It's Just Beginning....

Well, the body aches are gone, the chills vanished overnite and although I still have a cough, I am much better than the last 2 days! And so.....this means....time to start my cleaning!
I had said to a friend that I was going to post something about household cleaning/organizing/spring cleaning. Now, I don't work from a set list. I do make a list of things I want to accomplish on any given day. I just take a "post -it" or a piece of paper and write down my "to-do" list. I did it when teaching fulltime: I would make a list of everything I wanted or needed to do once the students got on their bus at 1 pm (special ed prek kids attend from 9-1; my hours were 8-4). So, once I got married, I was used to lists. I even made lists in college. Music Ed majors are busy because of classes, lessons and practice times. So I got in the habit early. As a grad student I was even busier and just ran on automatic it seems like! I don't remember making lists during my year of graduate work but I was so busy I can't remember much! I don't make a list of every single thing that needs to be cleaned. I know what needs to be done! All I need to do is look! I have been on my own since age 18. I did have apt. room-mates during grad school (and of course dorm mates during undergrad days) and we just took turns doing basic cleaning. (For 2 years after my BS degree but before my MS degree, I lived at home. My mother was a great role model for me. She was constantly cleaning and was a very thorough "spring cleaner"). (I am not as picky and I am saving that for another post!) I don't think we ever did heavy duty "spring-cleaning"...who had time? We were all grad students! Then I had 1 room-mate my first year teaching after my Masters degree. Again, we didn't do major "spring-cleaning". We kept the apt very clean and organized but we just did our own thing. Once I got my own apt. I got into "spring cleaning" but renting is so different from owning. I didn't care as much about the place as I do my house! Plus, the landlord would hire people to do the heavy duty stuff like carpets, baseboards, etc. SO......Here are some tips to get you started on your spring cleaning! I clean my house based on a monthly schedule. It's not written down anywhere. It is engraved in me! Today I will focus on what I tend to do in February.

• Make a list of what you want to accomplish per day. During our Winter Break, which is every February (this week!) I have certain tasks I get started on. Why? Because this is the time I have! I only work part time but during the school week life around here is busy. We are involved in ministries, children's extracurricular activities, and just running the household. The bulk of running the household is on me. Mainly because my husband has a full time job, a long commute, and has more ministry responsibilities than I do. And...I think this is the way it is in most homes in our culture, if you are honest. I don't know many husbands who are working full time who also make sure the kids get to the dentist, ortho, peds, shoe-shopping, playdates, etc. etc.! Do you?? As a working mom, although I am home every day by noon, I like to get my errands done (hair stylist, groceries, library, shopping for household, cooking, baking, cleaning, appts) before the children get home from school. Working part time is my choice. I am blessed to have a husband who doesn't care either way. He doesn't mind if I work full or part time or if I go back to staying home all day! He just wants me happy and doing what the Lord desires for me. So...right now...working part time is what I do. It leaves me the afternoons to do all those things I listed and be home in time for the girls. I try to save my weekends for family, ministry, hospitality, dates with Dave, relaxing. Yes, I do some housework on weekends. But it is more relaxed and tends to be the day-to-day stuff. So, my second tip would be:
• Pace yourself! Decide on which days you want to clean and which days you want to rest. Keep in mind that you might need to be flexible! (e.g. I got sick this past weekend so it through me off the first part of this week. I had to decide which things will get done and which will keep).
• Check your supplies! This might seem strange but who wants to dash out to Lowe's or Target for last minute cleaning supplies once you are on a roll to clean? I certainly don't! Here is what I keep on hand. Every person is different so you choose what works for you! This list is not an entire list. I am not listing my weekly stuff like toilet cleaner, kitchen counter cleaner, bathroom cleaner, etc.) It is what I typically use for spring cleaning:

1. my Kirby vacuum cleaner and its attachments!
   
2. Kirby rug shampoo
3. bucket and mop
4. Mr Clean magic erasers (I like to keep 2 boxes in the house)
5. pledge dusting wipes
6. The phone number to the Carpet Steam cleaners I like to do business with
7. Original Windex and name brand paper towels (I use generic for every day use)
8. deck cleaner and special mop/brush
9. broom
10. Hardwood floor polisher (whatever brand is on sale)
11. Murphy's Oil soap and soft rags, old toothbrush
12. Woolite Fabric Wash, original kind
13. the local dry cleaner we like to do business with

Here's how I begin:
Every Feb break I begin to make a list of what room needs to be either totally redone, repainted or somehow modified. (the list includes the things we need to purchase or contractors to hire) We built the house in 1994 (spring) and moved in just after my oldest turned 1. So...for about 2 years, nothing major changed other than I started stenciling certain rooms, etc. After our 2nd daughter was born, we started doing "upgrades".
Last early spring, we had our upstairs bathroom redone with ceramic tile, floor to ceiling. Repainted ceiling. All new towels, accessories. This year, Claire is getting a room makeover. I have NO wallpaper in any rooms (I don't really care for wallpaper) but she wants light purple walls (right now she has sponge-painted stars in varying shades of blue that I did when she was 3). Since my brother in law does wallpapering as a business, we have hired him to do her room! This will get done sometime in late March or early April. So...Claire's room is our room this year to "re-do". Wallpaper, border, new curtains, new quilt, new deskchair pad. Her theme is a butterfly/flower print for border and lilac walls.
For the rest of this week:
I begin to thoroughly clean out closets: go through fall and winter clothing. Give away stuff that no longer fits. Begin spring clothing shopping for the girls. I have already done some for my self. Dave usually buys as needed or I shop online for him from LLBean.
I then vacuum the closet, floor to ceiling. Arrange stuff on the shelves, etc. If it is a daughter's closet, that daughter helps me. It gives them a chance to tell me what new fashions they would like me to buy!! We have 3 bedroom closests, 1 entryway closet, and 1 utility closet. We also have a basement closet for storage that I don't tackle until beginning of April. This part of my early spring cleaning takes 1 day.
Baseboards! During February I tackle the baseboards throughout the house. One room per day so it isn't overwhelming. All our rooms have baseboards except the kitchen and upstairs bath due to the ceramic tile floors. I use Murphy's Oil Soap, a toothbrush to get in crevices and a Magic Eraser for certain spots. They are light oak so are sometimes hard to clean. This is my least favorite part of housecleaning. I only use the Kirby on them every couple of months throughout the year. I wait until Feb to thoroughly clean them.
Wash windows on first mild day. By late winter our windows are....yucky! And because we have a new development going in (next to our development) where a gorgeous field used to be, our windows seem grimier than ever! So...on the first mild day (as in temps above 30), I will use Windex and good paper towels and do my first window cleaning of the season. We don't have blinds or shades except in the girls bedrooms (shades) and our master walk-in closet (blinds). I tend to have just valances so my windows let in lots of sun...I need sun! So I like my windows to be sparkly clean! This step won't get started until at least another week as we are still having temps in the low 20's.
That's what I do during Winter Break. Today I will shop for the wallpaper since I couldn't do it yesterday and I will begin to check all my supplies.
Tomorrow I will post my "schedule" of things I do each spring. Because we have a camper, that is also something I have to do and it almost always falls on my shoulders. You will see that I tend to do things by month and by room. It makes it less overwhelming and gives me a sense of accomplishment. Once a room is done, it just needs regular upkeep. And then there is time left to enjoy what God created: our children/family/friends/Nature!