I feel like such a hypocrite.
After I read Don Aslett, I told myself, "No more cleaning for company!" I clean for us. I clean because I don't want my space to be nasty or germy or uncomfortable.
So it's the day before Christmas. Company is coming. And I am cleaning.
Self-justification commences:
I've been doing Christmas prep instead of the cleaning that I want to do for me.
I've been busy at church instead of cleaning for me.
It's been too long since I cleaned, and I've been trying to get to it.
The cats are shedding, and the hair drives me bonkers.
If I don't clean today, I can't do it until Monday, because I intend to enjoy being with family.
So the vacuum is out.
And the cat hair is being dusted up.
And I still feel like a hypocrite.
Showing posts with label housekeeping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label housekeeping. Show all posts
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Monday, August 31, 2015
A Very Clean Pantry
My poor pantry was feeling left out of the cleaning binge. So it had its own little meltdown. A beer bottle exploded.
1. It was inside the closed pantry. So flying glass stayed contained in the pantry.
2. It was beer, not wine. I had a wine bottle explode once. That required not only cleaning but also painting walls.
3. Gary was home when it happened, and did a huge portion of the clean-up work.
4. From here on out, liquids should live on the bottom half of the pantry, and dry goods (noodles or sugar) should live on the higher shelves.
When you empty out the whole pantry, onto the kitchen floor and counters and table, it's rather surprising to see how much food we are blessed with, with it spread all over instead of contained in its proper spots behind a closed door.
So, do ants and other nasty critters like beer? We have cleaned and scrubbed. But I fear missing ANY drips of beer, lest I should entice pests. (I mean the six-legged kind, you silly.)
1. It was inside the closed pantry. So flying glass stayed contained in the pantry.
2. It was beer, not wine. I had a wine bottle explode once. That required not only cleaning but also painting walls.
3. Gary was home when it happened, and did a huge portion of the clean-up work.
4. From here on out, liquids should live on the bottom half of the pantry, and dry goods (noodles or sugar) should live on the higher shelves.
When you empty out the whole pantry, onto the kitchen floor and counters and table, it's rather surprising to see how much food we are blessed with, with it spread all over instead of contained in its proper spots behind a closed door.
So, do ants and other nasty critters like beer? We have cleaned and scrubbed. But I fear missing ANY drips of beer, lest I should entice pests. (I mean the six-legged kind, you silly.)
Thursday, August 13, 2015
A Very Clean Refrigerator
I blame Maggie.
Today while cutting veggies, we were watching Good Eats. Eventually Maggie commented on how clean Alton's chill-chest was. "How can anyone keep a refrigerator that clean?" I told her that if I had as many aides as he has, and if I were putting my refrigerator on national TV, ours would be that clean too. At least for the camera.
A few hours later an uncovered glass of grape juice tipped over in the refrigerator. Grape juice on every shelf. Grape juice on the walls. Grape juice pouring out the bottom of the appliance. Grape juice all over the floor.
She had to go and comment on clean refrigerators. You know the fates heard her.
An hour-and-a-half later, any qualms I had about having Not Accomplished Much today were gone.
Tomorrow we tackle the floor, including underneath the stove and fridge. That grape juice sure was some motivation!
Today while cutting veggies, we were watching Good Eats. Eventually Maggie commented on how clean Alton's chill-chest was. "How can anyone keep a refrigerator that clean?" I told her that if I had as many aides as he has, and if I were putting my refrigerator on national TV, ours would be that clean too. At least for the camera.
A few hours later an uncovered glass of grape juice tipped over in the refrigerator. Grape juice on every shelf. Grape juice on the walls. Grape juice pouring out the bottom of the appliance. Grape juice all over the floor.
She had to go and comment on clean refrigerators. You know the fates heard her.
An hour-and-a-half later, any qualms I had about having Not Accomplished Much today were gone.
Tomorrow we tackle the floor, including underneath the stove and fridge. That grape juice sure was some motivation!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Lock & Lock
When my aunt gave me some "Lock & Lock" I thought it was just another plastic storage container. What was she so hyped about anyway?
I used them and found out.
The cracker container really works to keep crackers as fresh as when you opened them -- even for months.
If you store wet things (chili or soup) they will not spill, even if stored on their side or upside down.
Raisins and prunes will stay soft and fresh-as-new in the small containers.
These things are fantastic! For most of my leftover containers, I don't need something this high-quality. But when I do, these are perfect. I'm hoping that some of those other brands (with the same kind of seal) work just as well.
[The only warning my aunt gave me was to make sure I never put anything in the microwave with the lid on. She said it will seal the lid to the container. If I need the lid while nuking, I turn the lid upside down to avoid any possibility of sealing. I even take care not to close a container if the food in it is still slightly warm.]
I used them and found out.
The cracker container really works to keep crackers as fresh as when you opened them -- even for months.
If you store wet things (chili or soup) they will not spill, even if stored on their side or upside down.
Raisins and prunes will stay soft and fresh-as-new in the small containers.
These things are fantastic! For most of my leftover containers, I don't need something this high-quality. But when I do, these are perfect. I'm hoping that some of those other brands (with the same kind of seal) work just as well.
