Done! With clutter

I’m so done with my house right now!

I’ve been in survival mode for the last 6 weeks or so and my house defiantly shows it. Well, maybe not defiantly, no one else seems to notice but I can feel the clutter and hidden dirt encroaching on me in the middle of the night. It scurries around me like cockroaches!

(Nice imagery huh! Wana come over and hang out here?)

Thus far I have deconstructed my entire kitchen: Cabinet by cabinet, drawer by drawer getting rid of crap I don’t have to have or need to use. I got new plates for Christmas so I’ve gotten rid of every plate, saucer, bowl or platter from all other sets. I’ve gone thru all my glassware and either gotten rid of all the excess or moved them into a “party” box in the garage. I had a million wine glasses, I swear, a million! I did every dirty dish, washed everything by hand that didn’t fit in the dishwasher then paired up every Tupperware with a matching lid. If I couldn’t find the lid, I tossed it! Done! Then, I got up onto my counters and scrubbed the top of my cabinets with industrial strength cleaner (TSP-ph Ever heard of it? Magic! I’m telling you, I could write my own infomercial about this stuff, I love it!) It took me 2 ½ hours to clean the top of the cabinets. There was 6 years of kitchen dust acuminated up there. (Don’t judge - I’d run the extension duster up there every now and then but its that kitchen dust, the kind that’s ½ dust, ½ grease so it just stuck and piled up.)

Now, even though it’s taken me almost two days in rubber gloves, using every ounce of elbow grease I possess, you can’t see a visible difference. I know it’s better though. I know it’s actually clean vs. just looking clean at first glance.  I essentially killed half of the clutter-roaches just by cleaning out my kitchen. Next, my desk/office/crafting area’s getting blown up. Then the kids rooms, then the linen and coat closet then the garage. I can’t stand it any more! (I’ve mentioned before that I’m a bit neurotic right? This isn’t something new, right?)

Priorities

I’ve been seriously lacking lately in many areas of my home. I HAVE to get this under control or the clutter is going to consume me! So, I figure if I put it “on paper” so to speak for everyone here to see maybe I’ll actually follow thru. Lord knows I go thru this list each night when I go to bed promising to get to it the next day….every night for the past two weeks. Maybe this will work.

• I have to file my taxes – not a hard task, I already completed all the paperwork I just have to review and file – It’s money just waiting for me to claim!
• I have to clip coupons and organize my coupon file – I need a mega coupon shopping trip here soon, we’re getting really low on staples and that’s dangerous, it means I’m more likely to pay over my “buy now” price and we’re trying really hard to be extra frugal with money right now.
• I have to clean out the girl’s room – once again we can’t walk in there without stepping on something and I swear something squished last night when I went in.
• I have to make my spring cleaning list and get to it! – My curtains need to be washed and re-pressed, my floors need to be shampooed, my couch has a year’s worth of junk crammed underneath the cushions.
• I have to buy weed killer and get the landscaper back here (yes, I know, shut up!) to clean up the weeds before our HOA yells at me again.
• I have to do a run to the dump to clear out the crap in our garage so I can organize for a yard sale (also, given that I drive a dark blue car it would be nice to park inside so we don’t get scorch marks when we try to put our seat belts on)
• I have to do a garage sale – that or just give up and take it all to goodwill and get it over with
• I have to search Craigslist for new dining room chairs ours are falling apart and at this point are not only an eye sore but a health hazard! I also need a new dryer, my laundry is taking over and I can’t keep taking it to my parents to wash – seriously, I’m 30 years old, not a college kid, I should not be taking bags of laundry to Mommies house. (Eww, did I just admit I’m 30? You should see the scowl on my face when I re-read that!)

Ok, my gosh that seems like a huge list. Breathe….I can do this….Damn, I need more coffee!

Stress

My absence the past few days has been not been for lack of will. I enjoy posting, sharing (or some may consider it over sharing) and creating here but sometimes there are only so many hours in a day and only so much energy in my battery. Needless to say the past few days have been a bit busy with non-bloggable stress.

I use to mock my mom for cleaning when she was stressed. I much preferred my oh-so-mature response to stress; sleeping. The classic story being when I told her I was pregnant for the first time, she cleaned my entire apartment from head to toe in just a few hours. Now, those that know me, know that I was quite young when I got pregnant, so, despite the fact that she was thrilled to be having a grandbaby, she was stressed for "her baby" and cleaned grout line to baseboard while she talked to me. I think that was the cleanest my apartment ever was and the most sleep I've gotten in my life time.

Since I've grown up and morphed into some OCD combo of her and June Cleaver, I now clean when I'm stressed. I wish I was one of those women who jittered and didn't eat, but no, the women in my family eat! Eat and clean.

The upside....stress = extra clean house.

Despite not being home much the past few days and not sleeping much, thus having little energy, my house is beautifully clean right now. Just in time for my handsome husband to celebrate his 31st birthday. (If he could ever get out of the office tonight, he's stuck on a project. Those of us married to techies know the bad word is the "S" word. Server!)

Stress may not be good for, my temperament, my sleeping habits, my marriage, my kids, my relationships, my heart, my blood pressure etc...but, one things for sure, when the EMT's come to take me away one day, my house will be clean! *smile*

Tornado aftermath

I hate those damn weekend tornados! Why do they always hit my house? Why can't I have one of those picture perfect weekend houses? You know the ones where the family cuddles together to watch movies, plays games, eats good food and NOTHING gets dirty? Please?
I am on clean up duty this AM, hopefully I can get it done quickly. I have a few great recipes to post as well as my meal ideas for the week. That's if I don't get too obsessive with cleaning up. Don't believe me that it's bad? How's this:

Ugly huh! I swear, not only was it clean on Friday evening, but my hubby even cleaned for me on Sunday afternoon while I was at the grocery store. This house can go to hell in a handbag in just under 4 hours. (Good thing I'm shameless or these pictures would really embarrass me! I'm an equal opportunity sharer, it's not all schedules, routines and roses here, trust me!)

