| Author | |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: March 09 2007 at 1:28pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
when I do major cleaning with the kids.. I involve them as much as possible.. first we do the general pick up.. usually takes the first day or so just to get completely caught up in all the rooms.
then the next day.. catch them all up again.. should be pretty fast (those of you who consistently do this can skip the first day  ) and then do your deep cleaning.. much as you have the time and energy to do.. next day.. get caught up again.. and do more deep cleaning.. until you get done.
oh and my favorite deep cleaning chore when pregnant.. especially late pregnancy.. is cleaning the floor on my hands and knees.. murder on my knees but my back loves it 
oh and for cleaning the outside of windows.. get a squeegee like for cleaning car windows 
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Maryan
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 02 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3145
|
| Posted: March 09 2007 at 1:47pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
JodieLyn wrote:
| oh and my favorite deep cleaning chore when pregnant.. especially late pregnancy.. is cleaning the floor on my hands and knees.. murder on my knees but my back loves it |
|
|
My 9th month of pregnancy is the ONLY time you can eat off my floor because this feels so good.
__________________
Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Sarah
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 17 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1624
|
| Posted: March 09 2007 at 6:49pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
We clean during Holy Week (M-W)but we also clean throughout the weeks Motivated Mom style (when I'mnot sick in PG  ). This are getting back to that schedule here now.
I clean with the kids around me because I don't have choice. The younger ones are given rags, sponges, and maybe non-toxic cleaner. I given them walls and wondows to scrub. They vacuum, too. The older boys do even more. I also have a teenage girl who helps.
Our Spring cleaning will include:
1. washing all bedding, including comforters
2. washing walls, baseboards, and cabinets
3. washing what windows we can
4. dusting things that don't get it regularly
5. vacuuming furniture and spot cleaning
Everything else cycles throughout the weeks. Even under our beds are cleaned and dusted once a week. (Don't forget I have a regular teenage girl that comes in to help ). 
__________________
Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Philothea
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 15 2006
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 824
|
| Posted: March 09 2007 at 8:37pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I did the main level deep clean last weekend (vacuuming floors including under the area rugs and under heavy furniture, vacuuming furniture and drapes, cleaning throw rugs, scrubbing walls and baseboards, washing the front door, and decluttering). This weekend will be the same story on the upper level. The weekend after that I will do the yucky stuff like cleaning the oven (and behind the oven), fridge (and behind the fridge), washer and dryer, fireplace, and vents. The basement is an ongoing project because we're finishing our laundry room, so that whole area will have to wait for now.
I also wait until after flower blossoming time to really clean the exterior windows and siding, otherwise it just gets nasty with pollen in a month anyway.
It honestly only took me like 4 1/2 hours to do everything on the main level last Saturday. I was surprised (and grateful). And the best part is NO MORE DUST!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Anne McD
Forum All-Star
Joined: Dec 21 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 499
|
| Posted: March 11 2007 at 6:25am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I have to tell you, ladies, that this thread has really inspired me. I decided to completely declutter my house  about a week ago, and I'm starting with the upstairs and moving down. Basement is done last, so what can't fit in the storage room is out the door (most goes straight there anyway, but we'll see how much of what I want to keep will actually stay!). This is the first time, however, that I've actually cleaned vertical surfaces, and it feels great! Who knew that walls can get that dirty?? I think the final straw for me was listening to my boys wake up sneezy and snorky for the past week, only to have it dissapate througout the morning. There must be something in their room that they are allergic to. Can you believe there was actually dryer lint on their ceiling fan??
Its weird to be nesting so early, though. Hey, maybe the winds of change are coming in and I'm becoming an organized, efficient housewife?
. . . or maybe I just need more sleep . . . 
