Schedule....what schedule?

I haven't been able to keep to my "schedule" for weeks now. But, the house IS clean and there IS food in the cupboards and fridge. However, when I'm not operating on schedule, I feel like my day is out of whack. But at the same time, I am enjoying the freedom of not having a schedule...crazy huh.

So yesterday was the most perfect beautiful day! Fall is HERE! When I got up yesterday morning and after I sent Blake off to school, I got my cup of coffee and sat out on the front porch just watching the sunlight as it touched the top of the trees and then the light would move farther and farther down. It was just so peaceful just being able to sit outside.

Yesterday, I did wash the bed linens and our clothes as well as put them away. I tidied up the kitchen (I do that every morning), vacuumed all the floors and did clean the bathrooms. I didn't do any baking or cooking yesterday (gasp!) as we were eating with family that night.

The little boy I watch during the day and I stayed outside and enjoyed the fall weather. It was just too nice to be indoors all day.

Hubby was off work yesterday and it was nice to have him home and just hanging out and having a relaxing time.

Last night we went to my husband's uncle's house for a cookout. Got to see some family we haven't seen in months. It's a shame because we live so close and don't visit more often. Will try and change that. Hubby's aunt is really good and sewing and doing embroidery and has offered my sewing lessons anytime I want to bring my sewing machine over, so I think I might just have to take her up on that.

For today, hubby and I are going to go 4-wheelin! It will be nice to spend some time together just the two of us. Then we will head back home to do some much needed yard work. It's been raining so much here, that we are just now able to get the yard mowed after about 2 weeks. But what a great day to be outside!

Hope everyone has a blessed Tuesday!

Cleaning Schedule

I have had a cleaning schedule for many years now. Every now and then I will change it up a bit. Some people do "task" cleaning, which I have tried. But, personally, I like "room" cleaning. Whichever you choose is fine as long as it works for you.

Some days I might not get everything done, but having a schedule helps me have direction and a little control (LOL).

So, with that being said, this is what my schedule looks like:

Mondays - Bedroom cleaning.
Tuesdays - Bathrooms
Wednesdays - Kitchen and laundry room
Thursdays - Living and Dining Rooms
Fridays - spot cleaning and grocery shopping
Saturdays - spot cleaning only
Sundays - I try and do as little as possible

I also have certain things that I do everyday...such as wiping down bathroom counter tops and toilets; wiping kitchen counter tops, sweeping kitchen floor, and vacuming living spaces.

I do laundry on M-W-F only.

Starting Monday, I will give a detailed list of all cleaning that I do each day. For instance, since Monday is bedrooms....I will post everything that I do to clean the bedrooms on that day. Your list may have more or less...

On another note, today my granddaughter is coming to visit..YAY! I haven't seen her in quite awhile and am really looking forward to seeing her cutesy face.

The weather has been stupendous here and I want to get out sometime today and enjoy the nice pre-fall weather. Makes me want to go out and buy some mums.

Hope everyone has a blessed Wednesday!

Productive Day and Bathrooms

Today was a productive day. I did get my three loaves of bread baked..yay! It's been over two weeks since I've baked bread. I actually had to go and buy store bought bread last week.

Since today was Tuesday, it's the day I have set aside in my schedule for cleaning the bathrooms. Normally, I will, on a daily basis swipe the toilet seats and wipe down the bathroom counters. However, on Tuesdays, I really clean the counters, sinks, inside and outside of the toilets, scrub the tubs/showers and clean the tiles. I also clean the mirrors, wipe down the light switch covers and wipe down the doors. The area around the handles can get really dirty with so many little hands touching it, so it is important for me to clean those once a week. I also will sweep and clean the bathroom floors.

If you do this once a week and just swipe the toilet and the counters on a daily basis, you can keep the bathroom clean.

I have a fear of someone coming over to visit and then asking to use the bathroom and my bathroom be nasty. Years ago, when my boys were little and I was working full time outside the home, this would be a problem. I cringed whenever anyone wanted to use the bathroom and would fly down the hall to check it out quickly and make sure the boys didn't leave it in a total mess (you know how little boys can be sometimes).

Now, I don't worry so much about that....It's not always spotless, but I'm not embarrassed by it either.

Monday, Monday....

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Wow...it sure is quiet here with all the kids gone. My husband came home this morning and oops....I slept in. I didn't mean to. I woke up and looked at the clock and it said 6:40, so I thought that I would just lay there until 7:30 and get up and get things started. Well, about 8:30, my cell phone rang and it was my husband. He was at the back door without a house key. He took my vehicle last night and my house key wasn't on the set of keys, it was in my purse - oops!

He decided that he was hungry and wanted to go out to breakfast.....it has been AGES since we have done this, so off to IHOP we went. Yummo!!!

We got back and I really needed to get busy...so I've managed to get two loads of laundry done, deep clean my bedroom, deep clean the computer room/stepdaughter's room, and get one loaf of bread started, tidy up the kitchen and living room.

I still need to get another loaf of bread started, deep clean my son's room (while he is gone), deep clean the boys' room, get to the post office and bank (I might put off the bank until tomorrow), and get dinner going.

Hubby just went to bed and I hope to see him up around 7:00 or 8:00 tonight...otherwise, its just me!

I'm going to try and post a little later (but can't make any promises).

Have a blessed Monday!

Monday, Monday......

It's great getting away for a small vacation, but I really look forward to getting back home. And since I was busy getting ready to go last Wednesday, I didn't get to do any baking, so I'm trying to do some "catch-up" baking today.

Here's what I've got going on in the kitchen today:

Cinnamon Rolls - (goodness, I just love the way these smell when they are baking!)

