One Big Family | |
Scrub-a-dub-dubBIG cleaning today. Things we accomplished:-Taught the children the cleaning concept "From the Inside-Out". Clean the medicine cabinet first, then the sinks and counters; clean the inner toilet first, then the outside rings, then around the base; clean the ceiling fan first, then vacuum and dust. For organizing, this means that the most used items always go on top or in the front, regardless of how it looks. If you put the little-used pain-relievers and pedicure items in the front of your bathroom cabinet because they are short, and your toothbrush and toothpaste in the back because they are tall, you will have a disheveled cabinet in no time. Put the most-used items in front, and things will stay neat for much longer. In order to make an emphasis on this for today's cleaning, I used the children as visual objects, turning them into tubes of toothpaste and deoderant and standing them in an imaginary cabinet. Much laughter accompanied our little lesson! -Cleaned under basement stairs--put baby furniture and Christmas boxes in the front per our "inside out" idea. -Cleaned basement window-wells and under the deck in preparation for winter. -Cleaned all of the ceiling fans and on top or our tall bookcases. -Completely switched the little girls' summer and winter outfits. -Organized their clothes into their drawers and hung everything according to type in my closet (we hang up almost all clothes to save on ironing later). -Put all of the luggage away from our trip. -Straightened up the boys' underwear and cleaned under their bed. -Did the same in the younger girls' room. -SCRUBBED THE VACUUMS! I don't know if anyone can relate--we have 3 vacuums, one for each floor. They are the cheap, bagless types--no super-expensive Dysons (its the plastic that keeps me from buying one--just wouldn't last any longer than the cheapos around here--we've even killed a Kirby before). We are sticklers about floors--some rooms are vacuumed 3 times a day--which is ok when you consider the amount of traffic our floors receive. Our children are children, and this means that when there are mashed potatoes underneath the dining room table, they don't take the time to clean them they way an adult would, they vacuum them up! This means that our machines can get really yucky and unhealthy. So we put the cannisters and filters in the tub and gave them all a good scrubbing--no 1-2-3 type of task! -Cleaned the front door closet--this means a ton of shoes! -Stripped the bedding and put it in for a wash--our washer has been humming all day, although we are blessed with sunshine and a nice breeze, so we used our "solar dryer" on the deck. -Super-cleaned the laundry room, or "germ room", where those 21+ loads of dirty clothes congregate, with all of the unmentionable yucky stuff attached to them. After our deep cleaning, we then took out all the trash, put out-of-place items back, and vacuumed with our restored machines--now with full suction power! Daddy rewarded the older girls by taking them to the Goodwill for a little shopping while the little ones and I took a rest. Then the little guys headed outside to the play area to set up a "movie scene" for a bucket of plastic army men in the sand. Our oldest son came home and did a science experiment with the kids--making a rocket using tin foil and matches, and then he showed them how they could make a wallet using a sheet of 8.5x11 paper. (you can find these two on the Instructables website--really worth looking into). After dinner, it will be another old movie which our daddy checks out of the library--"The Vikings" with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis. He is so smart to do this for us--we are being blessed with some good entertainment. Whew! I am so thankful that God helped me to get the things done on my "to do"/prayer list! What a blessing to head into the weekend with so much behind us. I even have part of my breakfast for the morning already set out! Leave a Comment { Last Page } { Page 21 of 84 } { Next Page } |
About Me My Profile Archives Friends LinksFamily photo
CategoriesChild rearingHome-making Homeschooling Large family distinctives Loving my husband Pantry Principle Walk with God Recent EntriesEASY chicken and potato soupMaking hay while the baby sleeps Are boys or girls "easier" More baby pictures Christmas What are you buying your husband for Christmas? Sharing the joy... Pictures She's here! False alarm American Girls dolls--sort of White walls Technical difficulties Belly shot and other pics Heart check The fear of God Things I love about pregnancy Jury duty A funny occurance Vacuum cleaners FriendsBuckeyeblogDebi rondahinzman QuiverfullMom weareqf SandMountainAcademy homegoddess22 dawilli TRINITYPREPSCHOOL genamayo hallfamily8 Peekershaz thecoolmom cyndiegirl72 Mommaofmany BarbaraLee sunydazy HeadingHomeward youngmommy agodlyhomemaker homeschool blogroll |