in a bath to get a mop or equivalent behind the toilet and such so I use a spray bottle of an all purpose cleaner and wipe the floor with a rag. If you don’t like that method then sweep and mop. Taa daa we’ve just cleaned you bathroom in 20 minutes. Writing this out took more time than it actually takes me to do it. The first time might take you longer, but cleaning your bathroom on a regular schedule will make it easier. Once a month I like to give a little bit more time to the bathroom and give it a ‘whiteglove’ cleaning, which includes wiping out the cabinets, dusting out the vent, and whatever else I see can use some extra attention. This only adds maybe ten minutes, but I’m not doing it every time and overall it makes the bathroom always feel a lot cleaner.

Kitchen

The kitchen is a haven for germs. It is also the heart of most homes. I use my kitchen door to go in and out of my house the most, I make meals for my family, and I visit with friends in my tiny kitchen. Raw meat, shopping bags, children’s hand are all full of germs. The kitchen should be kept clean. Daily cleaning of the kitchen is making sure the dishes are clean, the counter tops are wiped down, sweeping the floor and the food is put in its proper place. Deep cleaning the cleaning I try to do at least once a week this includes a little more work. I clean out the microwave, pull out the food that has gone bad in the refrigerator, clean out the shelves and drawers of the refrigerator, clean the stove top, if needed clean the oven, wash the coffee out, wipe down all the appliances, sweep and mop the floor, and wash the window. I know that seems like I long list but if you are keeping up on your kitchen it doesn’t take too long my kitchen is small so it takes me about 30 minutes, sometimes more and sometimes less.

Some notes on cleaning your kitchen don’t cross contaminate. Use one rag or sponge in the same area or use a paper towel so you can throw it away. For cleaners look for a kitchen all in one and one that cuts grease and can disinfect.  Have a clean kitchen will keep pest out of your house and make your food preparation safer and healthier for you and your family. I want to think if a health inspector came to my kitchen what grade would I receive? You definitely wouldn’t want to be shut down.

Bedrooms

Well, bedrooms should kind of be picked up every day; laundry in the hamper, toys in the bins, shoes in the closet, bed made. When I clean the bedrooms this is when I dust, clean the windows, tidy up any loose ends, and I’m out of there. The day you focus on the bedrooms should be an easy day for you if you are keeping up with the daily pick up.

Other aspects of keeping house

Now that our homes are clean that’s not the only aspect to keeping house. There are also fun things like paying bills. We’ll take about budget in another chapter, but just keep this in mind. We also get to make our homes beautiful by decorating it. This is my favorite part of keeping my home. If you don’t have gifts in this area ask a friend to help you. I love to help my friends make their homes beautiful. It’s a great way to visit with your friends and work on your home as the same time. It’s easy to pick out things we like but always try to keep in mind the colors and tastes of your husband.

Meal preparation is another area of keeping house that is highly important. Find time to read about how foods work with our bodies. What’s the old saying “You are what you eat” then we should all be mindful of what enters out bodies. Plan ahead I try to think about what I’m going to cook ahead of time so I can buy in bulk, this saves money and trips to the super market. I honestly try to only go to the market once every two weeks. I do have to go a couple more times for more fresh items but these are quick trips and I’m not wasting my time wondering around trying to figure out what I’m going to cook every day. I recommend getting a good cook book or watch Food Network cooking shows I’ve learned so much from that channel. You can even get online and watch videos from aspiring chefs, grandma’s who are sharing family favorite, and people who just love cooking on YouTube. The information and tools to develop you into a cook are out there you just need to utilize them. If you are a good cook, then have you friends over have them cook with you it’s a great way to spend time with them and keeps you eating good meals even while your husband is away. Also if you’re not a good cook don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends I’m sure someone will be willing to teach you a couple of tricks.

Take pride in your home. Let it us be women of virtue and follow the example of the woman of proverbs. I’d love to have said of me “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." (31:29)

                                   

Extras:

I love Seventh Generation Cleaning products they have coupons you can print off their website every week. http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons

Green Works are some other great cleaners that are safer for your family and environment. http://www.greenworkscleaners.com/