Fourth Tuesday

I had Monday off as per the routine and we did the shopping.
This Tuesday I was feeling a bit sluggish. It has been pretty hot for ages now.
I got a bit of second wind in the afternoon and did a load of washing and vacuumed the bedrooms. At some time during the day I remember emptying the dish washer and doing the kitchen tidy up.

I didn't look at the schedule til today  (Thursday) and since I was feeling pretty good after finishing my January mini quilt I checked the schedule and dusted the lounge room blinds (Tuesdays chore). There are still the window and door to clean but I am looking at them now and they still look pretty shiny so they can wait another month. I don't want to knock myself out playing catch up. That is SECRET NUMBER 3 and it is good advice.

Kitchen tidy up
My kitchen tidy up happens everyday and includes washing up my stainless steel cutlery that I don't like to put in the dish washer and washing up those pesky plastic containers that don't fit in the dish washer very well. I wash the two cutting boards and wipe the counters under them and around the hot plates and the splash back behind the hot plates.

If the scourer is getting a bit worn I use it to clean out the sink and plug hole then throw it away.

I wipe up the few things I have washed up.

Sometimes I do all this while my porridge cooks.

A load of washing
I find that for the two of us washing three times a week is enough.

I collect the tea towel and hand towel from the kitchen. and the counter mats I use in the kitchen.
I collect any clothes left in the bathroom and the two hand towels we use.
I collect any clothes I have left beside my bed.
Anything in the clothes basket also goes in.

Clean hand towels
I really love having clean hand towels every second day. Before I got myself sorted the hand towels just got changed when I thought they needed a wash and I used the kitchen tea towel for several days just letting it dry out. Now I get a new tea towel everyday.

I started putting out a bathroom hand towel for each of us a while back because I noticed that the bath towels were getting grubby from us wiping our hands on them. Neither of us really wanted to use the shared hand towel. Now the bath towels stay clean and I use one end of my hand towel for my hands and the other end for my face. Washing them every second day they never actually get dirty and they always feel nice to use.

Cheers,
Val

Third Sunday

"What happened to Saturday?", you say.

Well, I just couldn't be bothered and I didn't even look at the routine. Since I didn't have much on today I did a bit of catch up by putting in a load of washing and changing the sheets. 

I did not catch up with vacuuming the lounge and steaming the lounge floors. I may suck up a few of the big bits of fluff when I get the vacuum out on Tuesday to do the bedrooms, but only if I feel like it. The steaming can wait til next month.

I was still feeling a bit lazy today so I did short spurts.

I spent 10 minutes tidying the kitchen and putting on the washing.

I spent 20 minutes cleaning the patio table and the front door. No before and after. They just had some dust and a few cobwebs.

I spent nearly 20 minutes cleaning the long windows inside and out. I did not do the top part inside because it requires taking down the blinds to get the screens off. Maybe next month I will do that.

You will just have to take my word for it that the windows are clean. I didn't feel like pulling the blinds up again.

The first time I cleaned these windows there was mildew on them and a dirty grey film that I just couldn't believe. It took me 3 months or three cleans to get them looking respectable. Now there is just the odd bit of fly dirt and some dust that comes in when the windows are open. When people have come for a meal and I open the blinds for more light I am so pleased the windows are clean.

At the time of writing this I still haven't made up the bed, but the sheets are sitting on the bed waiting.

I can't think of any more secrets. I guess you just have to give it a go and you will find that it is not that hard to stick to it. I will keep posting at least until I have covered a whole month.

Cheers,

Val

Third Friday and SECRET NUMBER 5

It is hot and I didn't feel like doing any work this morning. I considered not doing any housework today but I recalled secret number 4 and figured I better take my own advice.

So at 4pm I took all the small things out of the laundry then cleaned the door and window with paper towel and windex. I then used some all purpose cleaner spray and paper towel to wipe over the dryer, washing machine, basin, splash back tiles, tiles and skirting board around the walls, inside door, legs of ironing board, iron, power points and switches, and taps. This took 30 minutes.
Here is all the stuff in the hallway.

This is my laundry.