[The only warning my aunt gave me was to make sure I never put anything in the microwave with the lid on. She said it will seal the lid to the container. If I need the lid while nuking, I turn the lid upside down to avoid any possibility of sealing. I even take care not to close a container if the food in it is still slightly warm.]
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Can't Stay Clean
Maggie mopped the kitchen floor while I was gone yesterday.
I came home. Kitty jumped into my lap. I [shhh! shhhh!] requested someone to sneak a pair of scissors over to me. I trimmed knots and lumps out of kitty's fur. I was careful with gathering the clumps, but still ... it's a hair-trim. Little bits of fur scattered and drifted.
We don't have toddlers living here. This must be our version of the rule that milk MUST be spilled on a freshly mopped floor within 17 minutes of the mop drying.
I came home. Kitty jumped into my lap. I [shhh! shhhh!] requested someone to sneak a pair of scissors over to me. I trimmed knots and lumps out of kitty's fur. I was careful with gathering the clumps, but still ... it's a hair-trim. Little bits of fur scattered and drifted.
We don't have toddlers living here. This must be our version of the rule that milk MUST be spilled on a freshly mopped floor within 17 minutes of the mop drying.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Date It!
Going through files at church, thinning, weeding, sorting, and ordering, again I see the importance of dating paperwork.
Invitations to conferences with dates and no years. That makes it hard to sort chronologically.
Faded and yellowed papers. Are they from the 1950's? Or is the booklet from the 1990's but printed on cheap paper that aged too quickly?
Lovely to run across a stream of stuff that you'd luv-luv-luv to throw out, but it must be kept for certain reasons ... and find that at least you can put them in order because they're fully dated.
At home it's good to find an owner's manual with the date scribbled on the front of when we bought that mower or washer or stove ... especially when the years fly by and you could've sworn that the appliance was only three years old in spite of the written evidence proves the item is twelve years old.
Invitations to conferences with dates and no years. That makes it hard to sort chronologically.
Faded and yellowed papers. Are they from the 1950's? Or is the booklet from the 1990's but printed on cheap paper that aged too quickly?
Lovely to run across a stream of stuff that you'd luv-luv-luv to throw out, but it must be kept for certain reasons ... and find that at least you can put them in order because they're fully dated.
At home it's good to find an owner's manual with the date scribbled on the front of when we bought that mower or washer or stove ... especially when the years fly by and you could've sworn that the appliance was only three years old in spite of the written evidence proves the item is twelve years old.
Tuesday, August 05, 2014
It Still Itches
Still fighting the poison ivy. The rash has improved, but I keep breaking out in new patches.
What can I wash next?!
I've scrubbed the couch with Fels-Naphtha soap, let it dry, and then shampooed it regular-like. I washed the cushion on my wooden chair. I have washed blankets and sheets and pajamas and jeans and slips repeatedly (in Fels-Naphtha). This morning I've had the bed sheets soaking in a strong F-N solution; I'm going to wear these sheets out with all the washing.
I washed the handles of all the outdoor tools that have been used in the last couple of weeks. I soaked the garden gloves in F-N solution and washed them repeatedly. I used a F-N solution on the door knobs, light switches, refrigerator doors, faucets, remote controls, etc.
I even washed the cat. Poor Athena.
I need to spend more time sitting on the couch, reading and watching TV and resting, applying the astringent that dries up the sores and relieves some of the itch. But I also need to figure out how I keep being re-exposed to the poison-ivy oil ... because it seems like it should be Taken Care Of by now!
What can I wash next?!
I've scrubbed the couch with Fels-Naphtha soap, let it dry, and then shampooed it regular-like. I washed the cushion on my wooden chair. I have washed blankets and sheets and pajamas and jeans and slips repeatedly (in Fels-Naphtha). This morning I've had the bed sheets soaking in a strong F-N solution; I'm going to wear these sheets out with all the washing.
I washed the handles of all the outdoor tools that have been used in the last couple of weeks. I soaked the garden gloves in F-N solution and washed them repeatedly. I used a F-N solution on the door knobs, light switches, refrigerator doors, faucets, remote controls, etc.
I even washed the cat. Poor Athena.
I need to spend more time sitting on the couch, reading and watching TV and resting, applying the astringent that dries up the sores and relieves some of the itch. But I also need to figure out how I keep being re-exposed to the poison-ivy oil ... because it seems like it should be Taken Care Of by now!
Saturday, August 02, 2014
Be Prepared!
Is it possible to "be prepared" without hoarding?
Part of the problem is not knowing what to "be prepared" FOR.
~ Being prepared for power outages and huge blizzards would require a stocked pantry and candles and flashlights and kerosene heaters and offline resources.
~ Being prepared for a terrorist attack might require the same things, as well as heirloom seeds and ammunition, as well as oddball stuff like knowledge of medicinal herbs, and do-it-yourself equipment (tools, well-water with a handpump, wood stove, non-electric grain-grinder), and maybe even being debt-free.
~ Being prepared to flee might require some of the items/knowledge listed above, but it would also require a memory full of hymns and psalms and catechism and Bible verses. And good hiking shoes.
