Tag Archives: Homemaking

I used to have a pretty decent housecleaning schedule. For some reason, I can’t find the paper copy and I never typed it out on the computer. I guess I’ll have to recreate it!

Mondays are Kitchen days. I still need to work out which tasks are weekly vs. monthly, but I started deep cleaning the kitchen this morning. I pulled everything out of the cupboards on one side of the kitchen, consolidated spices and bags of flour, threw away the outdated items, and wiped down the shelves and cupboard doors. That side of the kitchen looks really good now! Next Monday I will tackle the other side of the kitchen.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I’m going to designate as Dining/Living room day. Our game shelves and my husband’s desk are still pristine, which he is extremely happy about. My desk, on the other hand, is a huge mess. My main project tomorrow is going to be getting rid of all the clutter on my desk, throwing things out as necessary, filing the rest of the paperwork, and stacking the books neatly. I will also dust, vacuum, and clean the patio doors.

Hubby is at a client site right now, so I’m going to relax on the couch and try to finish The Well-Trained Mind. I’m really enjoying the book but I am ready to move on to something else! If I can get hubby’s computer to work properly, I’ll play a classical cd while reading. If not, I guess I’ll have to use my laptop to play something.

Hopefully hubby’s work goes quickly so we’re not eating a late dinner. If it’s late, oh well! Sub sandwiches are great at any hour.

Today really felt like Monday. Our air conditioning died yesterday so hubby spent a couple hours this morning at the mechanics’ trying to figure out what is wrong. They needed to dig deeper into the electrical system and hubby had to be at a client’s office at 11:30, so we’re taking the car in on Tuesday. Hubby spent the rest of the day at a client’s office and is just now on his way home.

As for me, I spent a good portion of the day being productive. I closed my laptop and forced myself to work. Nice change! The laptop being closed actually keeps me productive because I know it’s off limits until my break. If the laptop is open and I’m connected to the internet, I will sit down for “just one thing.”

Instead, I ran a couple loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned out the cat boxes, and made this season’s first pumpkin pie! I’m really excited to taste the pie tonight as the recipe called for freshly grated nutmeg. I actually found a whole nutmeg at the health food store and grated it myself. I’ve never done that before! The fresh spices smelled really good.

With our vacation a few weeks ago, I threw myself off on the habits I was working on. I’m going to start over. As I’m familiar with these habits and just need to get back into the routine, I’m going to work on all three this week. Hopefully that goes well!

Habit #1 – All dishes washed, every day. (Day 1 – check! I’m so happy that the kitchen is clean, even after making a huge mess with the pumpkin pie. I spilled cornstarch all over the counter!)
Habit #2 – Both cat boxes cleaned every day. (I’m switching this habit from the morning to anytime in the day. I found myself more likely to get it done every day if I didn’t have to force myself to do it first thing in the morning.)
Habit #3 – Daily flossing. (Dentist appointment next month!)

Last week I started to practice the habit of having all dishes washed, dried, and put away before going to bed. This way, when I get up in the morning and start making breakfast, the kitchen is clean and easier to work in.

I am very happy to say that I was successful every night other than Friday night. We celebrate the Sabbath from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night and I don’t do any housework on the Sabbath. Dishes from all of Sabbath were washed and put away on Saturday after sundown. It was really nice having a clean kitchen all week.

This week I am going to continue building the habit of having all dishes washed before going to bed. Because that went so well, I’m going to start building another habit of cleaning the cat boxes every morning. My kitties deserve cleaner litter boxes. Hopefully I am successful this week as well!

Habit #1 – at the end of each day, all dishes will be washed, dried, and put away.
Habit #2 – at the beginning of each day, both cat boxes will be cleaned.

Months ago, I started working on smart habits. For some reason, I allowed myself to become lazy and let my newly formed habits lapse. Now that I’m starting to get serious about my homemaking, I want to dedicate myself to building good habits.

Lara encourages people to start with small habits that will build on each other. Instead of saying that “I want to keep my house clean” I will start with smaller habits. Once I establish those smaller habits, I will find that my house naturally stays clean.

The first habit I want to establish involves eliminating dirty dishes. We are constantly washing a couple plates or forks while soaking pots sit in the sink. Ew.

Habit #1 – at the end of each day, all dishes will be washed, dried, and put away.

I’m almost ready for bed and all of my dishes are washed. It’s a great feeling.