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Monday, February 7, 2011

Git 'er done cleaning: Chip away at it daily

   Okay, this is not a "which of these things doesn't belong here" kinda post. (Though it could be!). And it's not about showing off my souvenir print of canning jars bought at an art museum down in Mississippi to motivate me to can/preserve more.

   Nah, it's about cleaning. My least favorite thing to do.
   Never been about all day once a week cleaning marathons. I'm more of a clean only 1/4 of the shower stall per day (cuts down on excuses). Clean the bathroom sink every change of towels, but before taking used towels to the laundry, use one to shine up the ole faucet. Or occasionally when taking yesterday's dishcloth to the dirty clothes hamper, use it to clean the top of a door or a window sill. That's IT for my cleaning advice!
   Which is why I'm liking that cleaning site that Blessings uses. That Fly Lady cleaning site now sends me a daily e-mail which is helping me to get things done in an unexpected way. Not exactly following along & doing what Fly Lady suggests for each day, but her concept of 5, 10 and 15 minute cleanings really helps to encourage my lazy self that something is doable. Fits in perfectly with my "chip away at it daily" cleaning style.
   Now when I look at some cleaning task, I ask myself if it could conceivably be done in 5 minutes. For instance, I emptied, cleaned and refilled my spice cabinet in less than 10 minutes...something I'd been putting off took under 10 MINUTES to accomplish! Sheesh!
   And yeah, I know the spice cabinet still looks messy. Don't know what I'd do without all of them though, plus the spillover spices on the next shelf, in another cabinet, in the fridge and in the pantry. Yeah, I'm a spice junkie!
   But now I'm a spice junkie with a clean shelf!

12 comments:

Practical Parsimony said...

That is a beautiful spice cabinet! Can you come clean mine?
I have been considering cleaning the cabinet nest to the stove where spices, sugar, tea,and all that sort of thing is stored. I will have to stand on a chair to get all three shelves cleaned, so I procrastinate.
Yes, the sugar, flour, and oil are all on those three shelves. Actually, the top shelf is extras of the two below. I don't have as many spices as you, but it is enought to make me crazy some days in its confused state.
The thought to clean even one shelf each day crosses my mind a dozen times each day. Maybe this week, I will clean the bottom shelf and wait for a spotter to clean and straighten the two top shelves.
Thanks for the inspiration to finally do it.

Unknown said...

Nice job! You`ve done yourself proud with that cleaning. I usually clean along as I cook, and then it`s not such a drag to do the cupboards and shelves. Mind you, the worst bit is cleaning the oven. That is a major job and I leave myself a few hours on a Saturday morning to truely blitz that inside and out. This job I hate the most.

MegSmith @ Cooking.In.College said...

Haha I love this! I could also be considered a spice junkie, seriously I have always thought I just had the basics but I have...a lot :-)

I am with you on that cleaning deal. I'd rather clean 1/4 of the shower for 4 days than do it all at once! Not that it would take that long but still...

Practical Parsimony said...

Okay, I posted a picture of my messy shelf! Was yours as bad before you cleaned it?

Mary said...

FlyLady seems to be gaining popularity in all the blogs I follow!

I've been trying to incorporate some of her ideas to bring more order to my chaotic kitchen / apartment / life, but it's been pretty hard for me. I do love her idea for using timers though.

Just this weekend I knew I needed a more thorough session with my closet, so even though I didn't do 5-15 minutes, I set my timer for an hour and it really helped me stay on task seeing the minutes vanish one by one.

Marie said...

One of my friends does the Fly lady thing and she likes it a lot. Well, maybe I should give it a try too. My house is always hopelessly messy. Clean, but very cluttered. It's very annoying. I need evrybody to be on board and that's the hard part!

singlemama said...

:-) I've read a bit in fly lady's blog. and I've found DECLUTTERING. that's a habit I've learned from an italian blogger long time ago. and it really helps a lot if you regularly do it during the week.

:-)

singlemama said...

PS : I'm so ill, i'm not cleaning anything these days... :-(

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog & for leaving a comment! I L-O-V-E the Tighwad Gazette, and I've read it at least once or twice a year, every year, for the past five years!

Nice to meet another TG fan!

Dmarie said...

@Practical, actually the cabinet looked pretty much the same...just clean now!
@Sarina, I'm with you on that!
@Mary, well done!
@Marie, I like to de-clutter, have an SIL who likes to clean. I've often thought we ought to form a commune, since our styles would pair well. ;)
@SingleMama, feel better SOON!
@Peach, the TG books never fail to inspire...no matter how many times I read them. thx for visiting!
Good to hear from you all!

Lindy Mint said...

It is amazing how much you can get done in just a few minutes. Sometimes if I'm feeling lazy at night, I'll set the timer for 10 minutes and do as much as I can. It just feels better psychologically knowing that it's only 10 minutes of my life.

PS: The organized cabinet looks great!

Grace said...

That is so neat and tidy and clean. I think you have inspired me to clean mine today (right after my coffee....)

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