Cleaning Schedule/Checklist

Now that the warm weather is upon us (thank heavens!), I thought it might be a good time to re-post the link to my cleaning schedule. For those of you who are, um, thinking about spring cleaning.

Nothing fancy here, just a jumping off point for you to adapt to suit your home and family needs. If you don't like mine, there are hundreds of others in cyberspace to choose from.

Incidentally, since I developed the checklist, I read this post and learned I should be vacuuming a lot more often. Like almost every day. Since we are at home most of the time, that is one time per week for every person and pet.

(Shhh...Does anyone know if this is for real, or a conspiracy put forth by carpet companies?)

Enjoy your day!

Cultivating Contentment

A few weeks ago, I had a delightful conversation with a "Mentor Mom" at my MOPS group. She is also a friend of my husband's family, and someone I have come to admire for her hospitality, sewing, and all-around pleasant demeanor. Like my mother-in-law, she's a lady. 

(My late mother and me--we'd just be called women, and that's on a good day! Ha!)

Where was I? Right. This dear sister was showing solidarity and acknowledging just how challenging it can be to mother young children, be a wife, keep a home and still lead some degree of the life you had before children. Then she used a fascinating phrase...cultivating contentment.

Keeping Short Accounts

I thought my life was pretty full: a husband, two active little boys, church involvement, playdates, etc.Now some changes have happened in our family and I'm finding myself caregiving for family beyond those who live under the same roof.

Life can change in the blink of an eye. Or at least an ambulance ride.

This experience caused an important thought to resurface in my mind: it's so important to keep short accounts.

Don't put off making that phone call to say "I Love You" or "I'm Sorry" or whatever you want to share. Put a date on the calendar to get together with friends. Even if you have to reschedule later, commit to being present with those you care about.

Along the same lines, but in a more nuts-and-bolts application, I really try not to put off until tomorrow the things I can quickly do today. I'm in the middle of reading Getting More Done: 10 Steps for Outperforming Busy People by Chris Crouch. He suggests that you immediately address anything which can be done in under two minutes. He also has a great quote about maintaining white space in your mail program:

"Most problems related to email center around one issue: how long you typically allow an email to sit in your inbox."   --Chris Crouch

I pay my bills when they come in. I read the mail every day. I return voicemails as soon as possible. Not only does it keep the clutter down, I exert less mental energy remembering it for another time.

When I worked, I often looked through my files and papers making sure that someone else could easily find stuff if one day I didn't come back (due to going into labor or winning the lottery, of course... :)

I guess it boils down to this: If you've got "to-do" items that will affect others if they go undone, it's time to make them a priority. We never know what tomorrow holds.

The dusting, eh, not so much...

Disclaimer: I downloaded Chris Crouch's book on my own, with no financial incentive. All opinions are my own.

A Cheap Motivational Device

Like many parents of toddlers, I've learned how useful timers can be. Something about that third party timekeeper makes life more fair and alternately speeds things up or encourages patience.

I'm in awe at how this device--which I used to think was merely intended for monitoring baked goods--can settle the score between siblings and make a game out of cleaning up.

Your timer doesn't have to be digital, or anything fancy, really. Oh how I loved winding these up and then forcing them down to zero to hear the ringing as a kid...over and over again.

You might not have kids in the house, but if you find yourself procrastinating, overwhelmed, or with a few idle minutes, I encourage you to "trick" yourself using a timer.

You see, we often over- or under-estimate the amount of time we need to do a project.

The other night I cleaned the bathroom (everything but the shower) while my husband was taking a shower and I was awaiting my turn. For some reason, this was a task that I'd been hemming and hawing about starting all week, but I finished it in the typical five-minute-guy-shower timeframe.

I've encouraged you before to try and time your weekly tasks so that you can better budget the time you spend on cleaning. But today I wonder what you could accomplish if you set the timer for 15 or 20 minutes, and tried to beat the clock. (That's why I like the constant tick-tick-tick of the dial timer.)

As you work, remember the left to right, up and down technique so you can stay as focused as possible. Good luck!

Nightly Routine

Call me boring, but I crave routine. Since November 4, my life has been a lot less predictable than I like. Fortunately, my babe is starting to establish a schedule and I am feeling healthy again. Recovering from a c-section, then the holidays, then strep throat. Enough!