__________________
Anne
Wife to Jon
Mommy to Alex 9
James 8
Katie 6
William 3 1/2
Benedict Joseph 1
and baby on the way! 10/14
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
|
| Posted: March 14 2007 at 8:18am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Lent is a favorite time of year for me. I've always enjoyed taking the time to refresh my home, purging the excess and unnecessary so that we can make a fresh, unencumbered start for Easter. Visually, it's very uplifting to see that pile of "stuff" headed out the door. Holly Pierlot, in "A Mother's Rule of Life" suggests setting aside one room of your house to be the catch-all room for a while. It could be a spare room, or the garage - as long as you know that it's going to be a walk in closet while you sort through the house. Then you stroll through your home, notebook in hand and stop in each room. Look around that room. What is its purpose in your home. Is it uplifting? Does it evoke a feeling of peace? Does it foster and support the purpose for which it was intended? Is it working for you?? Make notes about how you'd like that room to function, keeping in mind that there is splendor in the ordinary. Please don't misunderstand - rooms don't need to be sterile and devoid of every non-utilitarian object, but they do need to be warm, peaceful spaces that serve to glorify God and support our vocations.
After you've made your notes, start in one room, perhaps one that isn't too intimidating, by removing everything that does not support the purpose of that room. Keep in mind you aren't throwing out everything you remove from that room, but if it doesn't belong in that room, remove it. Just dump it all in your catch-all room. Move on one-by-one to all of the rooms in your home - from closets to bathrooms. The last room you come to should be your catch all room. *Sigh* Catch your breath here - the room will be staggering at this point! You will be totally amazed at the amount of stuff you have accumulated in here. My kids call this part of the adventure "shopping at home." As you begin to go through your pile of catch-all stuff you will find for example that although 8 lamps weren't necessary in the entryway, you could certainly use one in one of the kids rooms or other parts of the house. You get the idea, all of a sudden the thing that didn't belong "there" would really help out over "here." Move through your room re-locating things to other more useful locations in your house. Sort the remaining stuff in the room into two piles - stuff you can't bear to get rid of, but needs to be put away in an attic or closet shelf, and stuff that you'll give away. When you're done, you should have a huge pile of stuff to give away. One year, we had so much stuff left over, we had to call St. Vincent de Paul to bring one of their big trucks out to pick it up. Perhaps you have enough stuff left over for a garage sale. I've found that investing a little extra time one year means that the following years aren't nearly as hard to tackle. In the end, the entire family feels as if we've accomplished a great task. The home is visually de-cluttered. Rooms serve functions that help the family.
After we de-clutter a room, we clean that room only. Kids clean windows, baseboards, wipe surfaces. Cleaning is easy at this point, because everything is in its place. I vacuum everything. I use baby wipes to clean ceiling fans - they're great because then the dust doesn't scoot off and rain down throughout the room. And some fans have that gooked on stuff on top of the blades - you know what I mean? The baby wipes are good at cleaning that off. In fact we use the cheap brand of baby wipes to clean practically everything in the house. It's safe for even the littlest to use and they work on baseboards, schoolroom desks, floors (we don't always get to mopping.) The room is pretty clean at this point, de-cluttered, re-organized to work for the family, dusted, windows sparkly. We move on to another room. During holy week I clean and press curtains and bed quilts.
We do our work in the afternoon, after school. Each week has a particular goal - and I really try to keep it realistic or we're set up for failure. If we get really behind - like if we're 3 weeks into Lent and I discover we haven't gotten much done - I use the weekends.
"The value of life does not depend upon the place we occupy. It depends upon the way we occupy that place."
- St. Therese de Lisieux
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: March 14 2007 at 4:13pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Maryan wrote:
| But the ultimate-spring-cleaning-favorite-activity in my house is the window cleaning. I tilt and the boys spray and wash all the windows (We're spoiled with those kind of tilt-in windows). And then the boys wipe out the windowsills with baby wipes!! They love it! |
|
|
I don't think I've accomplished spring cleaning in my married life. The last 3 years have been hindered by health reasons, so spring has passed me by. My mother didn't deep clean every year, so I didn't learn the natural rhythms...I'm picking them up from my mil.