I'll be back...wish me luck!

Scheduling a stay-at-home-mom

I know every one, from working mom’s to stay at home moms struggle with having enough hours in a day. A common misconception is that us stay at home moms eat bon-bons while we watch soap operas and spend the rest of the day at the park. Trust me, that’s so not true!  There is a lot to accomplish in a day. I can easily find myself completely absorbed in cleaning the house all day long. It always feels like there are dishes to be done, laundry to be folded, floors to be cleaned, etc… Yet, on the other end, there are stories to be read, parks to be visited, crafts to do, classes to attend, homework to do, etc… and these conflict with each other on a daily basis, Monday thru Friday. Weekends are almost more challenging to find the balance since dad’s home and I want to give him a clean relaxing house to unwind in and we want to spend time with the kids doing fun things, not cleaning the house.

My solution is the one hour time blocks. I use a kitchen timer to keep myself on track for one hour cleaning spurts. It keeps me organized, on time and prevents me from getting overly detailed on a general project. I spend 1 hour in the AM and 1 hour in the PM each day doing clutter detail. Going from room to room in my house with a laundry basket picking up clutter and replacing it where it belongs. I start in my bedroom, pick up anything that doesn’t belong, stash it in the basket then move on to the game room, living room, kitchen, then on down the hall. I drop things off from in my basket only when I get to that room in my rotation. Does that make sense? In other words, if I pick up something in my bedroom that belongs in the girls’ bedroom, I don’t head directly there to drop it off, I keep it in the basket until I work my way back to their room. So, my basket is a constant rotation. During the clutter hour, I straiten books on the shelves, swipe down the counter tops with the stray towels that are inevitably around, I fluff the pillows, make the beds, run the vacuum and wash the dishes. Again, this is not detailed, this is just making the house look appealing at first glance. It keeps my house “company ready.”

Each day of the week I dedicate 2 hours to specific, detailed, tasks. Monday is laundry, Tuesdays is dusting, Wednesday is bathrooms and windows, Thursday is floors and cabinets/walls, Friday is bedrooms and catch up. I also take 1 hour every day just to myself. That’s my time to shower, read, play video games, what ever makes me happy and does not involve cleaning, kids or cooking. The final 1 hour block is dedicated to cooking. I also set aside 20 min’s after dinner to do the dishes and final sweep of the house so it’s pretty to wake up to.

 Here’s what my week usually looks like:

Monday:

1 hour (before noon) – clutter clean up

Rotate laundry from dirty, to washer, to dryer to couch

2 hours detailed – folding laundry and putting it away

1 hour (during kid’s nap) Me time

1 hour (before 5pm) - cooking

1 hour (before 6pm) – clutter clean up

20 min, after dinner: dishes, final sweep of the house so it’s pretty to wake up to

Tuesday:

1 hour (before noon) – clutter clean up

1 hour detailed (before noon) – dusting living room, game room, dining room

1 hour (during nap) Me time

1 hour detailed (before 5pm) – dusting bedrooms and hallway

1 hour (before 5pm) - cooking

1 hour (before 6pm) – clutter clean up

20 min, after dinner: dishes, final sweep of the house so it’s pretty to wake up to

Wednesday:

1 hour (before noon) – clutter clean up

1 hour detailed (before noon) – Bathrooms (we have two)

1 hour (during nap) Me time

1 hour detailed (before 5pm) – Windows/mirrors

1 hour (before 5pm) - cooking

1 hour (before 6pm) – clutter clean up

20 min, after dinner: dishes, final sweep of the house so it’s pretty to wake up to

Thursday:

1 hour (before noon) – clutter clean up

1 hour detailed (before noon) – floors (detailed vacuuming, hand mopping tile)

1 hour (during nap) Me time

1 hour detailed (before 5pm) – cabinets, inside and out wipe down

1 hour (before 5pm) - cooking

1 hour (before 6pm) – clutter clean up

20 min, after dinner: dishes, final sweep of the house so it’s pretty to wake up to

Friday:

1 hour (before noon) – clutter clean up

1 hour detailed (before noon) – Bedroom clean up, new sheets, toys in proper place,

1 hour (during nap) Me time

1 hour detailed (before 5pm) – Catching up on anything that didn’t get done

1 hour (before 5pm) - cooking

1 hour (before 6pm) – clutter clean up

20 min, after dinner: dishes, final sweep of the house so it’s pretty to wake up to

So, my day usually starts at 7am and ends at 9 or 10 pm. That means that in a typical 14 hour day, I am only cleaning 4 hours 20 min’s, cooking one hour and I get at least an hour to myself. The rest of the day, 7 hours or so, is taking care of the kids. We go to the park, the store, do homework, read books, play games etc. My kids know when I’m in cleaning mode that they either let me be, or help me. It’s not play time.

Does this schedule always work? Yes! Do I always do it? No! When I’m on task, it’s a great schedule that leaves me room to breath in my day and lets me go to bed at night not dreading the next day. It also lets me be flexible in when I do things; I can easily switch up any of the detailed tasks to what is an immediate need. Come on, you all know there are times when that bathroom just can’t wait till Wednesday and MUST be cleaned now. So, I just switch it out. What I also really like about this schedule is if I take a week off (or two) I don’t feel bogged down by the need to do the whole house in one day. I can just get back on schedule and know that in a week, it will all be good.

What do you think? Do-able? What kind of schedule do you use? How do you juggle everything that has to be done in a day?