SISTER WISDOM

Once upon a time, I had an elaborate morning schedule/routine all written out which included my daily housework items. It made me not want to get out of bed… and I’m a morning person.
Simplicity works best for me. I quit making lists and I just started doing what needs to be done every day.

daily routine

My “daily routine” usually means I sweep, straighten, and do a load of laundry every day. And take out any stinky diapers that have accumulated in the trash can. I cook and clean up the kitchen as needed (oddly, “as needed” falls into a three-times-a-day pattern almost every day, something about meals I guess). I don’t write this stuff down anymore. I don’t need to, because what I’m doing is intuitive, simple, simply what needs to be done. (I do write down my weekly routine because otherwise I would never wash the windows or dust the furniture.)

Other than that, if something I see is dirty, I either clean it right away or ignore it. It usually takes less time to just tackle the job than it does to get my calendar and write it down on a future to-do list. If I don’t have time (or the will or the inclination) then, I ignore it until I notice it again and do have time.

weekly routine

This is the current weekly housekeeping groove I’m rocking. It’s working for me. It’s better than cleaning the whole house every day or not cleaning at all. What is that thing people are always talking about? Balance? Yeah. That might be worth looking into…

• Monday: sweep and mop floors, empty trash, dust (if I get to it).
• Tuesday: clean bathrooms, vacuum rugs.
• Wednesday: wash windows (only the ones that look really dirty), clean up porch and walkways.
• Thursday: try to catch up on laundry.
• Friday: re-clean what needs it.
• Saturday: make Sunday’s lunch.
• Sunday: plan for the upcoming week.

a few things I’ve learned

Work on changing and improving one habit, one area at a time, establishing one habit at a time, making big progress toward one goal at a time. Commit to success at that one thing and just keep other areas on a routine, maintaining. Focus your energies, your attention – even if just for one week at a time.
The thing about clutter. My goal is an uncluttered, open, orderly, easy-to-maintain home. Stuff takes up so much time and work. If you’re strapped for cash, take the opportunity and sell some stuff. Get more space and more cash. Get a little ruthless and get rid of any and all that you do not “know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
And the useful thing: let’s just say that if it’s not actively useful – at least once a week, or on a regular basis – then it isn’t worth keeping. It isn’t useful if it isn’t being used. Don’t let the potential keep you locked in a clutter paralysis.

about cleaning supplies

I’ve already admitted I’m lazy, but you just can’t leave well enough alone, can you? Fine. I’ll admit it, then. I’m lazy and I’m cheap. The last thing I want to spend money on is……… housecleaning supplies! Come on, people! They’re overpriced and they smell funny and they all essentially do the same thing and most of them are toxic and you still want me to buy 17 different kinds just to clean my bathroom?

I think not, my friends. I think not.

In my brilliance, I decided to make my own. How hard can it be? Well, kind of involved as it turns out. Do you remember that whole laziness factor? Yeah. It comes into play again here. Making an array of nicely bottled and labeled housecleaning supplies really isn’t the way I want to spend my weekend, as it turns out. I could totally cheap out and just buy the dollar store all-purpose cleaner and use it on everything, but the toxicity factor bothers me just enough.

Here’s what I did instead. I bought an empty spray bottle ($1). Then I bought a liter of Dr. Bronnor’s Peppermint Castile Soap ($14.99 at my Walgreens). I already had some baking soda.

I filled the spray bottle almost full with water, added a couple of tablespoons of baking soda, a few tablespoons of the peppermint soap, capped it, shook it, and voila: my cleaning arsenal. That $15 bottle of castile soap will create, I don’t know, like 50 spray bottles of my cleaning concoction. Peppermint is a natural antibacterial agent. Baking soda is good for something, I forget what. Plus when I clean the whole house smells like peppermint which makes it seem even cleaner than it is.

I use this on everything: bathrooms, floors, spills in the refrigerator, unidentifiable gooey spots on the wall, kitchen counters, mirrors, furniture. That and a bottle of Windex for the windows and I am set. Sometimes the lazy-cheap thing kind of turns out nice, after all.

Sometimes necessity isn’t the mother of invention. Sometimes laziness is…

Images

1. I just can’t wait to get home courtesy of Ale Bonvini on Flickr.

2. Look at the pretty sponges courtesy of Horia Varlan on Flickr.