Cleaning routine - kitchen

Yesterday was hob, microwave and fridge day. I don't do a deep clean every time but I did with the fridge today.

With the hob out of the way ...

and the microwave too,

 

I took everything out of the fridge and washed all the shelves and the inside with hot soapy water. The inside door holds the milk, cold tap water bottles, fresh orange juice, eggs and the spray cream as it wouldn't stand up in the main fridge.

Plenty of left overs to eat up in the fridge. The lard and butter are at the top back with tartare and horseradish sauce jars. Chicken casserole awaits us tonight and pork chops tomorrow. The cheeses are in the white container with the salady stuff at the bottom. I try to keep things in containers or wrapped up for easy access.

I got carried away and did a quick tidy of the coffee and tea cupboard,

cleaning of the cupboard fronts,  (Flat fronts are much easier to clean than contoured ones) ...

and finished off making some chocolate cornflake bites.

xx

Cleaning Routine for the week

To the tune of *'Today's Monday' with a little bit of Elvis thrown in.

Today's Monday, today's Monday.

Monday's Back Room Day.

Wash or iron maybe,

Thorough clean one spot.

DEEP CLEAN!

Today's Tuesday, today's Tuesday.

Tuesday's lounge or dine

Monday's Back Room Day.

Wash or iron maybe,

Thorough clean one spot.

DEEP CLEAN!

Today's Wednesday, today's Wednesday.

Wednesday's Hall and Stairs,

Tuesday's Lounge or Dine,

Monday's Back Room

Wash or iron maybe,

Thorough clean one spot.

DEEP CLEAN!

Today's Thursday, today's Thursday.

Thursday's Bedroom

Wednesday's Hall and Stairs,

Tuesday's Lounge or Dine,

Monday's Back Room

Wash or iron maybe,

Thorough clean one spot.

DEEP CLEAN!

Today's Friday, today's Friday.

Friday's Bathroom

Thursday's Bedroom

Wednesday's Hall and Stairs,

Tuesday's Lounge or Dine,

Monday's Back Room

Wash or iron maybe,

Thorough clean one spot.

DEEP CLEAN!

Today's Saturday, today's Saturday.

Saturday's FMH, (fridge, microwave, hob)

Friday's Bathroom

Thursday's Bedroom

Wednesday's Hall and Stairs,

Tuesday's Lounge or Dine,

Monday's Back Room

Wash or iron maybe,

Thorough clean one spot.

DEEP CLEAN!

Today's Sunday, today's Sunday.

Sunday's Day of Rest,

Saturday's FMH,

Friday's Bathroom

Thursday's Bedroom

Wednesday's Hall and Stairs,

Tuesday's Lounge or Dine,

Monday's Back Room

NO wash or ironing

Today's a Day of Rest.

xx

* Can't find my version of the song on the Internet but these are the words. We used to sing this song at guides.

Today's Monday, today's Monday.
Monday is washing day.
Is everybody happy?
You bet your life we are.


Tuesday is soup 
Wednesday is roast beef
Thursday is shepherds pie
Friday is fish
Saturday is pay day
Sunday is church

Cleaning Routine - Thursday, Friday

Thursday - Bedroom

Whoops, this should have been posted yesterday.

Any bedroom will do on a Thursday. The whole room will be tidied and vacuumed (including the edges) and one part focussed on for a more thorough clean - skirting boards, architraves, windows, wardrobes, bed. Bedding washing is for Saturdays.

Friday - Bathroom

And this is for today.

Friday's cleaning is done with the bathroom tidied. My focus today was the woodwork - architraves, skirting boards, picture rail, dado and windows. The light fittings were dusted with my tickling stick. They are a flat boat shape and when we decorated the fittings were cleaned very thoroughly. I don't want them to get so dirty again so a flick of the tickling stick every week should help.

The picture rail runs all the way round and that was dusted then wiped.

Had to get down low to go under the sink unit.

Well that's it for the week. Everything ship shape. I went swimming yesterday and today is my turn at the CS playing shop. Might even find some good bargains while I'm at it.

xx

PS For those who don't know fish pie is cooked fish in a white sauce topped with mashed potato and crisped up in the oven for about 20 minutes.

xx

Cleaning Routine - Wednesday

Wednesday - Hall and Stairs

Time to hoover two flights of stairs and I generally hoover the bathroom and bedrooms while I have the hoover out. The extra bit today was dusting the architraves and skirting boards. Other weeks I will clean the bannisters or door handles. I do have a small vacuum for vacuuming the stairs but I usually lug the large vac with the extension thingummy as it saves me winding up the leads of 2 vacuums.