Preparing a pantry full of emergency meal rations and batteries won't do any good if you're flooded out or if you're a refugee.
Old-fashioned paper maps and compasses and backpacks and and water-purifying tablets may be necessary for someone who must flee, but they won't be much use during a massive blizzard that isolates you for a couple of weeks.
Oh, I want to be a pack-rat! I want to store things I may need someday. I hate running to the hardware store for a 9-cent bolt. When my jammies wear out, I want to dig a "new" pair out of the hand-me-down box and not have to shop for more. I want my years of Backwoods Homes available to teach me how to be self-reliant. I want scrap fabric and used buttons. I want sleeping bags and a propane lantern. I want iron skillets and an outdoor cooking-tripod.
A recent article, The Problem with Minimalism, makes the excellent point that people must store goods ... unless they have enough money to buy whatever needs replacing whenever they have a need. That includes parts for car repair. And it includes packed-lunch versus grabbing fast-food. And it includes toys and educational supplies and old-fashioned books that your grandchildren will need long after your children have outgrown those items.
But what about balance? There was the day when Paul had outgrown of many of his shirts, and had worn out the rest. I knew there were shirts in his size in the basement's hand-me-down collection. We hunted and hunted and found nothing. We finally bought a few shirts at Goodwill. A few months later, sorting through the massive collection of clothing, I found nineteen t-shirts and polos in his size. NINETEEN. But the collection was so unwieldy as to be useless when we needed to grab something. That was when I pulled back a bit, before I hurtled from Hoarder-Cliff.
Sometimes we need a knock upside the head to remember that God will provide daily bread, and to let go of depending upon ourselves and our possessions.
And sometimes we have to have the good sense not to toss God's gifts in the trash, just because He provided them a couple of weeks (or several years) before we saw how much we'd need them.
But how to know which is which?
Part of the problem is not knowing what to "be prepared" FOR.
~ Being prepared for power outages and huge blizzards would require a stocked pantry and candles and flashlights and kerosene heaters and offline resources.
~ Being prepared for a terrorist attack might require the same things, as well as heirloom seeds and ammunition, as well as oddball stuff like knowledge of medicinal herbs, and do-it-yourself equipment (tools, well-water with a handpump, wood stove, non-electric grain-grinder), and maybe even being debt-free.
~ Being prepared to flee might require some of the items/knowledge listed above, but it would also require a memory full of hymns and psalms and catechism and Bible verses. And good hiking shoes.
Preparing a pantry full of emergency meal rations and batteries won't do any good if you're flooded out or if you're a refugee.
Old-fashioned paper maps and compasses and backpacks and and water-purifying tablets may be necessary for someone who must flee, but they won't be much use during a massive blizzard that isolates you for a couple of weeks.
Oh, I want to be a pack-rat! I want to store things I may need someday. I hate running to the hardware store for a 9-cent bolt. When my jammies wear out, I want to dig a "new" pair out of the hand-me-down box and not have to shop for more. I want my years of Backwoods Homes available to teach me how to be self-reliant. I want scrap fabric and used buttons. I want sleeping bags and a propane lantern. I want iron skillets and an outdoor cooking-tripod.
A recent article, The Problem with Minimalism, makes the excellent point that people must store goods ... unless they have enough money to buy whatever needs replacing whenever they have a need. That includes parts for car repair. And it includes packed-lunch versus grabbing fast-food. And it includes toys and educational supplies and old-fashioned books that your grandchildren will need long after your children have outgrown those items.
But what about balance? There was the day when Paul had outgrown of many of his shirts, and had worn out the rest. I knew there were shirts in his size in the basement's hand-me-down collection. We hunted and hunted and found nothing. We finally bought a few shirts at Goodwill. A few months later, sorting through the massive collection of clothing, I found nineteen t-shirts and polos in his size. NINETEEN. But the collection was so unwieldy as to be useless when we needed to grab something. That was when I pulled back a bit, before I hurtled from Hoarder-Cliff.
Sometimes we need a knock upside the head to remember that God will provide daily bread, and to let go of depending upon ourselves and our possessions.
And sometimes we have to have the good sense not to toss God's gifts in the trash, just because He provided them a couple of weeks (or several years) before we saw how much we'd need them.
But how to know which is which?
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
Weird Tasks
WHY am I compelled to tackle these things right now?! (Or requesting the kids do it?)
~Scrubbing the ceiling-fan blades with a toothbrush to get them all-the-way clean instead of just dusted.
~Vacuuming the backs and underneath-sides of the dressers.
~Scrubbing the floor behind the computer desk and the back side of the desk.
~Washing the handrail on the basement stairs.
~Cleaning out drains in the bathrooms.
~Vacuuming the tops of the encyclopedias, as well as all the bookshelves in the living room.
~Vacuuming the living-room upholstery.
~Vacuuming cobwebs from the basement ceiling.
~Cleaning behind and under the stove and refrigerator.
~Washing the kitchen windows and screens.
Maybe it's because I haven't done spring cleaning since we moved into this house.
Maybe it's because I lay in bed for several weeks and did no cleaning, and now I'm trying to catch up.
