My lunch break came up fast today. I hurried home for a quick bite to eat and played with Sadie for 10 minutes or so before I had to drive back to work.
Speaking of Sadie, here are a few pictures I snapped last night during our family playtime in the backyard before dinner.
I love that little rascal! And yes, her face really is getting more and more white hairs every day. They are simply her highlights and she is not aging. She will live to be 800 years old.
Lunch
I only wanted one thing for lunch today.
An almond butter and jelly sandwich. And it totally hit the spot!
Served with a clementine…
And a cup of Greek yogurt topped with a bit of honey.
I’ll try to sneak in some vegetables at dinner, I promise.
Clean All The Things Week
On Sunday night, I told Ryan I am proclaiming this week “Clean All The Things Week” in our house.
(If the “clean all the things” reference is lost on you, please read this hysterical blog post: This Is Why I’ll Never Be An Adult.)
I’ve seen Chores Charts on Pinterest, but I wanted to try something different and tackle organization on a small but thorough scale. Each evening after work, Ryan and I are going through a different closet, bathroom, bedroom, dresser or cabinet. Exciting stuff is happening in the Fagan household, my friends.
At this rate, Clean All The Things Week may actually become Clean All The Things Month, but yesterday we went through two closets and pulled out a blankets, towels, games and craft supplies that we haven’t used in ages and plan to donate. By limiting our cleaning objective of the day to something as simple as a bedroom dresser, I don’t feel overwhelmed about going through the entire house. Just one little thing at a time!
Question of the Afternoon
- Do you follow any sort of cleaning chart or plan when it comes to cleaning your house or apartment?
- Is your house or apartment always neat or messy or somewhere in between?
Ryan and I say we live in a house that is always 15 minutes away from looking clean. So if you’re ever going to stop by, give us a 15-minute warning, okay?
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Thanks, good idea!
I will do the same and I am going to convince my husband as well.
Haha. Cleaning chart? No, basically, if it’s dirty, I clean it; if not, it doesn’t get cleaned. 😉 Of course, I do wish I had a little checklist that I went through every few weeks to clean the things you don’t really notice (baseboards, anything over 5’4″).
We could really do what you’re doing, though! I think we tend to overwhelm ourselves and instead should take your approach of only one area at a time.
I keep trying to find a cleaning chart that’s actually doable but not completely overwhelming. I tried one last month that had me deep cleaning for several hours a day…so that one is out. Right now I’m trying out . Apartment Therapy’s January Cure It’s going ok. I feel like I’ve been cleaning less frequently but instead focus on getting random projects around the house done.
I incorporated the “don’t leave a room empty handed” rule for small things – like cups in the bedroom, living room, etc and it’s really helped. I also try to divide chores up throughout the week so that the weekends don’t take up hours of my time trying to clean.
Also, I have to say that I chuckled and felt relieved that I’m not the only one that has said that about my dog. I always say she has “low-lights” when people say she has gray hair (rude) and that she’ll live to be 777 years old. I swear, if there was one thing I could change about our world it would be that dog’s live to be 100!
Definitely 15 minutes away form being clean. We live in an apartment so it’s not super hard to clean. when I do my deep cleaning, about once amonth) I usually go in stages all around the house (putting everything away, dusting all surfaces, wiping tops with all purpose cleaner, room specific items like toilets, windows, floors, light some candles). In between I just wipe surfaces and sweep floors about once or twice a week. And about twice a year, i do deep cleaning, which means taking everything off a cabinet, cleaning inside and donating items. Sometimes it’s therapy ha
I like to do 15 minute clean up with timer on the work days. It is really helpful to move away some cutler every day
That sandwich looks really good! My apartment is usually pretty neat. I try to follow a pretty strict schedule 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing the “this is why i will never be an adult” blog post. Hilariously true! 🙂
I have a little write-n-wipe board on my fridge where I have written down my cleaning tasks for each day of the week. I vacuum, mop and clean the bathroom twice a week and dust once a week. On the board, there are also some monthly tasks, like cleaning the fridge, wiping down the dust boards, etc. I have also made it a habit to go to bed with a clean kitchen. It really helps me keep my house in a decent state and it saves me from spending a majority of one of my weekend days cleaning. I’m good with that 🙂
I will also clean out my closet once every six months and I make sure that my son cleans out his toys before his birthday and Christmas. In a 350 square foot apartment, we can’t afford to hang onto things we don’t use or want.
I don’t have a cleaning schedule at all, but I just try to clean whatever needs to be cleaned each day. Now that I have a baby it is a bit harder, but I am working on it ha!
I usually try to do a general clean up on Sunday mornings – tidy the room, make sure the kitchen sparkles, tackle some laundry. I’ve tried to make chore charts but it never seems to work out. Luckily, the place stays pretty neat most of the time so there’s never a huge amount of stuff to do.
I have a 1 year old, so the house is always a little chaotic. I grew up living with a house cleaner for a mother. It is ingrained in me to have a clean house at all times. However, i like the way you put it best. We also live in a house where we are always 15 minutes away from it being perfectly clean! I’m ok with this. IF someone were to stop over, I wouldn’t be embarrassed, and that’s how I gaue the cleanliness of our house 🙂
My husband is a ‘list’ man, and very OCC with his organization. We have a chalkboard door in our kitchen and we make lists. Also, we conquer and divide. If he is outside doing yard work (mowing, shoveling…) I will do house work (laundry, vacuum ect). We also have a rule of not leaving a room empty handed or leaving the floor empty handed (things that need to go upstairs to the office, or down from the bedroom like old magazines, cups, etc).
The worst is really vaccuming the dog hairs all over the house!
the only negative about my husbands organizational madness is that he constantly is organizing closets, drawers and then nothing is where it ‘should be’ becuase he forgets where he reorg’ed it to. Fabulous!!!!
I like to keep things clean, but I think I’m with you on the 15 minutes to clean thing. I usually need just a little time for tidying 🙂
I have tried countless times to stick to a cleaning schedule, but it never works and I always end up doing the majority of my cleaning on the weekend. Usually, I do a deeper clean every other week and a spot check on the “off” weeks. Right now, my downstairs is in total chaos because I’m in the middle of painting–it’s driving me nuts!
My soon to be 14 year old pup has quite a few ‘highlights’ too. God bless our sweet furbabies!
I am a clutter freak so am anal about always picking up little things here or there that always seem to show up around our apartment. My hubby on the other hand, while he is VERY clean in the germy sence (he is the only reason our bathroom gets cleaned), explodes the second he gets into a room I swear. I guess we balance each other 😉