Sep 29, 2009

Mrs Clean


Before we had kids, I could clean the house once a week and it stayed clean for quite a while. These days, a bit of cleaning has to take place every day.

Vacuuming has become a daily chore. I just can't leave smashed bits of pretzels and crackers on the floor. It whacks out my psyche in a bad way.

I usually Swiffer nightly, but should probably Swiffer twice daily; after lunch and after dinner.

Of course the dishwasher has to be emptied and reloaded on a daily basis. I am proud to say that we can get by with only washing 1 load per day.

Can't say that about laundry though. Even with the extra-large capacity washers that the hubby bought right after we brought Tucker home from the hospital, I still have to do 2-3 loads of laundry every other day.

Dusting, the bathrooms and cleaning the kitchen basically happen when I have 10 extra minutes or so to spare or when I just can't stand it any more.

Don't get me started on the bathrooms. I'm seriously considering a rule in our household that the males must sit like the females. Far less mess, right?

Picking up toys ... and books ... and puzzles is an all day, every day event. Nana says to let it stay until they are in bed at night and then clean it up, but I just can't and it never fails that if I try that, someone inadvertently drops in for a visit.

I think that the single biggest thing that makes it easier to clean my house is that I am not a pack rat. Never have been. And despite Archie's best efforts to keep every broken appliance or homeless nut and bolt, I have no qualms with throwing things away and/ or donating them. I do a mass exodus of unused items 2-3 times per year. If we haven't used it in the last 6 months, we don't need it. GONE!

So there you have it ... Mrs Clean's biggest cleaning tip. Pitch the junk!

7 comments:

T- said...

I wish I could pitch stuff. I'm so bad about keeping everything!

Kelli W said...

I don't have any trouble throwing stuff away either...if a toy is broken or missing pieces it goes straight to the trash!

The Stiffs said...

Sometimes girls aren't any better with the potty. My 7-year old can still sit just right so her pee shoots between the seat and the potty straight into the floor. It's awesome!

Marilyn (A Lot of Loves) said...

You dust?! Good for you! That is the one chore I just can never get around to doing. I keep thinking I should hire someone just to come in once a month to dust for me. Cleaning the house is non-stop.

~LL~ said...

We have the boys' bathroom and my bathroom. :) The boys get a clorox wipe and windex wipe every few days to wipe down and off the tee tee stains. HAHA! I hear ya!

Anonymous said...

you are a super mom, I only have 1 kid and it seems as though the mess never ends. Totally all about throwing unnecessary things away, or donate to goodwill.

Shannon said...

I'm the worst at the clutter, it's all stuffed in my drawers and cabinets. I end up doing a speedy clean of the kitchen island and shove everything into a drawer. One day I'll do a deep clean and purge a lot.....you might have inspired me to do it sooner than later.