Maybe it's because I know that, once I go back to work, I'm not going to be able to do any of this because the job will take all the energy I have.
Maybe it's because some of these jobs are so overdue that they're interfering with the simple everyday cleaning, and they Must Be Done.
Maybe it's because some of these jobs are small enough that I've got the strength to do them (in between the times I sit on the phone, on hold, for long periods, "resting up" while I deal with hospital bills and insurance).
Right now, the house is clean, the lawn is mowed, the laundry is caught up. I cannot drive, so shopping, visiting, and other errands are not possible. I may have to do something fun ... and do it without guilt over all the other things I "should" be doing. Wow.
Not to worry, though. Things will get dirty. Soon enough I'll have more house-cleaning and laundry to do.
~Scrubbing the ceiling-fan blades with a toothbrush to get them all-the-way clean instead of just dusted.
~Vacuuming the backs and underneath-sides of the dressers.
~Scrubbing the floor behind the computer desk and the back side of the desk.
~Washing the handrail on the basement stairs.
~Cleaning out drains in the bathrooms.
~Vacuuming the tops of the encyclopedias, as well as all the bookshelves in the living room.
~Vacuuming the living-room upholstery.
~Vacuuming cobwebs from the basement ceiling.
~Cleaning behind and under the stove and refrigerator.
~Washing the kitchen windows and screens.
Maybe it's because I haven't done spring cleaning since we moved into this house.
Maybe it's because I lay in bed for several weeks and did no cleaning, and now I'm trying to catch up.
Maybe it's because I know that, once I go back to work, I'm not going to be able to do any of this because the job will take all the energy I have.
Maybe it's because some of these jobs are so overdue that they're interfering with the simple everyday cleaning, and they Must Be Done.
Maybe it's because some of these jobs are small enough that I've got the strength to do them (in between the times I sit on the phone, on hold, for long periods, "resting up" while I deal with hospital bills and insurance).
Right now, the house is clean, the lawn is mowed, the laundry is caught up. I cannot drive, so shopping, visiting, and other errands are not possible. I may have to do something fun ... and do it without guilt over all the other things I "should" be doing. Wow.
Not to worry, though. Things will get dirty. Soon enough I'll have more house-cleaning and laundry to do.
Monday, July 07, 2014
Screen Kleen
The little green roller beckoned to me while I was standing in line last year at the local hardware store. It promised to make cleaning the window-screens a simple, easy task.
Now, I don't know about you. But I don't often clean my screens. Maybe once a decade. And they get nasty when you have a fan sitting in the window, running, all summer. But cleaning the screens? What a pain! So they stay dirty too too often.
So I splurged. I bought the ScreenKleen kit.
It sat in the closet.
For some reason, right now I am feeling in need of cleaning in the corners, behind furniture, underneath things. I even got a toothbrush and Murphy's Oil Soap and scrubbed the nasty edge of a ceiling fan. I never did that before in my life! (Maybe these little jobs are my way of procrastinating on the big everyday jobs that I'm too weak to tackle?) The other day, I couldn't see out the kitchen window. There was tree-trimming going on next door. And I couldn't tell if there were damaged trees from the recent storm, or if these were preventive measures to get branches away from power lines before the next storm.
You know what? If you cannot see out the window, it's probably time to clean the window.
One window? That should only take a few minutes. I have energy enough for that. But the clean glass made the screen look awful. I tried the ScreenKleen. It worked. Oh man, it worked great! Easy to do! Effective! Easy to clean up and put away the supplies (as opposed to stowing the hose and scrub-brushes and screwdrivers and putting screens back into the windows).
The ScreenKleen kit worked so wondrously that I cleaned other screens later in the day. I may even do some more.
The only thing I don't know is about its longevity. The kit comes with two rollers. They can be washed and re-used. But for how long? (I'm hoping a good long time, because this tool may make it possible for me to have non-disgusting screens for the first time in my life.)
Now, I don't know about you. But I don't often clean my screens. Maybe once a decade. And they get nasty when you have a fan sitting in the window, running, all summer. But cleaning the screens? What a pain! So they stay dirty too too often.
So I splurged. I bought the ScreenKleen kit.
It sat in the closet.
For some reason, right now I am feeling in need of cleaning in the corners, behind furniture, underneath things. I even got a toothbrush and Murphy's Oil Soap and scrubbed the nasty edge of a ceiling fan. I never did that before in my life! (Maybe these little jobs are my way of procrastinating on the big everyday jobs that I'm too weak to tackle?) The other day, I couldn't see out the kitchen window. There was tree-trimming going on next door. And I couldn't tell if there were damaged trees from the recent storm, or if these were preventive measures to get branches away from power lines before the next storm.
You know what? If you cannot see out the window, it's probably time to clean the window.
One window? That should only take a few minutes. I have energy enough for that. But the clean glass made the screen look awful. I tried the ScreenKleen. It worked. Oh man, it worked great! Easy to do! Effective! Easy to clean up and put away the supplies (as opposed to stowing the hose and scrub-brushes and screwdrivers and putting screens back into the windows).
The ScreenKleen kit worked so wondrously that I cleaned other screens later in the day. I may even do some more.
