Adventures in Homemaking: Cleaning House

This is a little series on topics related to homemaking and taking care of a family. I love DIYs and sharing recipes but most of my time is spent keeping our home running smoothly. Every so often I will post on a homemaking related topic and I would love to hear your opinion so please share! Here we go!

 

I enjoy a neat and clean house. I don’t hide this fact. Having our belongings picked up and organized makes me physically feel good. And if the floor is swept, the carpets vacuumed, the flat surfaces wiped clean and the reflective surfaces free of water spots and smudges, it pure bliss sprinkled with serenity.

Considered both good and bad, I have the personality trait where I notice detail. This is helpful in projects, design and creative endeavors but it is admittedly a pain when it comes to cleanliness. I notice the sock fuzz in the carpet, the dusty hair balls under the furniture and I can see the water spots on the floor. I can’t do much about it, it’s the way I am. However, I can control how I deal with it. I have come along way and adjusted my expectations throughout the years. While some might find my practices excessive, I like to respond that everyone likes things a certain way and this is mine. I chose ‘mess’ images instead of ‘grunge’. Trying to keep it classy over here. :)

At the start of our marriage, in our first apartment, I would classify my cleaning practices as obsessive. I cleaned almost every day and I didn’t like it when things like dishes and clothing were out of place. But I was learning. I was making my first home as an adult, trying to figure how to live with a person, a man, who did not share my opinions or preferences about cleaning. And now I realize I didn’t really have a lot on my plate at the time thus leaving ample time to clean!

After deciding I didn’t want to spend my whole life cleaning, I came up with a simple schedule and have stuck with it for most of our eight years together. MJ is still a hard sell on it some times, claiming that the house is ‘clean enough’. But then I start talking about germs and dust bunnies and he concedes. :)

As a home-cooked food maker and a mother of two young children, here are the things I deem necessary to do on a daily basis.

• sweep the kitchen floor
• as needed, wipe the kitchen floor to remove food and spills
• clear off and wipe the kitchen counter
• rinse out the kitchen sink

Once a week, I like Thursdays, we give the house a light once over. This means:

• mirrors and glass surfaces
• bathroom counter and sinks
• toilets
• bathroom floors
• dusting, all the surfaces
• vacuuming, whole house
• Swiffering wood floors
• miscellaneous: kitchen stove top, microwave

I am not as diligent as I once was, there is so much else going on. Sometimes I don’t get the dusting and sweeping under the furniture done each week but the rest of the items I really work hard to do. If there isn’t much time for any cleaning, I really like everything vacuumed and the bathroom counter and sink cleaned.

Some of the cleaning duties happen once a month or so (or when I just can’t stand to look at it anymore!!)

• wipe down the cupboards in the kitchen and bathroom
• wipe down the refrigerator, the table and chairs (so much gunk!)
• clear out the garage, mostly clean up and put things back where they should be

I’ve talked about my love for reorganizing and purging each spring and fall and even more often when I’m pregnant. (I think with J, I went through the house like four times. Eek! :) ) When I’m in that mode, I usually clean too. I do things like:

• wipe out drawers, especially toiletry and kitchen utensil drawers
• wipe out cupboards, especially under the sink in the bathroom and kitchen and other food cupboards
• vacuuming out the furniture cushions (this does happen more often now that we have children)
• windows!

So, now that I’ve unloaded my cleaning craziness, tell me what you do!!

Do you have any type of schedule or list you work from?

What if you could only pick one way to clean, what would it be? Mine would, hands down, be sweeping the floor. I am almost always barefoot and I can’t stand stepping on stuff. My mom loves this because when I go to her house, she knows, no matter what mess we make in her kitchen, the floors will be clear. :)

What kind of products do you use? I like Mrs. Meyers, especially the all-purpose cleaner and the surface scrub! I like the lavender and the lemon verbena scents. It’s now being sold in the organic section of my grocery store and I’m totally stoked.

Anything else to share?

Humbly Yours,

The Crazy Cleaning Lady :)

Take care.

Here are more from this series.

PS. I replied to the comments from the first Adventures in Homemaking, I loved the comments. Did you read them yet? Anything to add?

PPS. Make sure to enter the giveaway from earlier today!