I am thankful for a husband who really helps out around the house, but since he also works outside the home, I feel like the lion's share of household duties are indeed my responsibility. It's easiest for me to keep up with clutter and projects in small segments, so rather than having one big weekly cleaning session, I try to tackle a few things every day. So, before going upstairs for bed each night, I try to:

• Clear off and wipe kitchen counters and dining table
• Empty and reload dishwasher
• Decide on/do any prep for breakfast for the next day (so starving toddler can be quickly fed)
• Pick up toys
• Gather things to go upstairs

I find that I operate much better if the kitchen is clean and everything is (close to) in its place before I go to bed. Tripping over something in the middle of the floor before I've had my morning coffee isn't good!

A word about the dishwasher: I try very hard to make sure it gets started right after dinner if possible, even if it's just 90% full. Unloading is not my favorite thing, but it really only takes five minutes. It's important to me, because boy do I hate doing it after a quantity of dishes have accumulated on the counter and there's no room to put the clean ones as I work. Minor things in the scheme of life, I know, but as I read and shared recently "outer order contributes to inner calm."

Yea and Amen!

A few weeks ago I posted on the six commandments of organizing and I'm still sticking to them. But this article essentially covers them in three points. I love it!

"Outer order contributes to inner calm."  Oh yeah.

Shout Out for An Organized Lady

Overwhelmed? House full of clutter? Already planning how to simplify in the New Year?

You're going to want to keep an eye on Glynnis' blog for the next month or so. Love her ideas!!!

Priorities, Priorities...

Here's a quote that I, in my orderly nature, find a bit hard to swallow:

"If all we needed to follow was a plan, we'd have no need to follow Jesus."

I'm sure that if you are here reading this, you are somewhat like me and thrive on planning. Or at least, you desire to be a bit more on top of things in your life. How would I know how to shape my week without looking over the calendar, listing out chores to be done (even if just mentally), and considering the people and things that are seeking my attention?

Glynnis Whitwer, author and inspirational speaker, recently shared a great post about the myth of multi-tasking, which tied in with a devotional on seeking God's agenda for our day. Reading these articles really challenged me as an organizer and as a Christian. There are countless things that I can accomplish in a day (provided I have the energy) but are all of them worthwhile?

I can constantly follow my toddler around the house, picking up, wiping and straightening, but is having a pristine home the ultimate accomplishment for my day? (If it was, how would I have learned that he loves to take a cloth and wipe up messes?) 

I love to watch a certain TV show during his naptime, but isn't it a better use of my time to rest, call a friend or do some chores I'd rather not be doing while he's awake and wants to play?

May I challenge you today, dear reader, that while a plan, a checklist, accomplishments and cleanliness are all worthwhile and sometimes even fun, they are not necessarily the end goal? Nay, let an orderly home with good systems in place be what makes you quick about the "have-to-do's" of life so that you have time leftover for the really meaningful stuff.

The Six Commandments of Organizing (Part 2)

Here's part two of the post I shared earlier with the cardinal rules of organizing, as I see them (complete list):

1. Each area of the house should be set up for only one type of activity.  Don’t pay bills in the kitchen, or eat in the bedroom. Use rooms for their intended purpose and designate an area for paperwork in an office or at a desk. Don’t cram all your activities into one room, or you’ll set yourself up to lose things!
2. Handle items only once, or at the very most, twice.  Sort your mail next to the trash can.  Toss junk mail right away, take bills immediately to your desk (or schedule them for online payment immediately). Don’t make a habit of ‘piling’ unless you make a habit of sorting the pile for an hour each week!
3. Designate one place in the house that will always be clutter-free to serve as your sorting area. You need a place to set down grocery bags, stacks of paperwork or supplies, and any other items you bring home with you. Unpack or spread out the items, then start putting things away immediately, working to clear off the sorting area.  Sometimes you have to make a mess in order to organize or clean it up!
4. Work methodically, starting in one place, and sticking to a task until it is completed.  Try not to get overwhelmed.  Focus on one drawer or shelf, and work with it until you are done. Set a timer if it helps you keep moving. Small successes will be a big motivator.
   
5. Group items with similar uses together where you use them.  For instance, store the supplies that you use to clean the bathroom underneath the sink or in a nearby closet - don’t hide them in the basement!  You’ll save time if you keep extra trash bags in the bottom of the can, protected by the bag that’s already in place.  Plus, you won’t need to find a shelf to store the bags on.  If you absolutely do not have room in the area, box up items, label them clearly and store them together with similar items in a storage area.