The only thing I don't know is about its longevity. The kit comes with two rollers. They can be washed and re-used. But for how long? (I'm hoping a good long time, because this tool may make it possible for me to have non-disgusting screens for the first time in my life.)
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Asking for Help
... also known as "bossing people."
I had to gather all my gumption to order-around little kids, to make them pick up their toys, to make them stop hitting a sibling, to write a thank-you note, to do their chores. I kept making myself do it, for their sakes. But boy, oh boy, I was not one of those moms who thought it would be realistic to have the kids doing all the housework for me by the time I was 40.
This week I discovered why.
I can ask people to work alongside me.
I cannot ask people to do something for me if I am goofing off, resting, lying on the couchwatching tv letting my brain heal. I cannot ask people to clean house while I sit on the deck and read a book. Even if they goofed off earlier while I worked, I can't seem to flip the scenario and ask them to work now while I rest.
Last night, I asked for help. There were groceries to be unpacked, hamburger to be repackaged and labeled and frozen, recycling and trash to be hauled to the curb, dishes to be washed, cat box to be cleaned. All four of us pitched in, and the chores were done in about 15-20 minutes. If I'd tried it myself it would have been more like two hours.
I have to learn to request people to work while I don't.
It's hard.
But I'm going to need to learn to do it before I'm 95.
(By the way, my mom will totally understand this dilemma.)
I had to gather all my gumption to order-around little kids, to make them pick up their toys, to make them stop hitting a sibling, to write a thank-you note, to do their chores. I kept making myself do it, for their sakes. But boy, oh boy, I was not one of those moms who thought it would be realistic to have the kids doing all the housework for me by the time I was 40.
This week I discovered why.
I can ask people to work alongside me.
I cannot ask people to do something for me if I am goofing off, resting, lying on the couch
Last night, I asked for help. There were groceries to be unpacked, hamburger to be repackaged and labeled and frozen, recycling and trash to be hauled to the curb, dishes to be washed, cat box to be cleaned. All four of us pitched in, and the chores were done in about 15-20 minutes. If I'd tried it myself it would have been more like two hours.
I have to learn to request people to work while I don't.
It's hard.
But I'm going to need to learn to do it before I'm 95.
(By the way, my mom will totally understand this dilemma.)
Friday, April 18, 2014
A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss
But a rotating fan gathers LOST of dust!
I learned something about dust one day in confirmation class. (That was not the pastor's plan that day, I'm sure.) After our section on the commandments, all of us 8th-graders were taking a quiz. "True or false? Betsy shows respect for God's Word by dusting her Bible every week." Everybody in class (except one girl) answered "true." Pastor said the answer was "false." The class protested. Turns out that our misunderstanding had more to do with cleaning than with valuing God's word. Pastor (and the one girl who got the right answer) insisted that a Bible that is used won't get dusty. Pastor said that it shows more love for God's word to be reading it than to leave it sit unused to get dusty.
Anyway ...
According to that logic, a fan should grow dustier when sitting still than when being used. Guess what? When I began to keep house, I learned that's not the way it works. The other day, I found lights and fan on in an empty room. Buttinsky me turned off the light and the fan. And this picture shows what I found. Yuck! I wonder how long it's been since that fan was off?
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
To the Mall
This weekend a fantastic idea came to me about a few Christmas gifts. So yesterday Maggie and I went to the mall to buy them.
It felt weird.
I realized that I haven't been in a mall since we moved nearly six years ago. (At least, I don't think so.)
In other matters, I began a craft project which will be a Christmas project. I really want to do this. It will be FUN. And comforting. But I'm also leery about what this will do to my time available for other projects. You know -- "projects." Like making supper. Or reading schoolwork with Maggie. Or doing house repairs. Or doing laundry. Or vacuuming. "Projects."
One of those projects --cooking-- has been receiving more attention recently. For so many months I've relegated cooking to the bare necessities: get some calories into us and wash the dishes. I'm ready for some tasty food. And man, oh man, the food here has been delicious the past week. The refrigerator is full of awesome leftovers. And I have a day ahead of cooking Soft Foods for someone who's having oral surgery tomorrow. Tonight is chicken and dumplings. And hotfresh bread. Mmmm.
Also in other matters, we attended APT's Antony and Cleopatra this past weekend. I wasn't impressed. When we saw the play several years ago, it seemed more of a history. This time it seemed to celebrate the immoral relationship between the title characters. I wish we hadn't gone. And I don't know that I've ever thought that before.
Last week was the week-of-crazy. All sorts of wonderful things to do. Now it's catch-up time. Back to my stove....
It felt weird.
I realized that I haven't been in a mall since we moved nearly six years ago. (At least, I don't think so.)
In other matters, I began a craft project which will be a Christmas project. I really want to do this. It will be FUN. And comforting. But I'm also leery about what this will do to my time available for other projects. You know -- "projects." Like making supper. Or reading schoolwork with Maggie. Or doing house repairs. Or doing laundry. Or vacuuming. "Projects."
