Mar 31 2009
Tuesdays Tips~ How to Clean “Good Enough”
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
The weather is warm, the sky is blue, and the sun is shining brightly through my windows. I should be happy, it’s my favorite time of year for crying out loud! So why am I so stressed on such a beautiful day? It’s simple… the sun is shining so brightly that all it does is show the dust I have missed in the corners of the room, it brightens the room so much that I’m able to see all the clutter clearly, the grass outside is growing so tall it’s about to swallow my dog whole and it’s such a nice day that cleaning is the last thing I want to do!
I remember growing up my mom would ask me to make my bed and I would ask her why should I make my bed when I’m just going to get in it later? I mean seriously this made perfect sense to me, why should I waist time making my bed only to mess it up in a few hours, there were so many other things I could do with my time! I’ve now become a mom and I have to admit there are quite a few times I don’t fix my bed, call it acting out if you want to but it still doesn’t make any sense to me to fix it. Okay seriously now that I’ve gotten older I do realize that things have to be cleaned, beds should really be fixed and if I don’t make my kids help me they will never learn. I get it really I do, I spend hours every day cleaning but show up at my house a few minutes afterwards and you’d never know I cleaned anything because there will be toys everywhere!
It stresses me out more to try to keep the house clean then it does to actually clean it the first time! I came across the Good Housekeeping website and there is an article there that is titled “Good (Enough) Housekeeping” I love it! It’s right down my alley! I suggest anyone that has a busy life like mine to hop over there and read it because wow it’s wonderful. It should really be titled the busy mom’s bible. Here are a few things from the article I found helpful:http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/organizing/good-enough-housekeeping-oct06
Cut cleaning in half. Wash just the bottom part of a window. Forget the top, which is usually covered by a shade or a blind.
Blow it off. Use a hair dryer to speed-dust books, artwork, and figurines. Vacuum up whatever falls to the floor
Beat dusty blinds in an instant. All you have to do is close them in reverse — and no one will know!
Dust your floors. Give floors a quick once-over with a wet towel before tossing the towel in the washer
Make bed making easy. Freshen up your bed in a flash by replacing only the pillowcases.
Keep kitchen range burners spotless. Cover unused burners with pot lids to keep them from getting splashed while you’re cooking.
(If you have company coming over and no time to clean)
A messy bathroom
Toss one of those blue drop-in cleaners into the toilet tank and no one will know that your bowl’s not pristine. Quickly wipe down the sink and toilet seat and swipe the mirror with glass cleaner.
Dishes in the sink
Quickly move them to the dishwasher. Or, if that’s full and you’re desperate, rinse them off and stash them in the oven. Just don’t forget to take them out, or the baked-on food will be really hard to clean.