6. Ask yourself: Could someone else benefit from having this item more than I am benefiting from it?  Check with them to see if they could use it.  “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Remember Matthew 6:25-34 – Do not worry about clothing, storing up treasures, or other things.  If you have not worn it in two years, picked it up in a year, or if it has a thick layer of dust on it, it isn’t doing you any good! You can donate just about anything to various causes, or you could bless a friend with something they can use, but may not be able to afford.

The Six Commandments of Organizing (Part 1)

So, here we are just a few days until baby is scheduled to arrive. I made some serious "nesting" headway this week, reviewing and filing receipts, making lists and packing my bag for the hospital. I was also cleaning up some of the files that I saved to my computer's desktop, and found a list that I made for a friend several years ago. Here is the first installment for your inspiration: 

1. Each area of the house should be set up for only one type of activity.  Don’t pay bills in the kitchen, or eat in the bedroom. Use rooms for their intended purpose and designate an area for paperwork in an office or at a desk. Don’t cram all your activities into one room, or you’ll set yourself up to lose things!
2. Handle items only once, or at the very most, twice.  Sort your mail next to the trash can.  Toss junk mail right away, take bills immediately to your desk (or schedule them for online payment immediately). Don’t make a habit of ‘piling’ unless you make a habit of sorting the pile for an hour each week!
3. Designate one place in the house that will always be clutter-free to serve as your sorting area. You need a place to set down grocery bags, stacks of paperwork or supplies, and any other items you bring home with you. Unpack or spread out the items, then start putting things away immediately, working to clear off the sorting area.  Sometimes you have to make a mess in order to organize or clean it up!

Cleaning Chart

Before kids, and when I worked full time, Saturday mornings were a time of laundry and frenzied cleaning. I spent several hours racing around trying to get everything back in shape. Now, I do cleaning in short bursts when I have time, or at least before company comes over.

I just read an article that affirmed my experience, saying it's more productive and less stressful to break things down into small jobs throughout the week. I never really timed these projects until I planned to write this post, but it is true that you can do a lot in 20 minutes.

When breaking up the tasks, I worry that I'll miss something.One of my friends told me she has a set day for dusting, another for vacuuming, etc. I'm not sure I can hold myself to such a high standard.

Because I believe that good organization means developing a system that actually works (not just sounds or looks good in a magazine), I came up with this cleaning chart to help me personally cover the basics. I'm sure it will require some adaptation after a few weeks.

As an example, I only scheduled myself to vacuum upstairs every other week. Maybe you think that's gross, but let me say that it's better that I do it every other week than procrastinate and have it go far longer in between.  Yes, even though I like to clean, some jobs just require more effort to start.

I'd love to hear how you make your chores fit into your schedule. Until then, happy cleaning!

Pregnant, Barefoot and in the Kitchen

This description may not always be the most flattering, but this is exactly how I found myself today. I spent the entire day making soup to freeze for quick and easy meals after the baby is born. Call it nesting or call it crazy, I now have 29 quarts (more than seven gallons!) of soup put away.

This was the first time that I spent the better part of a day in the kitchen cooking (aside from making applesauce). It also took a few hours of planning and shopping before the cooking. I pulled out the recipes and made my list, then checked it twice. Here's a picture of my canned goods stacked alongside their recipes, just to be sure I had enough beans, tomatoes, etc.


Since I had five types of soup to make, I borrowed a pot from my neighbor (thanks, Jen!) in addition to my dutch oven and stockpot so that I could keep the process going. I was able to chop vegetables, clean up, or package a cooled batch while the current pot was simmering. Of course, the kitchen didn't always look so organized...

It must have smelled pretty good wafting out into the backyard. Look who showed up!

Here is what my soup looked like as it finished freezing solid. The goal is to have nice, firm rectangles that can stand up on their own in the freezer. I debated on what might be the most eco-friendly storage solution and determined that reusable containers are great, but also take up more space in the freezer. And of course, I can't afford to buy all glass containers. So, I feel pretty justified in using less freezer capacity/energy even though the bags will only be reused once or twice at best.

I guess you can imagine one of my next projects is organizing the freezers to make room for applesauce!

Here's what I made:

• Minestrone Soup
• Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Pasta Fagioli (I'll have to reprint the recipe sometime)
• Tortilla Soup (double batch), similar to this one
• Amish Chicken Corn Soup

A very special thanks to Nana for watching my boy while I worked. :)

Packing Checklist

Though summer vacations are winding down, I decided to make a few revisions to my packing checklist based on recent experience and repost it as a PDF for you to use. Enjoy!