One of those projects --cooking-- has been receiving more attention recently. For so many months I've relegated cooking to the bare necessities: get some calories into us and wash the dishes. I'm ready for some tasty food. And man, oh man, the food here has been delicious the past week. The refrigerator is full of awesome leftovers. And I have a day ahead of cooking Soft Foods for someone who's having oral surgery tomorrow. Tonight is chicken and dumplings. And hotfresh bread. Mmmm.
Also in other matters, we attended APT's Antony and Cleopatra this past weekend. I wasn't impressed. When we saw the play several years ago, it seemed more of a history. This time it seemed to celebrate the immoral relationship between the title characters. I wish we hadn't gone. And I don't know that I've ever thought that before.
Last week was the week-of-crazy. All sorts of wonderful things to do. Now it's catch-up time. Back to my stove....
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Flea Market
One of my jobs in an attempt to create margin has been cleaning out stuff for the flea market. The sale was today, and it went well. Hmmm, as far as the sales and the getting-rid-of-junk, it went well.
We've been pulling things out of cupboards and the attic and the basement all summer, pricing it, and piling it in the garage. Bright and early this morning, we set up the booth at church. I headed to work while Maggie was in charge of sellingjunk precious goods. After the bank closed, I joined the party. Fun day, sitting outside with friends! Warm, but not hot. At the end of the day, a few items came home with me, while Julie hauled virtually all my leftovers to Goodwill with her leftovers.
When we came home and counted the money, we cleared over $150 after paying for the booth and lunch and everything. That's way more than I anticipated. And there's more space in the house! And we can park inside the garage again!
Only downside of the day: Zoe was injured. I wasn't there, so I'm getting stories second and third hand. But somehow she was hit with a toy while some kids were playing. At the sound of her whimper, the grown-ups turned around and saw Zoe's face, hands, and dress covered with blood from a cut in her forehead. She was very good in ER for the doctors to give her stitches. Her momma reports that she's doing fine.
And now, after a week of VBS and the flea market, it's time to get back to normal. We haven't mowed in two weeks. It's been longer than that since the house was cleaned. Catch-up time!
We've been pulling things out of cupboards and the attic and the basement all summer, pricing it, and piling it in the garage. Bright and early this morning, we set up the booth at church. I headed to work while Maggie was in charge of selling
When we came home and counted the money, we cleared over $150 after paying for the booth and lunch and everything. That's way more than I anticipated. And there's more space in the house! And we can park inside the garage again!
Only downside of the day: Zoe was injured. I wasn't there, so I'm getting stories second and third hand. But somehow she was hit with a toy while some kids were playing. At the sound of her whimper, the grown-ups turned around and saw Zoe's face, hands, and dress covered with blood from a cut in her forehead. She was very good in ER for the doctors to give her stitches. Her momma reports that she's doing fine.
And now, after a week of VBS and the flea market, it's time to get back to normal. We haven't mowed in two weeks. It's been longer than that since the house was cleaned. Catch-up time!
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Cleaning Silver
Put down that bottle of silver polish. Back away from it slowly. It is bad.
I didn't know any better. Those pretty silver-plated things we received as wedding gifts? When they tarnished, I used silver polish. I have ruined them.
Watching Downton Abbey, I saw servants polishing silver. In centuries past, people didn't have high-powered chemicals with noxious smells, liquids for which you need rubber gloves and a mask when you open the bottle. There had to be another way to clean silver. And those secrets are what the internet is good for!
A large pot made of non-reactive metal
(or even the kitchen sink).
A piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Hot water.
Salt and/or baking soda.
Fill the pot or sink with enough hot water to cover the vase or tray or spoons. Place the foil (shiny side up) on the bottom of the pot. Add several tablespoons of salt or baking soda (or both) and dissolve it. Place the silver into the water, making contact with the foil. Wait for a minute or two (or five) as the tarnish dissolves away. It is okay for the water to simmer gently on the stove.
When you take the silver out of the water, polish it up a bit to dry it well. Use a touch of olive oil on a soft cotton cloth or cotton ball to rub onto the silver to keep it from tarnishing too fast again.
If you have a piece of cheap silver that's in cruddy horrible awful shape, simply leaving it in the water longer won't be enough to clean it. After 10 minutes or so, take it out of the water, and use some elbow grease and a rag to rub it well. When you've gotten off as much blackness as possible, get fresh water, fresh foil, and fresh salt, and do it again. If you've already used traditional hardware-store chemical silver polish on your silver gazillions of times, the silver may be damaged enough that it can't be cleaned nicely. But you sure can make it better this way. And it sure does seem to me that it takes longer for the tarnish to return when the silver is cleaned this simple, non-toxic way.
I didn't know any better. Those pretty silver-plated things we received as wedding gifts? When they tarnished, I used silver polish. I have ruined them.
Watching Downton Abbey, I saw servants polishing silver. In centuries past, people didn't have high-powered chemicals with noxious smells, liquids for which you need rubber gloves and a mask when you open the bottle. There had to be another way to clean silver. And those secrets are what the internet is good for!
A large pot made of non-reactive metal
(or even the kitchen sink).
A piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Hot water.
Salt and/or baking soda.