As well as cleaning one loo thoroughly that was it. The rest was tripping the light fantastic at the Tower and making fish pie for tea!

xx

Cleaning Routine - Tuesday

Tuesday - Lounge or Dining Room

The lounge is only used in the evening so does not get in disarray very often as supper things are cleared away in the evening before bed as well as cushions and throws straightened. Tuesdays are for the more thorough clean. Today I will concentrate on dusting the fireplace, furniture and picture rails in both rooms. The carpets will be vacuumed. That's it - it won't take long as swimming and lunch out is on the agenda for today.

xx

PS - in answer to BBBJ the answer is, "Yes, I do do other things apart from cleaning and my cleaning routine may appear to be obsessive but with this framework I can do as little or as much as I want each day and know that all areas will have been covered with minimal effort and I've 'kept on top of things'."

The very act of living in a house creates disorder involving clutter, dirt and dust. Items are brought in, things moved around, clothes changed. Order and cleanliness doesn't last very long when activity and creativity are present. Illness, of which our family has had more than its fair share, doesn't help on the house maintenance front. Yes, when I can I will put my cleaning routine into action, not to be obsessive but to be happy in the knowledge that the house is in good working order so that we can pursue and enjoy all our hobbies and family life.

xx

Cleaning Routine - Monday

Monday - Back Room

As well as the daily routine tidy I focus on our Back Room for a more thorough clean on Mondays.  Everything is 'put in its place'



and then today I cleaned the paintwork - skirting boards, window and door frames.



This involves some scrabbling around on the floor to get to areas under the dresser and sideboard. The gaps in between the radiator and the wall are dusted with my trusty 'not feather' dusted which fits brilliantly into the tiny area and helps prevent a build up of dust and detritus.

(Perhaps I should call it my 'tickling stick'.  RIP Ken Dodd.)

This same duster can also do picture rails and high up places easily.

Other spots to thoroughly clean are the windows, of which there a are quite a few in this room, the dresser (waxed every blue moon), the floor and the lights. These spots will be tackled on future Mondays.

Everyday the loos get a quick wipe but each week they have a really good clean up and under the rim and all that. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are set aside for this - 3 loos, one day each.

That was enough for today because we were taken out for a belated Mother's Day lunch with DD.
Full now,

xx

Cleaning Routine - Sunday

Sunday is my day of rest and there's only one thing to be done apart from my normal daily routine and that is polishing the brass.

I can manage to add pics that I've already posted
but no new ones. Strange.

Grandma used to do the brass every week when she was alive so I feel obliged to carry on doing so. Plus the front door is more welcoming with the brass 'done'. If it is fine weather I also wipe any road dust from the door, door surround and window frames just to add to the sparkle.

xx

Edited later - I've managed to upload some pics to yesterday's post via a roundabout way by copying them to my desktop and uploading from there. Blogger does not want to know about my Photos application.

Cleaning Routine - Saturday

Phase 1 of the decorating is now complete and there should be no more decorating mess for the foreseeable future. Now my Cleaning Routine can get back to normal. 

Everyday I make sure that the kitchen floor is swept and mopped, cat tray sorted, kitchen surfaces cleaned, washing loads are done (if needed) and ironing is done (if needed).

Saturday

Make sure everything is in its proper place. (Everything must have a home or a 'put down' place.)

Clean - the fridge, the microwave and the hob.

That's it for Saturday - no deep cleaning on the weekends.

Today I also did the finishing touches to the understairs loo - hoovering the newly laid carpet, cleaning the door, dusting the shelves and adding finishing touches such as loo rolls in the cupboard and ornaments on the shelves. The hall was hoovered and the remnants of carpet put in the bin.

xx

PS Having trouble uploading photos at the moment. Will do so as soon as I've figured it out. Have upgraded to High Sierra and some things don't work! Hey ho!

Edited 11/3/18 - Managed to put the pics on via a roundabout way. :)

A little bit of sitting, contemplation and observation

When sitting and contemplating on the loo, observing pussycattos and bits on the floor I often ask myself the question, "Who is it that is responsible for picking up the said bits?" Aha! I know the answer - me.

When brushing my teeth and observing the gunge around the basin who is it that is responsible for getting rid of the grot and making the sink sparkle again? Me!

While getting dressed in the morning who is it that is going to rid the skirting boards of dust first?

Guess who? Me.

Now with my super, duper Home Organisation in my Filofax these subjects could be a thing of the past. Just a little bit of time each day doing one or two tasks could open up the subject choices of my daydreaming. No fretting over cleaning for me - I have a system - not proven yet, I know, but going well so far.

Forget Fly Lady, here comes Miraculous Mum, who will take sitting and contemplating on the loo to a whole new level. Fret not now about bits on the floor and dusty skirtings and wonder at the sparkling beauty of the rooms around you.

xx

PS The old toothbrush is my special service tool number 1 for getting into small crevices around plug holes, taps, windows and skirting boards. Works a treat.

PPS Is it only me that contemplates the room around me while sitting you know where?