Boggling Principle

What can you learn about organizing from a family game? More than you might think!

I just returned from several relaxing days at a mountain cabin with my husband's family. It was wonderful! After the kids were in bed, we chose to play a few rounds of the game Boggle. I enjoy word games because I read so much, but I also devised a system for winning. See, the Boggle letters are arranged in a four by four square. I mentally divided the letters into two by two quadrants and started looking for word patterns in each quadrant. This really seemed to work and keep my mind focused when all the letters were facing different directions and it seemed easy to get distracted.

So, how to apply this to real life?

Start with a logical system to keep you from getting distracted. I've found this really helps me in the kitchen, where I can clean or straighten from left to right. My dishwasher is one of the right-most things in the kitchen, so I can keep funneling dirty dishes to the dishwasher or food to the fridge. Obviously, you can work right to left or in another patten if your kitchen is different, but I bet you'll find it's easier if you work with the same system every time.

Tonight, hubby and I washed our cars. This is a perfect example of how a grid or sectioning system works in your favor. Start with the roof, then windows on each side, then doors, moving from left to right and top to bottom. This ensures you get every nook and cranny without having to do spot cleaning later.

I envision the same principle to tackle papers on my desk, reviewing items from left to right and prioritizing projects.

How can you see this applying to your life? I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Five Tips for Maxed Out Moms (Link)

Check out this post (and giveaway) from Karen Ehman. I really appreciate her encouragement to do what's next, not what is easy. It's also very guilt-reducing and refreshing to hear her say that she doesn't scrapbook!

Time Savers

Every minute is precious.
 It's also an opportunity to
get something done!

When you have young kids, people frequently admonish you to enjoy the time because children "grow up so fast". It's especially fast when you are the parent. Unfortunately, I don't know how to put life on pause.

There are a million things that drain your valuable time each day. How can you capitalize on what feels like wasted time?

A few ideas that will hopefully get your organizational juices flowing:

1. Multitask when you are on the phone: unload the dishwasher, throw in a load of laundry, wipe the counter. These all take little concentration and won't distract you from your conversation like, say, replying to an email would.
2. Keep mail, a magazine or other reading material that isn't time-sensitive in your purse or diaper bag. Look over it when you are waiting at the doctor's office, in line somewhere, or waiting in the pickup line at your child's school.
3. Keep a microfiber cloth or swiffer in your car. When you are stuck at a light or getting gas, give the dashboard and console a quick swipe.
4. Use any time you are sitting and waiting as an opportunity to clean out your purse.
5. I check my pockets and purse when I'm in line at the grocery store, and toss any trash on my way out.
6. Keep a pad and pen handy to write down things you need to do. You can refer to this list when you have a few minutes for a project; you can probably find one that will fit into the time that you have available.
7. I find myself wasting a lot of emotional and mental energy saying, "I need to remember to ______". If I don't have paper handy, I often email myself, or call and leave myself a voicemail at home. Those are easy to delete and they're paperless, too!
8. If you find yourself a few minutes early for an appointment and need to kill time, stop to get gas. Even if your tank isn't empty, you're less likely to run out or need a special trip later.
9. Find some time to put your most frequently called service contacts (hair stylist, dentist, physician, pharmacy, etc.) in your cell phone so that you can call for an appointment any time you have a spare minute, no matter where you are.
10. Waiting in the kitchen for a dish to finish cooking? Use that time to straighten items in a cabinet or glance through your fridge to see what needs to be used up, put on the grocery list or tossed out.

Weekend Getaway (Packing Checklist)

My sincere apologies for not having any new posts for awhile. Work has been busy and thus preempted some free time during naps. DH has been working hard too. Fortunately, we were recently able to get away for the weekend at a lovely bed and breakfast in Lancaster County. Thanks to the grandparents for watching our boy!

I don't know about you, but there are two parts to going away that really bother me: packing and laundry. It's not especially easy for me to figure out what to throw in a bag, even for a 36-hour excursion. (Will they have a hair dryer? How fancy a restaurant are we going to go to on Saturday?)

So Many Errands!

Just about everyone I've talked to this week has spring fever. Enough of the winter, dashing from heated house to hopefully warm car, trying to avoid the bone-chilling cold. Doing errands in this weather is no fun, bundling up and toting a toddler around. I'm freezing or sweating, and there is no happy medium.