Fill the pot or sink with enough hot water to cover the vase or tray or spoons. Place the foil (shiny side up) on the bottom of the pot. Add several tablespoons of salt or baking soda (or both) and dissolve it. Place the silver into the water, making contact with the foil. Wait for a minute or two (or five) as the tarnish dissolves away. It is okay for the water to simmer gently on the stove.
When you take the silver out of the water, polish it up a bit to dry it well. Use a touch of olive oil on a soft cotton cloth or cotton ball to rub onto the silver to keep it from tarnishing too fast again.
If you have a piece of cheap silver that's in cruddy horrible awful shape, simply leaving it in the water longer won't be enough to clean it. After 10 minutes or so, take it out of the water, and use some elbow grease and a rag to rub it well. When you've gotten off as much blackness as possible, get fresh water, fresh foil, and fresh salt, and do it again. If you've already used traditional hardware-store chemical silver polish on your silver gazillions of times, the silver may be damaged enough that it can't be cleaned nicely. But you sure can make it better this way. And it sure does seem to me that it takes longer for the tarnish to return when the silver is cleaned this simple, non-toxic way.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
New Dishes
The old dishes were annoying us. Quite a few had broken. The bowls didn't stack, and thus hogged too much space in cupboards. The plates were so flat that, when carried to the sink after a meal, silverware and salad dressing and meat juice would slide off the plate and fall on the floor. But even cheap dishes ($3 per place setting) seem too pricey when we already have dishes.
So every trip to Goodwill included a scan of the dishes-section.
#1 -- "Do the bowls stack nicely?"
#2 -- "Are there enough place settings?"
#3 -- "Is there some sort of raised edge on the plates?"
#4 -- "Ugly, tolerable, nice, or pretty?"
Last month I finally found bowls that stacked, plates that weren't too flat, with plenty of pieces for four people. On top of that, there were several serving pieces in the set. My only problem was that the dishes are SO pretty. Could I buy them? Would the men in the house be bothered by the flowers?
Less than $20 for 26 pieces. And the guys are okay with new set. Woo hoo! And not once has a knife slid off a plate as we clear the table after a meal.
And I'm tickled -- they're SO pretty!!! Sometimes it's the little things that make you smile! As a friend said recently, "Never underestimate the power of a coffee mug that makes you happy."
So every trip to Goodwill included a scan of the dishes-section.
#1 -- "Do the bowls stack nicely?"
#2 -- "Are there enough place settings?"
#3 -- "Is there some sort of raised edge on the plates?"
#4 -- "Ugly, tolerable, nice, or pretty?"
Less than $20 for 26 pieces. And the guys are okay with new set. Woo hoo! And not once has a knife slid off a plate as we clear the table after a meal.
And I'm tickled -- they're SO pretty!!! Sometimes it's the little things that make you smile! As a friend said recently, "Never underestimate the power of a coffee mug that makes you happy."
Monday, July 09, 2012
The Wonders of a Washcloth
Someone who shall remain unnamed was complaining to me a few months ago about the bath towel getting stinky. I kept wondering how a towel could be taking on body odor when you just washed yourself, and you're clean, and the towel is only for drying. A puzzle to me!
I was raised to use a soapy washcloth in the shower or bath. Some people use just a bar of soap to lather up. Hey, I remember seeing those Zest commercials back in the day! I always wondered where the washcloth was! In these recent toasty summer days (in which people may be adding a quickie-shower or two to the regular daily shower) I made a discovery. When you rub yourself with the bar of soap, lathering up, you don't get as clean as when you use a washcloth. Stinky sweaty body doesn't come as clean. And the towel takes some of that stink from the body. Ick.
Hopefully this means we have discovered how to keep the towels fresh for more than a couple of days.
I was raised to use a soapy washcloth in the shower or bath. Some people use just a bar of soap to lather up. Hey, I remember seeing those Zest commercials back in the day! I always wondered where the washcloth was! In these recent toasty summer days (in which people may be adding a quickie-shower or two to the regular daily shower) I made a discovery. When you rub yourself with the bar of soap, lathering up, you don't get as clean as when you use a washcloth. Stinky sweaty body doesn't come as clean. And the towel takes some of that stink from the body. Ick.
Hopefully this means we have discovered how to keep the towels fresh for more than a couple of days.
Monday, July 02, 2012
The Nice Thing about My Job
My real work --the work at home-- is never-ending. It's nigh onto impossible to catch up on the cooking, the cleaning, the homeschooling, the laundry, the repairs, the errands, the gardening. Sometimes I'm caught up, as it were, in one of those areas. But never all of them. Never even most of them. Oh, let's get real, I can't even remember being pretty much up-to-current in more than two of those things at once. That gets wearying.
The easy thing about going away to a job is that it's clear-cut. You go punch the time clock. You do your work. Sometimes there you get everything done. [gasp!] And then you might be able to twiddle your thumbs or surreptitiously flip through a magazine until the next customer arrives and you snap back to efficiency again. And at the end of the day, when you're done, you're actually done.
So after a week of going to my paid-job every day, now that I'm home again, I'm overwhelmed. Where to start?! It's especially hard to make decisions and to get motivated when you're being overwhelmed by some other things in life. And come the end of the day, even if I zip and zap and work like a maniac, the undone items on the to-do lists will still stretch before me.
