Today went well. I think I'm back into my routines and good to go again. It's very hot here this week, and I hate nothing worse than having to slop around the house all sweaty and sticky because I didn't get my active work done in the morning. So I got myself busy this morning in the kitchen. I set my timer for 15 minutes and went to work. When the timer dinged I still had just a touch of work left to do, so I set it for 5 more minutes and was done.
Here is one of the blessings of having routines, whether they are daily routines or the monthly routines of Zone work. I was able to combine 3 jobs into one 15-minute session because I had just done them 4 weeks ago and they weren't that bad today. I did the backsplashes, cabinet fronts, and countertops. I only had to scrub one spot on the counter, because between my daughter and I we have kept the counters basically clean for a month. Even when the routines weren't followed completely, we still kept things in good enough shape that it doesn't take long to do these "heavy" jobs once a month.
I tell you this, not to toot my own horn, but to encourage you. I have been at the place where it took me 2 hours just to wash the dishes because I had left them from every meal the day before. I know how it is to have to catch up just to get started. That is why I love FlyLady's system so much! With the daily, weekly, and monthly routines, most of my house - not all - is within 15 minutes of being clean. I still have those places that I hope no one will look, and there is a healthy colony of dust bunnies in various parts of the house, but it's not overwhelming anymore. That's why I tell you about the things I get done. Not to make you feel bad or to make myself look good; simply to let you know that a decently-clean house is possible without having to knock yourself out every day or make your family miserable while you freak out over the house. There is balance. I can say these things because I've been there.
Showing posts with label Zones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zones. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Wednesday's Mission and Zone Work
It's hot here today! Actually, it's only about 68 degrees or so right now, but the sun is shining brightly and we don't have air conditioning, so when I get busy in the house and forget the heat, before I know it, I'm sweaty and hot. Thankfully I'm finished with the greater portion of my housework for the day, so I can do the less physically-active things I have planned later this afternoon.
Kelly's mission for today was to clean all those small countertop appliances. I set my timer for 15 minutes and cleaned my bread maker, electric kettle, coffee maker, stand mixer, and can opener. I also wiped down my tin canisters holding tea and artificial sweetener, and my Tupperware canisters holding brown sugar, flour, and sugar. I spent an extra 15-minute session wiping the outside of my deep freezer and microwave and the top of my fridge (it was nasty up there, but I'm short so I don't see the top of the fridge very often - out of sight, out of mind!) just because I wanted to get them done today and had no reason not to. I want to be efficient in my use of time, not lazy!
I reset my timer for 15 minutes of decluttering and dug into my corner cabinet. This cabinet has a set of those lazy Susan (I cringe!) rotating shelves in it, which are very handy if you remember that you can actually turn the shelves and you don't have to become a contortionist in order to retrieve something from the back of the shelf! It also helps if you don't put a lot of things on the floor of the cabinet, because it's so hard to reach around said shelves to the back. Yep, I had stuff crammed into every possible space in that cabinet! In addition, my older son, who has been away at college for almost a year now, spilled sugar in this cabinet sometime before he left. I have cringed every time I've opened this cabinet, and I open it daily, knowing I needed to get the sugar cleaned up that he missed when he cleaned it up. So I set to work and pulled out all the stuff in there - extra drink pitchers, extra baking pans, the blender, the accessories for the stand mixer and food processor, the revolving cake stand; not to mention the measuring cups that I use every day - they're just handy to have right there where I bake and cook, as this cabinet is just to the left of my stove. I sprayed down the shelves with Formula 409, then took a damp cloth and wiped them clean. Who's the wise guy who designed the grooves into the bottom of those shelves? I'd like to talk to him. After wiping the shelves, I wiped under the bottom one on each side as I could reach. I couldn't figure out how to get the shelves out of the cabinet, or I would have taken them out to get the bottom wiped out really well. Oh, I also vacuumed out the loose sugar, so that's gone, even if the bottom didn't get wiped down completely. Just as I was replacing the last few things my timer beeped, and I was done.
Last item for today: iron the valances and re-hang them. I was hoping they wouldn't need ironing, but they do. I'm off to the ironing board! Have a productive day!
Kelly's mission for today was to clean all those small countertop appliances. I set my timer for 15 minutes and cleaned my bread maker, electric kettle, coffee maker, stand mixer, and can opener. I also wiped down my tin canisters holding tea and artificial sweetener, and my Tupperware canisters holding brown sugar, flour, and sugar. I spent an extra 15-minute session wiping the outside of my deep freezer and microwave and the top of my fridge (it was nasty up there, but I'm short so I don't see the top of the fridge very often - out of sight, out of mind!) just because I wanted to get them done today and had no reason not to. I want to be efficient in my use of time, not lazy!
