Happy to be Cleaning (believe it or not!)

I woke up this morning EXCITED, and you won't believe what it was about.

Believe it or not, I woke up excited to get to clean my house today and I just had to share with ya'll!

Now, if you follow this blog, or know me at all, you are in shock and awe right now because you know I HATE to clean and work around the house. It is on my short list of areas where I struggle. I know I should clean and keep up my home. I don't work for heaven's sake! But it still remains an area that is difficult for me. But God has given me some revelation in this area and is changing my heart. It is a work in progress, but I have finally gotten a piece of the puzzle in place and it feels good!

Now, keep in mind, I did say "a piece" of the puzzle.  I still don't have the habits I desire to have (i.e. keeping the laundry folded and put away, keeping the dishes done, being really organized) down pat, but I have been consistently on track with one habit. And that is, doing a good clean sweep (pun intended) of my home on Thursdays.

I had a friend who told me once that she cleaned her house on Thursday evenings after work (I was working at the time) so she could get it all out of the way and enjoy her weekend. I thought that was a really good idea, but I never implemented it. But this past year, my daily schedule and outside commitments sort of dictated that Thursday would be the day when I would get my cleaning done. I have Bible study with my small group at church on Monday mornings, I attend a networking meeting on Tuesday mornings, Wednesday is free, Thursday is free and on Fridays I attend my MOPS meetings. This will all start back in full force in August, with the addition of my daughter attending preschool 4 days a week. And this summer, I've gotten in the habit of working really hard on Thursdays to get my house cleaning done....and I love it!

Here are the chores I try to get completed on Thursdays...

-Sweep and steam mop all floors (90% of my home has wood laminate or vinyl). Since my mom let me borrow her steam mop, I have been keeping my floors really clean because I love it THAT MUCH! This one activity takes the most time, but it's fun (did I for real just say that?).

-Give the kitchen a good scrub down. Wipe down all appliances and microwave and canisters. Move objects on the counters out of the way and wipe behind and under them. "Fluff" everything and make it pretty and put something in the crock-pot so I don't mess up my shiny stove top!

-Wash the kitchen and bathroom rugs. They are roughly the same color (red), so I wash them together.

-Vacuum the large rugs in the dining room and family room.

-Windex the front and back door glass, the bathroom mirrors, the glass end tables and TV stand in the family room.

-Dust the piano, dining room table, china cabinet, and the master bedroom furniture.

-Straighten up master bedroom (as well as possible. My husband has his "stuff" laid out and ordered the way he wants it, messy as it may be, so I try not to bother it) and sweep and mop in there as well.

-Clean the bathroom. Empty trash, wipe down vanity, scrub the toilet, clean and scrub the tub, wash hand towels and wash-clothes.

-As well as keeping up with a 3 year old who pulls stuff back out as fast as I can pick it up, make her lunches and drinks, take her to the potty endless times, nurse boo-boos, administer medicines and whatever else comes up...which could be and has been just about everything (who, as I write this is tugging on my sleeve to read her a book...see what I mean? haha).

Now, I realize this is a lot to do in one day. But I like taking one day and getting it done. And the truth is, we all know that it doesn't stay nice and pretty for long with a preschooler in the house! The maintenance of a clean house is an EVERY DAY chore. But the good thing is, I've kept the house picked up pretty well this week, so there's not as much "pre-cleaning" to do before I actually start the real cleaning.

Now, the Fly Lady would suggest breaking this up and doing a little every day, but I just don't operate that way I guess. However, I do like her suggestions for monthly "zone cleaning." Which is deep cleaning in certain areas in your home. For example, the kitchen would be broken down into small pieces (cleaning out the fridge, dusting and polishing the cabinets, organizing drawers, dusting baseboards, etc.) to deep clean for 15 minutes a day for a month. This helps you get the things done that we sometimes forget (I mean, when was the last time you cleaned your baseboards? I don't know either! haha).

But for me, every other day besides Thursday, I'm going to work on organizing. There are boxes and boxes of stuff that needs to be dealt with, my daughter's overflowing toy situation, the ever present laundry issue and whatever else comes up.

At any rate, I am excited today and ready to get crackin'! Woohoo for a clean house!