:}

Nine to Five

9am

What am I wearing? 
Black leggings and maroon jumper (courtesy DD)
What am I doing?
I'm on my hands and knees weeding in between the cracks on the patio area. I am determined to keep on top of the bits of grass that spring up in the crevices. I also weeded each side of the path down to the garage.

Where am I?
In the garden of course

What's the sky like?
Blue with some cloud and it does become overcast every so often. It's not too cold though.
What's motivating me?
Having a weed free patio for the rest of the season so I can set out  my chairs and table and sit on the bench without thinking, "I must dig out that weed!"

2pm

What am I wearing?
Same as before

What am I doing?
Mopping the floor in the garden room - we've been coming into the house this way and it was a little dirty. I swept, moved and cleaned , skirting boards, window sills, furniture and window frames and then wiped the floor.
Where am I?
In the garden room of course

What's the sky like?
Same as earlier on and I have the doors wide open as it's quite warm.
What's motivating me?

Clean and tidy, clean and tidy, clean and tidy.

5pm

What am I wearing?
Same as before.
What am I doing?
Eating tea - left over chicken, home grown corn on the cob from the freezer, mushrooms and tinned tomatoes followed by the last of the Christmas pudding with custard.
Where am I?
In the back room
What's the sky like?
Same as earlier on
What's motivating me?
Eating everything on the plate. I like my food.

I'm linking to Thrift Deluxe's blog today as her blog is called Nine to Five.

xx

Little bits, tiny steps, slow but sure

Everything cannot be done at once so today in the de-cluttering department - 

shoes, clothes and books went into the CS bag,

cleaning department - 

hoovered downstairs and upstairs, cleaned the loo (the loo seat came down on my thumb - ow, ow, ow!),

kitchen department - 

made a stew from last of the onions, veg and an end from DH's steak
and made bread in a terracotta bread dish which was a gift for my birthday,

give-away department - 

visited some friends and gave some daffodil bulbs to them (we'd ordered too many),

make department - 

added some more rows to a scarf,

tidy cupboard department - 

sorted another wardrobe,

relax department - 

read the newspaper and some chapters of 2 books I have on the go,

maintenance - 

re-charged the Kindle

care department - 

stroked the pusscat and made sure she took her medication (she had 3 teeth out yesterday - worrying times!)

drinks department -

Enough done - where's the sherry?

xx

Dressing up

The time had come to dress up the dresser. It had become too cluttered and too dusty.

Flowers without a home, odd bits and pieces everywhere ...

and bits of Christmas and Easter still lurking about.

I've always said that a dresser should be cluttered but this one had far too much going on.

Can you see the dust here?

I wonder where the vase went!

Poor little chick  - it's supposed to go tweet when it is picked up. This one doesn't, even with new batteries. It had to go!

Aha, can you see the dust now?

I know that cats turn up in the most unusual places. This one's in with the detritus.

My lucky piece of heather - I daren't get rid of it - is dropping flowery bits everywhere. Can you see the Christmas plate? I wonder if I should leave it up as it's nearly Christmas this year.

I stopped looking at it and started 'doing'. Everything came off.

The dresser was dusted ...

… waxed and buffed.

Now is this more showroom standard with artistic and interesting groupings of our ornaments and collections?

I do like my dresser legs. They are now all dustless, shiny and polished - 

shame about the floor!

xx

PS Welcome to Simple Living.

List 52 - Week 6

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My sixth week task is:

6. Start to tidy the cubby holes in the wall unit. There are 16 holes so tidying one at a time will make the job easier. Be ruthless and throw out or recycle anything that needs to go. Your excuse of 'these are working shelves' doesn't cut it. Start tidying today!

OK, I hear you loud and clear. Let's start with the overall picture. Oh, 'tis groaning, groaning under the weight of 'things' that will come in handy sometime.

Righto - number uno. Here are items packed in with no order or design.

Take out and sort.

Now I can't get rid of the purring pussycats yet. Those stick on eyes may be of use - I'll put them in my craft basket. Perhaps I should put the knitted cosy on my iPod.

Oh my, look what's behind. This Lego is supposed to be going on Ebay. It just needs checking, photographing, weighing and listing. Perhaps that's another job for List 52. Not today, I'm tidying.

My theme will be tins so I'll put my pens' tin and my buttons' tin on there with the others. That will free up space elsewhere.

They will join the black and white cottons' tin.

Do you like my star buttons? They arrived all the way from China in January - rather too late to put on top of my crocheted Christmas trees.

The small white box holds my German tree decoration. I couldn't put it in the loft, it's too pretty.

These catering tins are very useful for storing felt tips, pens and pencils.

I seem to have a collection of scissors too but they always come in handy, don't they. This pair folds up.  I should really attach it to my keyring.

There now. Not everything went back. Some items were thrown and some re-housed in other places. No doubt I'll find them again when I tidy another cubby hole. I added Captain Scarlet as there was a kind of red theme going on as well as a tin theme.

I wonder how long it will stay this way!

xx