I reset my timer for 15 minutes of decluttering and dug into my corner cabinet. This cabinet has a set of those lazy Susan (I cringe!) rotating shelves in it, which are very handy if you remember that you can actually turn the shelves and you don't have to become a contortionist in order to retrieve something from the back of the shelf! It also helps if you don't put a lot of things on the floor of the cabinet, because it's so hard to reach around said shelves to the back. Yep, I had stuff crammed into every possible space in that cabinet! In addition, my older son, who has been away at college for almost a year now, spilled sugar in this cabinet sometime before he left. I have cringed every time I've opened this cabinet, and I open it daily, knowing I needed to get the sugar cleaned up that he missed when he cleaned it up. So I set to work and pulled out all the stuff in there - extra drink pitchers, extra baking pans, the blender, the accessories for the stand mixer and food processor, the revolving cake stand; not to mention the measuring cups that I use every day - they're just handy to have right there where I bake and cook, as this cabinet is just to the left of my stove. I sprayed down the shelves with Formula 409, then took a damp cloth and wiped them clean. Who's the wise guy who designed the grooves into the bottom of those shelves? I'd like to talk to him. After wiping the shelves, I wiped under the bottom one on each side as I could reach. I couldn't figure out how to get the shelves out of the cabinet, or I would have taken them out to get the bottom wiped out really well. Oh, I also vacuumed out the loose sugar, so that's gone, even if the bottom didn't get wiped down completely. Just as I was replacing the last few things my timer beeped, and I was done.
Last item for today: iron the valances and re-hang them. I was hoping they wouldn't need ironing, but they do. I'm off to the ironing board! Have a productive day!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Tuesday's Mission Accomplished
It took me a while today, but I got my planned work in the Zone done. I had an unexpected doctor's appointment this morning, so I had to put off my work till this afternoon. We eat our biggest meal at mid-day, so as soon as that was done, I got to work. I spent 15 minutes washing the windows in the kitchen and taking down the valances from my windows. I will wash those first thing in the morning and put them back up as soon as they're dry. We have a laundry-sharing situation with our downstairs neighbors, so I won't have use of the laundry again till tomorrow morning.
I also cleaned out the bank of drawers to the left of my sink. This is three small drawers and two big pots-and-pans drawers, in which I keep my mixing bowls, colanders, and Tupperware and storage bowls and lids. Kelly's mission for today was to clear out the plastic containers; that's part of the reason I chose these particular drawers.
Each job took 15 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes of cleaning today. Every little bit helps!
I also cleaned out the bank of drawers to the left of my sink. This is three small drawers and two big pots-and-pans drawers, in which I keep my mixing bowls, colanders, and Tupperware and storage bowls and lids. Kelly's mission for today was to clear out the plastic containers; that's part of the reason I chose these particular drawers.
Each job took 15 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes of cleaning today. Every little bit helps!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Declutter Challenge - Day 6
Day 6, and I'm still in the kitchen. Today I plan to declutter the cabinet under my sink. Ugh. That's where we keep the bucket for recycling and all my cleaning products. It gets ugly in there. If I have time, I'll also clear out the cabinet above and to the right of the sink, where we keep all our coffee- and tea-making stuff. It's a little disorganized too. If you'd like to join me and you want to tell us about it, sign the Mr. Linky below.
Update: I got the area under the kitchen sink decluttered (my son even took out the recycling without being asked!), but I didn't get to the coffee and tea cabinet. I am just plain old tired. I'm type 2 diabetic, and I've been battling low blood sugars every day this week, due to my medicine working so well. When I have a low, it wipes me out. So I just did the most pressing things in the kitchen - including cooking the meals and helping to clean up - and called it a day for the kitchen. My Zone job I chose to do today was to clean the drip pans and rings on the stove. I hate cleaning those things, so I put it off till they are horrible looking and I have to do it. I think, for the next 4 weeks (till kitchen zone again) I'm going to wash them once a week and see if that makes a difference (duh!). I'm still in the process of mapping out what I need to do weekly and what to do monthly. It's all because of my mile-wide lazy streak; I don't like following a schedule, so I put things off, and then they are screaming for attention. When will I learn?
