Hopefully Helpful Housecleaning

This week was all about cleaning. Ok, not really all about cleaning, but it was about getting myself organized and ready to clean! I am a horrible housekeeper. No, really, I am. I am the person who freaks out if someone wants to come visit the next week, much less the next day…or worse, later that day!!! BUT I have hopefully kicked that panic to the curb for good……hopefully J It helps that I had to get the house mostly clean (or at least looking clean) last weekend for our movie night with the brothers. This meant that my counter-full of dishes was done, the place was mostly picked up, and we vacuumed, swept, and mopped the floor (and I am not even going to mention when the last time that happened was). I tried really hard this past week to do dishes every day, and I did! I just kept telling myself it was better than spending hours doing them later (and when you have a dishwasher you don’t use because it doesn’t work well…hours is very accurate). I also got myself organized. With my personality I knew that just wanting to do something meant that it most likely wouldn’t actually get done, but if I made a list and had a loose schedule then it just might! I have spent much time in the past researching what worked for other people I just never put any of it to the test. So, I borrowed some general ideas from www.flylady.net and we shall see how it works.

I made a K.I.S.S. schedule. It is my reminder to Keep It Simple Silly J Each day of the week I have one thing to do that will help me feel like my house is somewhat under control. These are: dust, vacuum, clean all counters and mirrors, take out all trash, sweep, clean my microwave and stove, and clear off the desk and file papers. For me these are the 7 things that will make my home feel a little more manageable even if nothing else gets done (this does exclude the daily dishes). It is amazing how things manage to get picked up when you have these things to do as well, added bonus! I also have “Zones” that I rotate through every 5 weeks. Each week gets one zone: Entryway/Dining Room, Kitchen, Bathroom/Baby Room/Hall Closet, Master Bed and Bath, Living Room/Office. During that week I hope to do the more in-depth cleaning, such as wiping down the baseboards, organizing, edging with the vacuum, cleaning off light switches, wipe down walls, clean the shower etc. I made a list of each thing that I want to do for that area, printed them out, and put them in sheet protectors. They are now hanging in my kitchen where I can mark things off as I do them…hopefully J For me it makes it seem more manageable and less stressful. If you want the full list of things I do for each room let me know J

Besides cleaning projects I also worked out some more. Sadly, the workouts will be coming to a stop for the foreseeable future. I somehow managed to pinch a nerve in my lower back Sunday night L It made sleeping quite uncomfortable (practically non-existent) and so I headed to the doctor Monday to see if there was anything more I could do to help with the annoyingness/pain factor. Sadly, it seems that Ibuprofen is my only option at this point because I am still breastfeeding. Hopefully it clears up sooner than the 3-4 weeks she predicted L BUT, I am determined that I will continue to exercise once I no longer feel funny tingles radiating down my legs. Please hold me to that J

Here are the pictures from last week that I promised J