Well, not as crazy as it could be.
Today I’m trying to notice all the details. Translated, I’m hoping I don’t miss something gross or embarrassing in my house since my husband’s office co-workers are coming over tonight.
I’m pretty much done except for vacuuming and mopping and setting up the food and drinks tables. Thankfully, I’m not making any food except for using the crockpot to make “cider” which is just red hot candies and apple juice. The best thing about that is the awesome smell!
How bad is it that I’m making a big deal about how exciting it will be for us to move a TV into one of the kids rooms just for tonight for them to watch a movie and have a picnic? Maybe that isn’t bad, but it probably is bad that I’m paying them each two dollars if we don’t hear from them during the party.
So I’m basically tackling the house as a whole, but since it is Tackle it Tuesday, I decided to take a picture of my coat closet before, and then after (30 seconds later) when I had removed all of the JUNK that didn’t need to be in there. Yesterday when I looked in there for my dinosaur puppet/ceiling fan cleaner, I was appalled at all of the junk in that teeny tiny space. It’s supposed to be the vacuum cleaner’s home, but I often have to jam the vacuum cleaner in there. So I removed the stuff that didn’t need to be there, and it looks so much better.
The top before:
The floor of the closet before: (On the rare occasions when I actually put the vacuum away, it gets maneuvered on top of all of this.)
The top after: Ahhhhh.
I was excited to take this after picture of the bottom, as it looked so beautifully void of clutter. However, I then remembered that I was still living in reality and that this is where my vacuum cleaner needs to go. So, I took the real after picture after putting the vacuum and its box of attachments back.
As far as daily tasks go, I’m cleaning the entire house, so yes I’ve done the kitchen, bathrooms etc etc.
I did do my evening tasks last night and finished the load of laundry that was in the dryer, made lunches and put out clothes. I’m finding that these things make a HUGE difference in the mornings. But two nights ago I forgot to run the dishwasher so it was not full enough to run last night since I ran and emptied it during the day yesterday. This is really throwing me off of my rhythm.
Also, last night, I didn’t wipe down the bathrooms since I knew that I would be doing major cleaning in them today. I feel pretty justified in that.
[This was a Tackle it Tuesday.]
I was also having a problem with the dishwasher not getting full at the right time and having it throw everything off, and do you know what I discovered? Oh my, it is amazing, if I put hot soapy water in a pot in the sink, I can wash the few dishes in my dishwasher and put them back in to drip dry… then I can put them away in the morning like I’m supposed to… amazing, and it only takes a few minutes! I truely was astonished!
Just found your blog – and it is me to a “t”. The dishwasher issue, I’ve solved!! I try to work out whether all of the next day’s dishes will fit (cram) in or not. If I don’t think they will, I just run the machine – it does have a half load option, but I don’t use that! Best bit is, when I come to empty it in the morning, it only takes half the time!
‘Not enough dirty dishes’ … said NO ONE. EVER.
Oh yes I did! I was getting ready to run the dishwasher just last night, and didn’t really have enough to justify it. Funny thing is, I was always one to keep up with dishes (didn’t have a dishwasher growing up, or for the first 19 years of my marriage), but my habit once I finally DID get a dishwasher? Not to run it it until it was full and needed to run. Which was OK, usually — until the day my son came home from work early, wanted dinner, which WAS ready (crock pot), and I had to tell him we had to wait till the dishwasher finished because every darn last (the word ‘utensil’ eluded me) EATING STICK was in the wash — his choice was to either eat his beef vegetable soup with a steak knife (!) or wait until the dishwasher rendered the spoons clean.
But I’ve been following this blog the past 2 weeks, and learning (and more amazingly, actually DOING!). And running the dishwasher every night before I go to bed, then putting away the clean dishes first thing in the morning, has made such a huge difference. It’s just one thing, and so simple. But it means that ONE task is now routine. I’m not ready to call it a habit yet. But I’m doing it, and it’s making the rest easier. I’ve still got a LONG way to go, but I’m optimistic.
Side note/progress report — hubby actually DID notice and comment that the place was looking cleaner/nicer. It was really just moving stuff back into place, where it should be, but still ….. I’m thrilled!