Today, as I was doing my almost weekly deep cleaning around the house, I started thinking about the whole business of keeping a home clean. Actually, this started last week, when my sister-in-law Jen and I were talking about housecleaning. She and I both share a love of the book Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson. Cheryl goes a little overboard in her housekeeping details, but the depth is not lost on me. I have learned so much from this book that I actually keep it in my kitchen, with my cookbooks. If I ever want to know the proper way to clean something, Cheryl has the answer. Anyway, I have stumbled through the whole subject of housekeeping my whole adult life. It wasn't something I was brought up doing a lot of, I was a horribly messy college roommate (sorry girls!), and as a young adult with a demanding job...well, we hired a cleaning person to do it.
But these days, its entirely up to us, and mainly to me, to keep our house is clean, working order. This is not a bad thing at all. I've taught myself a lot and learned a great deal from the women in my life who have done it much longer than I have. I've taken little bits from here, a good tip or two from there, combined it with instinct, and made a simple system that seems to work for our family. I thought it would be fun to start a discussion about what works for each of us.
A short list of what works for us-
*A quick 10 minute tidy at some point of the day, usually in the evening. Things get put back in their place, pillows are fluffed, the dishwasher is usually turned on, maybe a quick kitchen sweep. I keep one of the buckets I made at the bottom of the stairs now and its been a huge help.
*White towels. I wash them with detergent and Borax (I LOVE Borax), and add bluing to the final rinse and they come out great. If they are ever in need of more than that they spend a day in the sun. I love white towels as much as I love white dishes.
*I change the pillowcases a couple of times a week, and air out our pillows in the sun on occasion. The sun has its own unique way of cleaning.
*I love any housecleaning project that smells good. There was a time I bought Caldrea products, but I think I cleaned less simply because I didn't want to run out of what I had. Its too pricey for me. Now I am thankful for less expensive products like Mrs. Meyers (their Basil scent is my favorite), Method's almond scented wood floor cleaner (would drink it with dinner if I could, heavenly), and essential oils that I add to homemade cleaners (my current favorites are citus scents like grapefruit and orange, and tea tree oil, which has antibacterial properties). I make up a white vinegar/water solution with a couple of drops of essential oil in it and let the kids use it to clean their bathroom, a small bottle of essential oil lasts a very long time.
*We are lucky to have a great place for bulk lavender and essential oils, etc in town, Zenith Supplies. I've mentioned them before, if you live locally and have never been there, you should really go. I buy a bag of lavender, which I tie handfuls of in cheesecloth drawstring bags (used for herbs) and put them in our closet, between our sweaters, for moth control (you can also use cedar shavings sold for pet bedding and mix it with the lavender). I also buy these hunks of solid amber for about $6 that a break up into smaller hunks, put in a small bowl, in an out of the way place, and it gives off this absolutely incredible faint scent that lasts for a long time and fills the space. I think the scent part of homekeeping is really important to me. When I like it, and things around me are clean, my mood is immediately lightened.
*I'm not always dependable when it comes to regular mopping, but I do vacuum our floors regularly, and think this is especially important for our tile and wood floors. We are a mostly no-shoe household, and I've read this keeps lots of toxins off your floors and in general keeps your house cleaner. (We picked up this habit when we moved to Seattle, and its stuck. Its the first thing the kids do when they walk in the door).
*One day a week (usually Sunday these days), we all chip in and clean. The kids clean their rooms ("Dad clean" is our Sunday standard for them, meaning Dad will be inspecting), sheets are changed, laundry is put away, a little attention is paid to every room. Today, as I scrubbed the downstairs bathroom, Emma swept the front porch, and Ian was on Lego maintenance (because, as I have told him, there is nothing worse than coming in to say goodnight and stepping on a Lego- ouch!). Peter was trying to do some maintenance on the dishwasher. We do not spend all day doing this, I like to use the term "blitz through". But it gets done.
I would love to hear what works for you guys.
