Mary Challenge - List the specific reasons you want a clean house. Organize them into a mission statement. Decorate it, frame it, do whatever you want to it... then hang it up where you can see it every day. It will help on days that you just don't feel like cleaning to refer back to the reasons you want a clean home. Martha Challenge - Make a list of any supplies you will need so you can purchasing missing items on your next shopping trip Since you don't have the benefit of being able to thumb through the book, I made a list of everything necessary. Most of it is just normal cleaning items (window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, tub/tile cleaner, rags, broom and mop, etc.). She does suggest a few natural cleaners for specific tasks, including lemons and baking soda. You might also want: Drain cleaner (preemptively) step stool or sturdy chair wall cleaner (i.e. if you think you'll need a magic eraser or two ) cotton swabs something safe for cleaning electronics, including a soft cloth for the screens boxes/bags for packing give-away items On days 13, 16, and 23, the missions include steam-cleaning your carpets/area rugs. Plan accordingly or plan to skip it. lol This might be a good time to discuss any specific cleaning tools/products that you prefer. or any tips and tricks. For instance, I've found vodka to be a fantastic antibacterial agent. It works as well as bleach without the negative effect on my lungs. lol. I put it in a spray bottle for ease of use.
hmmmm vodka for cleaning? never heard that one. I keep to either my Vinegar or the Clorox Green Works line for cleaning. Oh and my Swifer is awsome. sorry no tricks to share. though my house hasn't been this clean in a long time. when hubby is done I clean to keep me busy.
I'm going to be following along. We will be out of town this weekend, but I may try to catch-up later. I just cleaned my carpet a couple of weeks ago, so I'm ahead there!
I will! How's everyone doing so far? I obviously finished my supply list (not much to get), but I haven't started my mission statement yet.
I'm having an issue with the mission statement....lol Ok my #1 reason is I am stressed when the house is a mess... BUT with 4 kids 3 of them young and the other one who drags legos around all over the house leaving pieces everywhere, I'm almost afraid that the stress of trying to clean after them will be more stress..lol My cleaning supplies, All horrible choices- Pinesol lavendar, Clorox Clean Up, Windex, The Works Toilet Cleaner, and that stuff called Awesome.. hubby says it's a degreaser, I say it's awesome..lol
I feel the same. But I know that the stress of the mess far exceeds the stress of the cleaning. At least for me.
I use tea tree oil for just about everything we clean around here. Mostly because it's not going to kill my baby if he happens to get his hands on the spray bottle, and because I LOVE the smell of it. Bleach is reserved for toilets and hubby's socks in this house (hubby insists he must have white socks, but he also insists that he must wear socks at all times so...). I almost never run out of cleaning products simply because all I need is a spray bottle and tea tree oil (one bottle of that lasts me months, since it's used just a couple drops at a time) The only thing I tend to run out of is baking soda (for scrubbing) and vinegar (for laundry).
Not well. See, something like the mission statement is one of the things that I don't like about Fly Lady. I don't like to do stuff like that for two reasons, 1. I would get teased and I get that enough without adding to it. :lol: 2. I guess I don't like it because if I don't follow through with the mission, everyone knows I failed. :lol: So I guess I will start with day two.
I'm with you! But I'll try. The mess is getting to me too! My trick for lego is that no lego is to exit the boys bedroom unless it is built into a solidly built object. Then it must be returned once you have shown off your creation! There shall be no loose lego in the house!! The rule has worked fairly well for us. We still get stuffies and other toys all over the house, but the lego is contained!
Yeah here too... or I think I would get teased anyway. I am very careful with what I write or leave laying around because I'm afraid I would get picked on. In reality, my hubby is amazing and means no harm, and if he knows his picking his bothering me, will stop, but I lived a former life that I would have never heard the end of things like that (and not in a teasing way), and even after years of not having to live in world to please someone else, I still haven't been able to get past it. I do have a mental mission statement brewing in my head and I can look at it whenever I want
That's exactly where I am, DH, former life, and all. Except that I don't even have a "mental" mission statement. Maybe I should do that!
I was going to ask what do you ladies use to mop tile floors with. I use vinegar most of the time, but it almost feels sticky and not as clean as when I use pinsol. But I do not want to use pinesol all the time. My mission statement is that I have to get my house in order/clean because it is too small to be a mess. We can't function as a family/business in this messy house. It is only 800sf (on the outside!) with 5 people, a business, and a 100lb yellow lab. My husband, kids and me all have better days when the laundry is put away and the paper work filed, and the dishes done.
This made me laugh. It probably would be a good clearner, but it could lead to some interesting rumors. Friends and families would be discussing why my house smells like liquor and why I have a gallon jug of vodka in the bathroom!
Actually, the smell goes away almost immediately! That's one of the things that's so great about it!!! And I do keep my bottle hidden. lol. Funniest thing was the first time I bought it: A friend had suggested it to get the molded orange juice stain out of my red van carpet. So I bought a 5th of McCormik (the cheap stuff) and a spray bottle. That's it. When I got to the counter to pay, the guy at the register thought he was being funny and said, "Are you going to put the vodka in the spray bottle. har har har." I, very stone-faced, said, "yes." And not a word more. lol. He looked very confused.
