Recently I discovered that I have been living in serious denial about a very important part of my life. I opened the door under the sink to do garbage detail again...and found a horrible smell emanating from the dark recesses. I recall sort of smelling this over the last week, but with all the working, cooking, cleaning, Valentine's day crafts......I figured I could just change the garbage and it would be gone! Right? Wrong.
Desperate times call for rubber gloves and a full bottle of Lysol Disinfecting Spray.
After pulling out the garbage, the box of garbage bags, the garlic holder, the Cascade, the massive container of flour....the bin of onions.......other things....I discovered that one of the laws of physics had obviously been at work under the sink. That's the law that say that any piece of garbage that is thrown in on top of a fuller than full garbage will immediately fall behind everything into the dark recesses of the under the counter area and make friends with everything else that has been doing the same. And then it will mold into a science fair worthy experiment. This recently discovered law also states that the person most likely to create the optimum situation is the one who has the least desire to change the garbage. Me.
This state of denial has cost me an hour of the morning, scrubbing the mats under the sink, Magic Erasering stains off the white cupboards, changing the garbage, throwing out old potatoes....but there is no longer any magical smell coming from under the sink, just a lovely whiff of Lysol 4 in 1 Lemon Antibacterial Cleaner.
My denial of garbage protocol has led to some festering messes. Sometimes my denial of my own basic needs for rest and devotions and prayer time have led to the same mess. I keep throwing garbage into the full container of my heart...it spills over...things get messy. This week has been a holiday for me and my children, and I have finally discovered time to rest in the Word...and recuperate. Jesus and me changed the garbage today, and I am going to try to keep it clean now.
Devotions are keeping me going. What's keeping you going?
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
3 Steps to the Perfectly Clean House
Ha ha...I got you reading, didn't I? You actually clicked on the title and were halfway to your pencil and paper when....darn. You don't have a pencil. Maybe there's a pen...hmmm.....nope. Two dried out Crayola felts, one broken crayon (yellow), two rubber bands..a whatsit tool from the last piece of put-it-together-yourself furniture.... yeah!!! There's a pen! It's red, but it should wor...nope. It's dead too. Give up? Resorted to using that eyeliner that you never use anyways? Bummer.
In every house is a drawer just like the one I was rooting through. You know the one, that drawer where everything that you are sure you will use later or put back in its proper place goes. Bread twist ties, drawing things your kids leave around, the opened box of staples...business cards....You throw stuff in there that you want to hold onto...and after awhile, you need something...and you can't find it.
Why do we keep these things? Why can we not just throw out the pens that don't work, the crayons that break, the stray rubber bands? Why do we watch the Ikea commercial where the teenage girls opens the pristine bathroom drawer and pulls her clean lip gloss out of a perfect little organizer....and want to cry? Get serious!
Reality #1: Clutter happens.
Reality #2: Unless you booked me to come over, you will have to deal with it.
So do yourself a 10 minute favour: Go to that drawer, open it, and throw away anything that is broken, mismatched, useless, dried out and generally ugly. Then, if you don't have a child to use it daily, a container to put it in regularly, or you can't replace it at the Dollar Store- THROW IT! A clean clutter drawer is one simple step to reinforcing order in a chaotic world...
Oh, and there are 3 steps to a perfectly clean home:
1. Call me
2. Book an appointment
3. Have a coffee
Work is keeping me going...What's keeping you going?
In every house is a drawer just like the one I was rooting through. You know the one, that drawer where everything that you are sure you will use later or put back in its proper place goes. Bread twist ties, drawing things your kids leave around, the opened box of staples...business cards....You throw stuff in there that you want to hold onto...and after awhile, you need something...and you can't find it.
Why do we keep these things? Why can we not just throw out the pens that don't work, the crayons that break, the stray rubber bands? Why do we watch the Ikea commercial where the teenage girls opens the pristine bathroom drawer and pulls her clean lip gloss out of a perfect little organizer....and want to cry? Get serious!
Reality #1: Clutter happens.
Reality #2: Unless you booked me to come over, you will have to deal with it.
So do yourself a 10 minute favour: Go to that drawer, open it, and throw away anything that is broken, mismatched, useless, dried out and generally ugly. Then, if you don't have a child to use it daily, a container to put it in regularly, or you can't replace it at the Dollar Store- THROW IT! A clean clutter drawer is one simple step to reinforcing order in a chaotic world...
Oh, and there are 3 steps to a perfectly clean home:
1. Call me
2. Book an appointment
3. Have a coffee
Work is keeping me going...What's keeping you going?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Laziness is contagious
Ever have a surprise day off? Like, when you get the flu, but you are the only one home, so there you are, home for once, alone, and with nothing to do...
I've begun to wonder why there really is no in between gear for Moms sometimes. The lawnmower goes from Turtle to Rabbit, but if you have a slider type adjuster.....you can kind of get in between those two settings...to something like Dog At A Good Trot. Why do we find ourselves always swinging between "32 dozen cookies/Parent Council/Work/Dinner/Lobotomy" to "under the electric blanket with tea"? Can't we find a way to balance out the day? You know that as soon as you sit down for 10 minutes that there is going to be something that you could do.....but after an hour of TV reruns, when no one from the Lazy Mom Police shows up to kick your butt off the couch....well, the realization sets in that nothing needs to get done right away, and the dirt will still be there tomorrow, so just relax...
This short period of time will of course be followed by crazed cleaning packed into a seemingly shorter period of time.