So have any of you found solutions to this? How do you live with the perpetual knowledge that you're not doing what needs to be done? Or is the only real solution to reduce the amount of jobs you're trying to do? (Such as ditching the garden or quitting the job or hiring a maid?)
The easy thing about going away to a job is that it's clear-cut. You go punch the time clock. You do your work. Sometimes there you get everything done. [gasp!] And then you might be able to twiddle your thumbs or surreptitiously flip through a magazine until the next customer arrives and you snap back to efficiency again. And at the end of the day, when you're done, you're actually done.
So after a week of going to my paid-job every day, now that I'm home again, I'm overwhelmed. Where to start?! It's especially hard to make decisions and to get motivated when you're being overwhelmed by some other things in life. And come the end of the day, even if I zip and zap and work like a maniac, the undone items on the to-do lists will still stretch before me.
So have any of you found solutions to this? How do you live with the perpetual knowledge that you're not doing what needs to be done? Or is the only real solution to reduce the amount of jobs you're trying to do? (Such as ditching the garden or quitting the job or hiring a maid?)
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Yesterday's Tally
One batch of potato salad.
Two batches of granola.
One large batch of applesauce-oat muffins.
One batch of Katie-&-Zoe-safe muffins.
One batch of home-made caramels.
One batch of kombucha.
To the farm to buy milk.
To the bank's night deposit for a drop-off.
To the grocery store to nab this week's loss leaders.
Three loads of laundry.
Watering the garden.
Weeding more of the strawberry patch.
Prep work for a tray of baklava.
Prep work for two batches of Glenda's Most Evil Dessert.
Our first attempt at home-made mozzarella.
And because of all that, I washed dishes eight times.
Today I go to "work." That's the place where I get paid ... and where I rest up from my so-called day off.
Two batches of granola.
One large batch of applesauce-oat muffins.
One batch of Katie-&-Zoe-safe muffins.
One batch of home-made caramels.
One batch of kombucha.
To the farm to buy milk.
To the bank's night deposit for a drop-off.
To the grocery store to nab this week's loss leaders.
Three loads of laundry.
Watering the garden.
Weeding more of the strawberry patch.
Prep work for a tray of baklava.
Prep work for two batches of Glenda's Most Evil Dessert.
Our first attempt at home-made mozzarella.
And because of all that, I washed dishes eight times.
Today I go to "work." That's the place where I get paid ... and where I rest up from my so-called day off.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The Squeegee in the Shower
Don Aslett taught me to clean. So we have a squeegee in the shower. The shower walls should be squeegeed after every use, unless people are getting in the shower, boom-boom-boom, one after the other. Sometimes people forget. Sometimes we have company that doesn't know or doesn't want to bother squeegeeing. (Let's be realistic here -- how many people would know that they're supposed to squeegee my shower before they dry off?)
So is this too fussy? Is this necessary? Does it really make any difference?
Evidence #1 -- We were on vacation. Seven adults in a cabin. No squeegee in the shower. No daily spritz-spritz quick-clean as we do at home. You know what? A bathroom gets nasty pretty fast that way. I can live with one middle-of-the-week cleaning on vacation. After all, it's vacation. We're not supposed to be doing all the regular cleaning. But I don't think I could bear a bathroom (used by that many people) that went uncleaned for a whole week.
Evidence #2 -- A few months ago we had company. I think less than half the showerers were using the squeegee. After a week, I needed to [gasp] clean the shower walls. Y'know, like, scrub them. With a cleanser. What nonsense! Who has time for that? Who wants to spend money on the chemicals to do that? When you squeegee the walls faithfully, you only have to scrub the walls once or twice a year. [Oh, now, don't give me that. It is NOT gross to clean the walls twice a year. Not if you squeegee all the time. That's how awesome the squeegee is!]
Go to the hardware store. Spend the five bucks to buy a squeegee to hang in your shower. Take the 45 seconds daily to use it after your shower. Even if you're in a hurry. It saves so much time later!!
So is this too fussy? Is this necessary? Does it really make any difference?
Evidence #1 -- We were on vacation. Seven adults in a cabin. No squeegee in the shower. No daily spritz-spritz quick-clean as we do at home. You know what? A bathroom gets nasty pretty fast that way. I can live with one middle-of-the-week cleaning on vacation. After all, it's vacation. We're not supposed to be doing all the regular cleaning. But I don't think I could bear a bathroom (used by that many people) that went uncleaned for a whole week.
Evidence #2 -- A few months ago we had company. I think less than half the showerers were using the squeegee. After a week, I needed to [gasp] clean the shower walls. Y'know, like, scrub them. With a cleanser. What nonsense! Who has time for that? Who wants to spend money on the chemicals to do that? When you squeegee the walls faithfully, you only have to scrub the walls once or twice a year. [Oh, now, don't give me that. It is NOT gross to clean the walls twice a year. Not if you squeegee all the time. That's how awesome the squeegee is!]
Go to the hardware store. Spend the five bucks to buy a squeegee to hang in your shower. Take the 45 seconds daily to use it after your shower. Even if you're in a hurry. It saves so much time later!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