Update: I got the area under the kitchen sink decluttered (my son even took out the recycling without being asked!), but I didn't get to the coffee and tea cabinet. I am just plain old tired. I'm type 2 diabetic, and I've been battling low blood sugars every day this week, due to my medicine working so well. When I have a low, it wipes me out. So I just did the most pressing things in the kitchen - including cooking the meals and helping to clean up - and called it a day for the kitchen. My Zone job I chose to do today was to clean the drip pans and rings on the stove. I hate cleaning those things, so I put it off till they are horrible looking and I have to do it. I think, for the next 4 weeks (till kitchen zone again) I'm going to wash them once a week and see if that makes a difference (duh!). I'm still in the process of mapping out what I need to do weekly and what to do monthly. It's all because of my mile-wide lazy streak; I don't like following a schedule, so I put things off, and then they are screaming for attention. When will I learn?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Declutter Challenge - Day 5 and Zone
I'm combining two posts into one. I'm already finished with my housework for the day!
I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen this morning. I washed the dishes, which is becoming more common now that one of my children is basically out of the house many days of the week. He finds odd jobs to keep him busy, and he has been hired by a temp agency in WA, just across the border, to do some factory work, which should start next week. So after too many years to count, I don't have three kitchen helpers, and I'm taking up the slack. Plus my daughter is sick this week with the flu, so she's not able to do her work either. Boy, am I sidetracked! What I was going to say is that, after I washed the dishes, I decided to go ahead and finish my work in the kitchen instead of having to come back to it. My declutter challenge for today was to clear out my baking cabinet. This is where I keep all my baking supplies. It's right next to the stove, so it's easy to grab what I need. It took me closer to 30 minutes to get this cabinet squared away. One thing that I changed was to "containerize" my spices and smaller baking supplies. I already had most of the spices together in a couple of containers, but every time I bake, I get out the salt, baking powder, and baking soda - three containers to take out and put back every time. So today I put those three items together in one basket - get out and put away in one motion! Plus it looks neater in the cabinet. You can see it on the left of the bottom shelf. I learned this concept from Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie! Thanks, Laura! I think it will be a step-saver for me! Here's the before and after on my cabinet (I also put all my chocolate squares, chocolate chips, etc. together in one container, on the top shelf):
Next, the Zone cleaning for this week is in the kitchen. Today I wiped down all the fronts of the cabinets, fridge, and stove. There were some pretty serious splops around my kitchen, but they've all been contained and we are now splop-free! ;) That took about 20-25 minutes, since I was doing a thorough job. I also cleaned out my fridge this morning. And now I'm done. And tired.
If you're decluttering with me and you blog about it, link to your post on the Mr. Linky below.
I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen this morning. I washed the dishes, which is becoming more common now that one of my children is basically out of the house many days of the week. He finds odd jobs to keep him busy, and he has been hired by a temp agency in WA, just across the border, to do some factory work, which should start next week. So after too many years to count, I don't have three kitchen helpers, and I'm taking up the slack. Plus my daughter is sick this week with the flu, so she's not able to do her work either. Boy, am I sidetracked! What I was going to say is that, after I washed the dishes, I decided to go ahead and finish my work in the kitchen instead of having to come back to it. My declutter challenge for today was to clear out my baking cabinet. This is where I keep all my baking supplies. It's right next to the stove, so it's easy to grab what I need. It took me closer to 30 minutes to get this cabinet squared away. One thing that I changed was to "containerize" my spices and smaller baking supplies. I already had most of the spices together in a couple of containers, but every time I bake, I get out the salt, baking powder, and baking soda - three containers to take out and put back every time. So today I put those three items together in one basket - get out and put away in one motion! Plus it looks neater in the cabinet. You can see it on the left of the bottom shelf. I learned this concept from Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie! Thanks, Laura! I think it will be a step-saver for me! Here's the before and after on my cabinet (I also put all my chocolate squares, chocolate chips, etc. together in one container, on the top shelf):
Next, the Zone cleaning for this week is in the kitchen. Today I wiped down all the fronts of the cabinets, fridge, and stove. There were some pretty serious splops around my kitchen, but they've all been contained and we are now splop-free! ;) That took about 20-25 minutes, since I was doing a thorough job. I also cleaned out my fridge this morning. And now I'm done. And tired.
If you're decluttering with me and you blog about it, link to your post on the Mr. Linky below.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Zone: Kitchen
I worked in my kitchen today cleaning the countertops. One counter in particular was a tough one. It had dark stains on it from I don't know what, but no amount of cleaner or bleach was getting those stains off! Finally I thought to try baking soda . . . and they came right off! LOL I should have tried the baking soda first. So after that my cleaning went more smoothly, and now I have fresh, clean countertops. Tomorrow I plan to wipe down the cabinet fronts. I swipe at them every couple of days, but tomorrow I'll look at them really good and get all the drips and splots off.
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