Cleaning House

[Stormieweather]

Before I moved in July, I had things in the back of my closets and under the bed that I hadn't seen in years and had totally forgotten about. There were 5 of us crammed into a 1,300 sf apartment with very little storage, so every available surface (walls, corners, underneath) had shelves, tupperware storage containers, etc. covering them. Clutter like that is terrible to try to keep clean. I couldn't have reached the baseboards unless I had a crane to move the furniture straight up (since there was no slide-it-out-from-the-wall room). So I did a major overhaul before I lugged it all to the new house. Out went the clothes I (and the kids) could no longer wear or were dusty/out of style. Out went all the books I had read (except the 200 or so titles from my favorite authors), out went the broken knick knacks that I was going to fix (some day), out went all the tupperware with no lids, out went all the tapes that I had listened to death. I flooded Goodwill.

We moved into a much bigger house and I refuse to cram anything into a closet or cover every available inch with a shelf or cute little table. We have hardwood floors, so I dust mop it every day and wet mop every 3rd day. I use the good wood polish about once a week and swipe a pull-out polish cloth over the cherry furniture every other day. I never leave dishes in the sink. The ceiling fans got cleaned when it became cold enough that they weren't needed anymore. With a toddler, I keep all knick knacks (I have a lot from my travels around the world) up high or in barrister's bookcases. The bathrooms have drawers for brushes, appliances and cosmetics, the surfaces get scrubbed on the weekends. My laundry room gets cleaned every week, including the washer and dryer tops :p . I wipe down the cabinet fronts and doorjams every couple of days (or when I notice fingerprints on them).

Overall, my home is pretty clean, I like to think. I don't stress the toys being scattered around or project messes as long as they are all picked up before bed each night. I like to 'live' in my house so I don't expect it to be Home and Garden's tidy and clean at all times.

Stormie