So, let me share with you my new, favorite way to do errands: Amazon.com. I've been a longtime Amazon buyer for books, but a few months ago found out about Amazon Subscribe and Save and Amazon Mom. Silly me thought a lot of people knew about this, but I've mentioned it a handful of times in recent weeks and no one knew what I was talking about. So, here we are.

Amazon Subscribe and Save lets you order consumable stuff and have it shipped to you at regular intervals. Cereal, shampoo, diapers, Sonicare toothbrush heads, and pretty much any personal hygiene item you can think of. Set it up to ship any quantity at one, two, three or six month intervals, and automatically save 15% with no shipping charge. Plus, you can change the shipping pattern or cancel at any time. Just be sure you stop the subscription before you have a garage full of cereal. You only have a short window to tell them to stop a shipment. On the bright side, you can also speed up a shipment if you are running low on something. The full details are here.

Amazon Mom is especially cool, because you get the free two-day shipping that is part of Amazon Prime, with no minimum purchase (normally $79 a year if you sign up for that program outside of Amazon Mom). For every $25 you spend on baby stuff, the Prime benefits are extended another month. For instance, I bought a $100 item with Christmas money and the benefits were extended four more months. Plus, it's better than subscribe and save because you get an additional 15% off (total 30% off) many items, including diapers! Plus the stuff comes right to your door.

Due to the two-day free shipping, I have been seeing a lot of my UPS guy. He's a very nice man, and with all the visits he has been making, I'm thinking he's going to deserve a Christmas gift this year!

Seriously, if you are tired of running to the store for the stuff that runs out--vitamins, makeup, coffee--take a look at these programs. I bet you will save some time and cash, not to mention the chance you'll have to develop a special bond with the guy in brown!

Room by Room: Laundry (Products)

Ah, the smell of fresh, clean laundry. There's nothing like it, right?

Well, unless you get that fresh scent from hanging your clothes and sheets on the line, you may want to think again about why it smells that way. (There's one particular baby detergent that makes me sick to my stomach because of the artificial fragrance they use.) The more I get away from using mainstream cleaning products, the worse the others smell.

I've been saddened to learn that a lot of commercially available detergents use things like optical brighteners to make whites look whiter, and can also contain a host of carcinogenic ingredients. A lot of fabric softeners coat your clothing with chemicals and the dryer sheets are polyester, so once you throw them away, they don't really break down.

Here are a few more eco-friendly products that I've checked out in the past year or so, which you might want to give a try:

My wool dryer balls

• Seventh Generation detergent and biodegradable dryer sheets
• Maggie's Soap Nuts
• Dropps Baby Laundry Detergent (what I use on my son's cloth diapers)
• Wool Dryer Balls (I just received these as a Christmas gift courtesy of my mother-in-law!)

Finally, I can't entirely vouch for objectivity of this article, or find out enough about the financial ties between organizations, the information about dioxane is interesting. I keep hoping the Environmental Working Group will come out with a database like their Cosmetics Database, where you can learn the ingredients and relative safety of a large percentage of cosmetics and toiletries.

Room by Room: Laundry (Pre-Sorting)

Confession: I love doing laundry. I always have, even when I was a teenager. Perhaps it has something to do with sorting, folding and putting away, all of which feels organized. Or maybe it's the fresh smell of clean fabric. Whether you enjoy laundry, or merely tolerate it as a necessary chore, I hope today's tip will save you some time.

Consider getting a laundry basket or dedicating a bin of some sort to laundry in each bedroom. Also, have a few extra in your bedroom. (I don't want to get in a habit of suggesting you need to buy "organizing supplies", since that's not usually necessary. Repurpose a storage tote, canvas bag, etc. to save money.)


Here's what I do with my five baskets:

• Whites
• Darks
• Towels and rags
• Delicates/dress clothes
• One basket in my son's room for his laundry, which I don't separate by color. His dirty towels and washcloths go in here.

We simply put clothes in the right basket as we take them off. It gives me quick visual so I only have to launder full loads (eco-friendly). I will combine loads if I'm close (say, adding towels in with whites) or adding my son's clothing to a load of darks. Plus, I can fold and return clothing using the same basket.

What's really great is that I can do laundry throughout the week when I see that it's accumulating.  No more mountain of clothing to sift through on Saturday morning. That's precious family time nowadays!