I work full-time at a company about 12 miles from my house. I go in to work early and try and get off early so I have more time in the evenings with my family. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. I also have computer access from home to work so that I can always catch up on things when the kids settle down for the night (or in the wee early hours when I can't sleep) It helps me balance things and yet not feel like I am short-changing anyone. I run errands on my lunch hour as much as possible. Or, I run an errand on my way home.
I do all our banking on-line. I can move money around, pay bills, check charges, etc in an instant, any time night or day. Oh boy do I feel powerful!!! OK, I would feel a lot more powerful if there was more money in there, but at least I can pay all the bills and still have a bit of disposable income. Oh wait, school is about to start. Scratch the disposable income part. Ugh!
I adore/love anything Swiffer. I want to marry them! I use the extended handle dusters and let Levi play Swiffer hockey on the tile. I walk around with a duster in my back pocket to swipe at things while I am cleaning. I use the wet jet to keep sticky spots on the tile under control. It's not what I consider deep cleaning but it sure keeps things under control with a minimum of effort.
For deep cleaning I use my Bissel steam cleaner on the tile every few months. It leaves the floors clean enough to eat off of and only takes 1-2 hours to do all the tile (a LOT) I also love my Dyson vacuum cleaner, although now that I know Angel has a Roomba I am thinking that I really NEED one.
I don't have a meal plan set ahead of time. I usually like to think about what I want for dinner each day, find out what Chris had for lunch and then choose. I do shop with menus in mind though. I just don't know what we are having on any given night. When I have the chance, I will spend an entire afternoon cooking and freezing meals for use later. I have several good frozen/re-heated recipes that we all like and I will stock away a couple of each for those nights where I absolutely cannot be persuaded to cook and yet a hungry crowd is milling about.
I have what I call 'staging' spots. These are points halfway between where I find items and where they need to be. Example: as I find things that belong upstairs, I place them into a basket at the bottom of the stairs. When the basket needs emptying, the upstairs inhabitants (teen-age girls) are responsible for taking all of the items and putting them away. Then again, if I went up and down the stairs a few more times I might actually get in shape. Hmmm.....Naw, not gonna happen!
And now, for some 'special' tips. If you let your little boy run around naked you will save so much time on laundry. Plus, if he is always naked it cuts down on extra-curricular activities and unexpected guests! A double-bonus!
Everyone needs a total junk-shoving spot. This is a closet, spare-room or other space where you can shove the things you just do not know what to do with. Don't worry, you can figure it out later. Or maybe just move and not worry about it.
In an emergency, such as guests are arriving in 5 minutes un-expectedly, shove dirty dishes in the oven, wipe down visible counters with baby-wipes (smell good) and light a strong good scented candle. Oh, and turn down the lights. Voila, the perfect home!
2 comments:
I was wondering when you were going to get to the "dirty dishes in the oven" part. Just so everyone knows that you are not perfect... Yes folks, she actually does this. Has for years. I love it and I love you!
Good tips! I like the little boy running around naked one. I will start using it!
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