When I was young, my family (minus my Dad of course) would clean the house on Saturday morning, then walk to the corner store for a little treat. I like that idea. Many hands make light work is most likely a Mennonite saying, and if it works, use it! Some of the balance that I find in my home life when it comes to cleaning is to delegate chores regularly and work together with my kids for an hour to get things done. They have been practising for so long that they just fall in line and get the job done 'cause it's a lot quicker than complaining and getting an extra chore..and I remind them as much as myself: It's just an hour of work....and then we will move on to the things that we want to do. The book is better when the room is tidier, I think...
So, when I have a sudden day off, and there are things I should do.....I know that there are helpers in my house that I can utilize if push comes to shove...so relax!!!
My kids are keeping me going these days.
What's keeping you going?
I've begun to wonder why there really is no in between gear for Moms sometimes. The lawnmower goes from Turtle to Rabbit, but if you have a slider type adjuster.....you can kind of get in between those two settings...to something like Dog At A Good Trot. Why do we find ourselves always swinging between "32 dozen cookies/Parent Council/Work/Dinner/Lobotomy" to "under the electric blanket with tea"? Can't we find a way to balance out the day? You know that as soon as you sit down for 10 minutes that there is going to be something that you could do.....but after an hour of TV reruns, when no one from the Lazy Mom Police shows up to kick your butt off the couch....well, the realization sets in that nothing needs to get done right away, and the dirt will still be there tomorrow, so just relax...
This short period of time will of course be followed by crazed cleaning packed into a seemingly shorter period of time.
When I was young, my family (minus my Dad of course) would clean the house on Saturday morning, then walk to the corner store for a little treat. I like that idea. Many hands make light work is most likely a Mennonite saying, and if it works, use it! Some of the balance that I find in my home life when it comes to cleaning is to delegate chores regularly and work together with my kids for an hour to get things done. They have been practising for so long that they just fall in line and get the job done 'cause it's a lot quicker than complaining and getting an extra chore..and I remind them as much as myself: It's just an hour of work....and then we will move on to the things that we want to do. The book is better when the room is tidier, I think...
So, when I have a sudden day off, and there are things I should do.....I know that there are helpers in my house that I can utilize if push comes to shove...so relax!!!
My kids are keeping me going these days.
What's keeping you going?
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Cleansing is good for the soul....it's the food that sucks
Ever done a cleanse? I'm on the last day of a 14 day cleanse to clean out my digestive track and make me healthier and more energetic this year. It's been tough, but if you like to be clean on the outside, think about getting clean on the inside.
Here are some tips and things to think about when you are considering a cleanse:
1. Don't follow a cleanse whose instructions include "Make sure you do not have to leave the house for the next 12 hours"
2. Plan your meals before hand. Waking up on day three of a Veggies Only cleanse and finding out that the only things in the fridge are pudding and sweetened condensed milk is really bad. For you and the family.
3. How long do you want the cleanse to last? Three days? Until the first craving hits? One day after you start threatening your husband with violence if he eats another cookie in front of you?
4. Remember to follow the directions for the cleanse. Read the instructions every day, just to remind yourself that Poutine and Costco hotdogs are still not in it.
A two week cleanse can be challenging....even for someone with experience....and here are some of my own personal helpers:
The Food Channel
Duct tape
Blogging
Working (you can't eat at someone else's house)
I'm less than 12 hours away from being done....and that thought alone is keeping me going...
What's keeping you going?
Here are some tips and things to think about when you are considering a cleanse:
1. Don't follow a cleanse whose instructions include "Make sure you do not have to leave the house for the next 12 hours"
2. Plan your meals before hand. Waking up on day three of a Veggies Only cleanse and finding out that the only things in the fridge are pudding and sweetened condensed milk is really bad. For you and the family.
3. How long do you want the cleanse to last? Three days? Until the first craving hits? One day after you start threatening your husband with violence if he eats another cookie in front of you?
4. Remember to follow the directions for the cleanse. Read the instructions every day, just to remind yourself that Poutine and Costco hotdogs are still not in it.
A two week cleanse can be challenging....even for someone with experience....and here are some of my own personal helpers:
The Food Channel
Duct tape
Blogging
Working (you can't eat at someone else's house)
I'm less than 12 hours away from being done....and that thought alone is keeping me going...
What's keeping you going?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Welcome to my world
After much deliberation, procrastination, and general laziness, I have indeed formed a blog to make connections with customers and friends alike! Thank goodness for premade idiot proof templates and free blogging sites.....if only some of my endeavours in life were as easy to deal with!
Like a dirty bathroom, for instance. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just apply a cleaning template to the bathroom? Just select from whatever level you wanted: Just A Little Tidy, Clean Up After The Men Please, or OMG My Mother In Law Is Coming Over!!! Then click, and watch the magic loading button on the screen......Beep Beep Beep. My reality alarm just went off.
Cleaning up is a necesary part of life, and there really are no shortcuts, just personal preference and training. My preference is for Ultimate Clean With Disinfection Maximum Let's Hear Those Germs Scream!!! And I'm willing to put the work into it to get that result. It's quicker that dreaming, more satisfying than reading about it, and burns calories.......it's what keeps me going...
What is keeping you going?
Like a dirty bathroom, for instance. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just apply a cleaning template to the bathroom? Just select from whatever level you wanted: Just A Little Tidy, Clean Up After The Men Please, or OMG My Mother In Law Is Coming Over!!! Then click, and watch the magic loading button on the screen......Beep Beep Beep. My reality alarm just went off.
Cleaning up is a necesary part of life, and there really are no shortcuts, just personal preference and training. My preference is for Ultimate Clean With Disinfection Maximum Let's Hear Those Germs Scream!!! And I'm willing to put the work into it to get that result. It's quicker that dreaming, more satisfying than reading about it, and burns calories.......it's what keeps me going...
What is keeping you going?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)