The Little Things

I've been using lists, and more recently Apps, to organize my house cleaning and I think I've found a schedule and a system that works.  And the most important part of that is staying on top of the small things.

I always know that the bathrooms need to be cleaned.  Or that the floors need to be swept and mopped. And those are fairly easy to remember, and quick to get done.  It's when the small things start to pile up that I REALLY start to feel overwhelmed.  So I've found that if I have to skip any task, I have to stay on top of the small things.  Today, my 'small tasks' include checking and restocking the toilet paper in each of the bathrooms and changing the hand towels.  Other small tasks include cutting the kids fingernails, wiping down the front of the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, and quickly tidying up each room.  Sometimes THAT is as easy as running around the house and picking up all of the dishes, or laundry, and even just doing that makes a huge difference in how clean the house feels.

I'm glad that I've split up all my tasks into daily items and if I can stay on top of it all, my house is a lot easier to maintain.

What small tasks do you need to get done today?

Cleaning up after the storm

Now I'm a tad embarrassed to admit this since this whole blog is about cleaning, and tips and all that jazz, but you all know how much I LOVE to clean!

The hubs and I did a great job getting the house ready for hosting Christmas dinner.  We didn't have to rush around and finish the last minute stuff the morning of.  Christmas dinner went so smoothly.  There was a ton of food, everything finished ahead of schedule.  It really was a fantastic day spent with love and family.

After dinner I was beat.  So exhausted and I didn't even want to think about cleaning up.  But after a big meal like that you can't leave it for later.  Thankfully I didn't have to.  Santa had sent a couple of amazing elves over for dinner and they did easily 90% of the dishes, and put away most of the food.  I can't even describe how amazing it was to sit down and visit with people, and then to go to bed on Christmas night and not have to worry about a mess.  AND, how much better it was to wake up the next day and not have to worry about a mess.

A lot of people think that Christmas is all about what's under the tree, or in the stocking.  But spending time with great friends and family, singing songs, playing makeshift table tennis, and having someone clean your kitchen, well those are gifts that won't end up broken or in the trash, or donate bin.

Thank you to my amazing Elves!  You guys are invited to every big party I host!

How did the set up and clean up go for your big parties?  Did Santa send anyone else some fantastic helper Elves?

The Last Minute Christmas Preparation Dance

Anyone want to dance with me?

We are now one week until Christmas and I'm not nearly as ready as I had hoped to be.  Not only do I still have work to do, I also have some last minute shopping to do and then the house cleaning to START!  YIKES!

Last year, after Christmas, I bought a binder, and created sections, to help me plan my holidays ahead of time.  I bought a folder to store cash, with which I could buy Christmas gifts, food, decorations, etc.  I created a budget ahead of time and made notes.   And take a guess how much money was in there?  Yup-NONE!  I didn't use the system AT ALL!

Pinterest also had a ton of ideas, including week by week cleaning schedules, starting in October!  You can bet I pinned them.  Did I refer to them?  Yup, maybe once or twice.  Did I use them?  NOPE!


So why am I such a good planner-on paper-but struggle at getting it all done.  For some reason, I can figure it all out but I can't execute my plan.  Now I have 5 days to get everything done.  It'll get done, but it won't be easy.  Is it just that I work better under pressure?  Will next year be any different?  Probably not.


So here's how I'm going to get it all done: Tell you guys about it!  Lucky!!!

Today's plan:
1. Finish up the last of my orders.  There isn't much left to do, I promise.  And they're all local, and I've scheduled drop off/pick up with all of them so if they aren't already done (which most are, I PROMISE) they will be on time!
2. Finish up crafts with the kids
3. Bake something (brownies, cookies, rice crispie squares, SOMETHING)
4. Clean up living and dining rooms-meaning ALL work and kid related stuff is out, and it's vacuumed, dusted and cleaned up.


Check in tomorrow to see if I got it all done, and what's on the list for tomorrow.

Are you ready for Christmas?  What are you getting done today?  I can help hold you to it!!