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Pineapple Coconut Bread

I'll try and post some pictures of the goodies later when they come out of the oven.
I wish there was a way you could SMELL them on the computer...but oh well....

On another note, I'm feeling really blah today. Don't know what's wrong...who knows, it could just be hormones. I guess I just need to get past it.

Since it is Monday, and Monday is bedroom cleaning day...I have stripped and re-made the beds, dusted everything in the bedroom and decluttered anything that happened to be laying around.

I got my morning cleaning routine done - wipe down tables, counters (kitchen and bath), wipe down toilet seats, and sweep the kitchen floor. I also went ahead and swept the living and dining room floors as well. I have two inside dogs and it's that time of year for shedding. I think I could make a whole other dog from the dog hair that I swept up this morning.

Blake and I have gone over History and Biology this morning and he is off to the computer to do his Health.

My hubby went into work at 8pm last night and got home about 8:30 am this morning, so he is beat and has headed off to bed for some much needed rest.

Well, I've got laundry to reboot (today is laundry day) and baking to be done!!

Hope everyone has a great Monday and I'll try and post some pictures later.

New Cleaning Schedule

I'm changing around my cleaning schedule a bit - back to my original schedule that I had been doing for a couple of years:

Mondays: Bedrooms - change bed linens
clean ceiling fans
sweep/vacuum floors
wipe down doors and
light switches
wipe window sills
clean mirrors and
dressers/tables

Tuesday: Bathrooms - clean tubs and showers
including tiles
clean inside and out toilets
wipe down counters and cabinets
clean mirrors
wipe down doors and switches
check supply of toilet paper
take out trash
clean out drawers if needed
put bathroom rugs in laundry
mop bathroom floors

Wednesday: Kitchen - declutter all counter tops
wipe counters and kitchen table
clean inside and out microwave
clean oven and stove
wipe down and wash out coffee pot
clean and declutter top of fridge
clean out fridge
clean outside of fridge
wipe window sills
sweep/mop kitchen floor

Laundry room- wipe down washer and dryer
change kitty litter
sweep and mop floor
declutter

Thursday: Family Room
Dining Room - Dust everything including T.V.
tables, pictures, window sills, etc
Move couch and chair to vacuum
Sweep and vacuum and mop floors
Declutter and put items either in trash
or back in proper place
Water indoor plants

Friday: Computer Room - dust tv and computer. Clean computer
keyboard.
Declutter computer desk
Sweep and vacuum


It looks like a lot, but really it doesn't take that long to get it done.

Tomorrow, I'll post "A Day in the Life of Me" and show you exactly what I do and when I do it along with how long it takes.

Oh...also 5 Things that Went Right - Monday

1. My husband was off of work and did a beautiful job on the yard
2. I actually had time to sit and read a WHOLE book outside while enjoying the sunny day.
3. It was nice so all the kids got to go outside and play
4. We met our neighbor who lives next door - very nice lady
5. I was able to make it thru the day without spending any money

What I'm doing today

So far, I've cleaned the bathrooms (I'm a little off of my schedule),

cleaned the kitchen counters,

unloaded dishes,

put dirty dishes in dishwasher,

made out homeschool planner for today

I'm trying to get some much needed baking and cooking done today.

I just put a loaf of banana bread in the oven and a pan of brownies.
I'm going to get a loaf of sourdough bread started here soon. If I have time, I'm going to make a batch of peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies. They are so YUMMY!!

I need to get my coupons put away and my grocery list done. Other than that, I'll probably take it pretty easy this afternoon.

On another note, my wonderful husband bought me a present a couple of days ago. I had to laugh when I pulled it out of the bag - Slipper Genie! Mine are just like the ones in the picture except mine are pink.



He did it kind of as a joke, but I love them!! I wear them pretty much all day when I am in the house. We have hardwood throughout the house and ceramic tile in the kitchen....hey, every little bit helps. If you want your own pair, you can pick them up at Walmart.

My Current Cleaning Schedule

As a child and then a teenager, I had no desire to do anything remotely connected with cleaning. My mom used to joke that she couldn't remember what color my carpet was in my room due to the numerous clothes that I kept lying on the floor. I did not help out with any cleaning or cooking around the house. My mom did it all. While this was great (at the time), I did not learn the why's, what's and how's of house management.

It has taken me a number of years to get to the place where I feel that I do a pretty good job taking care of my house. When my kids were little and I worked full time outside the home, cleaning was not a priority. Many a time my mom would come and let me know how dirty my sinks were. I never thought that sinks really needed to be cleaned....wow have times changed.

I thought I would share my current cleaning schedule. I am a "schedule" type of person - my husband jokes that I have a schedule for everything. Having a schedule helps me to stay focused on what needs to be done. I have not included other daily tasks in this schedule like laundry, as I will get to that on another day.

Everyday(morning)- clean out sink - empty/load dishwasher
wipe down kitchen counter
sweep kitchen floor
wipe toilet seats (very important if you have boys!)
do a quick wipe of the bathroom counter

Monday - Clean all kitchen appliances:
Clean out inside of refrigerator and freezer
Clean/wipe down outside and top of refrigerator
Clean stove and oven
Clean out microwave oven
Clean and wash coffeemaker and coffeepot
Clean off and wipe down the washer and dryer

Tuesday- Dust throughout the house:
This includes wall pictures, end tables, fireplace mantles, dressers,
ceiling fans, etc.
Clean ALL computers and ALL tv screens.
Wipe down all tables and counters

Wednesday- Clean/disenfect kitchen and bathroom sinks
Clean showers and tubs
Completely clean inside and outside of toilets
Clean bathroom mirrors
Change kitty litter

Thursday - Sweep and mop all hard floors

Friday - Vaccum all rugs and carpets