I came back later at 6pm and folded the washing from yesterday and some old towels I found in the dryer. I washed a couple of hand wash things that had sat on the dryer for weeks. I did a quick vacuum so I could wipe the floor with paper towel and all purpose cleaner. This took 25 minutes.

It is all sparkly now and will be fine for another month.

SECRET NUMBER 5
Make the plan your own by working around your habits and style.

I hate putting things away when I finish with them so they tend to pile up around the place. I leave them til it is time to clean that area. I am not constantly thinking "I must put those away". I know it will be done on the assigned day.

I don't have anything scheduled for shopping day and quilt group day. I think they are enough for those days.

Cheers,
Val

Third Thursday and SECRET NUMBER 4

Wednesday is quilt group day so no washing or housework. I do clean up the kitchen since that is an everyday chore.
Today we went out to the discount Sara Lee shop and bought a couple of frozen cakes to keep in the freezer for special. We took my mum too and she got two bags of mixed veges for $1.75 each and a nice sultana pound cake for $2.50. She can keep it in the freezer and just have a slice sometimes. This outlet at Daisy Hill has their supermarket and catering lines for good discount prices and they also put items on super special. We like to buy the ice cream when it is $3 a litre.
The point is we got back at midday and had lunch and then watched a Poirot episode and it was 3:30 before I looked up the housework routine to see what I had to do. This day is vacuum the dining and kitchen and clean out the dining room.
I cleaned the glass in the display cabinet, wiped the table over with a wet paper towel and cleaned the placemats. I picked up the stuff and put it away then dusted the table legs and the chairs, the lounge and the cabinet. I used a paper towel and windex to clean the pictures and replaced a couple of pictures on the walls. I also put in a load of washing.
It took me half an hour.
Another 10 mins to vacuum and it is done.
Before:

After:

Before:

After:

It never ceases to amaze me how much black dust gets onto the dining table.

SECRET NUMBER 4
Try really hard not to put off doing the job for that day. When you get started it is surprising how quick and easy the job is and how good you feel that it is done.
I don't even look at what tomorrow brings. I don't have to think about it because it is written on the routine.
Sorry the pictures are a bit bad. I have been taking them with the iPad and it doesn't like low light. I will do better next month.

Cheers,
Val

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Where do you begin and SECRET NUMBER 2

1. I don't have enough time.
2. I'm always busy with the kids.
3. I work and I am just too tired.
4. I wish the house were clean.

These are things I thought for years. Once I retired I didn't have any more excuses so I finally did what I should have done years ago - divide the house into sections and make a schedule.

I have quite a large house.

These are my sections

kitchen + casual dining
dining + lounge
TV lounge room
master bedroom
second bedroom (my parlor)
third bedroom (office)
laundry
2 bathrooms
sewing room, gym, craft room (upstairs rooms)
front porch
back patio

Each section gets a tidy, dust and wipe down once a month. I do our bathroom and toilet each fortnight.
The windows and blinds are done separately.

I have proved that gradually the house becomes clean and I have also proved that the schedule is very bendable and most things can go two months without any noticeable untidiness once they reach a level of clean that you are happy with.

I cannot prove that scheduling works when you have small children to work around but I'm sure it would be worth a try. 

I am not naturally a tidy person and even though everything has a place I am the type who walks past something that has to be put away. But now it doesn't bother me because every part of the house gets a tidy up each month. The kitchen table never gets as messy as it used to. My sewing room gets a tidy every month making sewing much more fun. The corners in the laundry never look dusty and grimy any more and the venetian blinds can be cleaned in a matter of minutes.

A load has been lifted.

I am no slave to housework but now I always feel comfortable when someone walks in. I can show off my souvenirs through beautifully clean glass doors in my display cabinet. We can sit down to tea at a spotless dining room table or out door table. Life is just easier.

SECRET NUMBER 2:

When you start, only give the area a normal clean. For example, spray and wipe a dirty window once. Allow several minutes cleaning. Next month several minutes should get the window almost clean. By month three a  few minutes gets your window almost perfect. Month four and you can spend time on getting right to the edges and into the corners and your window is perfect.