Tuesday, June 5, 2012

WEEK 3: Spring Cleaning

I'm gonna be honest, I am not a good housekeeper. I'm not putting myself down or anything- I'm a fun mom that plays with my kids. I go out & do fun stuff with them. A decent cook. But housekeeper? Not high on my list of stay-at-home-mom qualifications.


(hey, this pic kinda/sorta looks like The Birth of Venus?)
GOAL: So, for Week 3 I figured it was time for some deep SPRING CLEANING. Oh, the dreaded words. And I'll be honest, it bled into this week & it didn't all get done. We got busy, then I got sick, but I got a number of things done & am pleased with myself. Also I didn't put the garage or anything outside- that was more than I dare tackle this week.

And here's how I went about getting my spring cleaning done:

1. Make a list of what needs to be done. Research online & see what other people have on theirs lists too. There were several things I didn't think of- stuff like replace your air filters (we've lived here 3 years & I didn't even know we had air filters).


2. Start from the top & work your way down.
I always forget this & clean my kitchen floors only to have to clean the counters, which always manages to drop stuff on the floors. So work your way down. As in start with your light fixtures & high up dusting. Last do the floors.

3. Start with big stuff- things like moving furniture to clean under it, flipping the mattresses- stuff like that.

4. Don't forget the small stuff. Things like cleaning out your expired makeup, replacing the soap in the bathrooms, updating your first aid kit.

5. Employ your tiny slaves. There were lots of things that Syd & Rob were happy to do- caring clothes, washing windows, wiping down counters, & dusting was a favorite too.


6. Gather cleaning supplies-
I really should do better using more natural stuff- like water, vinegar, & lemons. But this goal was big enough that I stuck with tried and true stuff I already had to clean- Scrubbing Bubbles for the showers, Windex for the mirrors, & 409 for basically everything else.

7. Good music or a good audiobook. For me this is a must. Without it my mind wanders & I stop. But if I have an audiobook I've been looking forward to then it gives me something to look forward too when I clean (my all time favorites are Harry Potter, Hunger Games &The Help)


Here's a copy of my list if your interested (I even prettied it up for you guys):


CONCLUSION:
Like I said, it didn't get completely done & I kinda feel like it got "un-done" by me being sick & the kids having the run of the house. But it was nice to do stuff like wiping down the baseboards that you don't realize are SO GROSS until you get down there to clean them.

It's nice to have a clean"-ish" house & to have a lot of those things checked off my big muddled mental list of stuff I gotta get to "someday".

What's on your spring clean list?
What are your go-to cleaning supplies?

P.S. See my goals for Week 1 & Week 2

8 comments:

becca said...

good for you!
real, true cleaning is hard for me even without children or a husband....you're a superhuman to be doing this!

Esther Noelle said...

Good job! Since it's summer do you think I can skip spring cleaning til next spring? ;0 #noenergy!!!

Instead of 409 I use equal parts water and vinegar... also baking soda can pretty much replace a lot of cleaning products...

Rachel+Co said...

Inspirational my dear. My house could use a deep clean too. Maybe when the kids are back in school.

Monica @ All Things Lovely said...

YOU CAN DO IT YOU CAN DO IT!!
Keep at it! I love cleaning, phew, but who knows what i will be like when I have kids...actually i may be more obsessed with it.

And cute picture of you.
Also maybe you would like cleaning the floors better if you had a swiffer? it's probably more expensive but it sure is easy. just slip on a swiffer wet wipe and have at it.

Some of my favorite moments growing up were Saturday cleaning day...we busted out some Erasure and cleaned.

Tara said...

Good for you! I need to do
This as well. Cute pic up top too! :)

TLF said...

I just moved, so I've been on a MAJOR cleaning kick while getting everything put away.
Pine-Sol is my absolute favorite.. Love the smell!

Unknown said...

you know, I love deep cleaning (I could srub grout til the end of the world), it's just getting through the clutter to get to the deep cleaning that I hate! I do love windex though, I use it for almost everything (is that bad?) it makes silver bathroom fixtures SUPER shiny!

Katie said...

I know I say this all the time, but we are so alike. I am right there with you on the housekeeping. Someday....SOMEDAY....I will finally have it tackled and just be good at it, but in the meantime, I constantly have goals for getting better at it.