And Maryan, I have those windows in my house and didn't realize it. I've been here a year and a half and hadn't figured out how the windows operate. I've been thinking about your post and thought -- "I think my windows must be able to drop down." So we tried it and G and I had a marvellous time cleaning windows. Not all, not even all downstairs. I have a LOT of windows. We're doing this gradually. I'm pooped, but excited. Thanks for writing that!
Now, while on the topic of cleaning, are there any tricks to taking down the vents in the bathrooms? These are generic, contractor bathroom vents in closed bathrooms. I don't want to break them, but it doesn't seem to come down easily...and they need some heavy cleaning!
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Maryan
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 02 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3145
|
| Posted: March 14 2007 at 8:49pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
JennGM wrote:
| So we tried it and G and I had a marvellous time cleaning windows. |
|
|
I'm so glad he had a great time!! And you do have a lot of great windows in your house! And what a nice surprise to find that they're tilt wash!
Hmm...I think vents are complicated because of the electricity thing (at least ours are wired). When I notice my vent looking gross, I eventually just vacuum suck and q-tip clean it??
__________________
Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: March 14 2007 at 9:23pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Maryan wrote:
| Hmm...I think vents are complicated because of the electricity thing (at least ours are wired). When I notice my vent looking gross, I eventually just vacuum suck and q-tip clean it?? |
|
|
Double hmmm...unless I get a ladder, it's not easy reaching up to do that! I think you have some height on me. And our main level has 9 foot ceilings, so very hard to reach! That would be a very, long tedious job with arms outreached with a qtip!
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
marihalojen
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 12 2006
Location: Florida
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1883
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 7:04am | IP Logged
|
|
|
She comes through again! Martha's Spring Cleaning List is nice, I think.
__________________
~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Elizabeth
Founder
Real Learning
Joined: Jan 20 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5595
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 7:33am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Oooh! Jen! Perfect for the home management notebook!
Is anybody else an "olfactory cleaner?" I'm completely motivated by smells  . This is my springtime sensory motivation. My house will smell like honeysuckle!
__________________
Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Magnificat
Forum Rookie
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 96
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 7:47am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Hi everyone-
If you're interested, I put a few natural recipes that I use for cleaning on my blog. Hope you can find them helpful...enjoy!
__________________
~~~Proud To Be A Mom To 3!!!~~~
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Maryan
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 02 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3145
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 7:52am | IP Logged
|
|
|
JennGM wrote:
| Double hmmm...unless I get a ladder, it's not easy reaching up to do that! I think you have some height on me. And our main level has 9 foot ceilings, so very hard to reach! That would be a very, long tedious job with arms outreached with a qtip! |
|
|
Jenn -- I was thinking about that too!
marihalojen wrote:
| She comes through again! Martha's Spring Cleaning List is nice, I think. |
|
|
Wow -- this is great and looks simple! Thanks Jennifer!
Elizabeth wrote:
| My house will smell like honeysuckle! |
|
|
This is so cool! Honeysuckle use to cover the edges of our road as you got to our driveway along the old farm fence barbed wire fence. But two years ago, they built new houses along our road and away went the honeysuckle smell.  We'd love to get it back! Thanks Elizabeth!
__________________
Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
marihalojen
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 12 2006
Location: Florida
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1883
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 7:57am | IP Logged
|
|
|
$15 is not a bad price either, Elizabeth! I do love Honeysuckle, in college our little place had a hammock right beside a creek and honeysuckle grew on both of the support trees and would creep onto the hammock itself. Swinging and studying there in the thick honeysuckle air with the rushing creek at your feet was divine!
__________________
~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 8:23am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm mad about honeysuckle. After gardenia, it's my favorite scent. I love having the windows down to smell it. Because it's a vine that invades so many places have torn it out, with new construction and such.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
mary theresa
Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 08 2006
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 766
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 9:25am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Elizabeth wrote:
Oooh! Jen! Perfect for the home management notebook!
Is anybody else an "olfactory cleaner?" I'm completely motivated by smells . This is my springtime sensory motivation. My house will smell like honeysuckle! |
|
|
That looks awesome!
__________________
Mary Theresa
mother to 3 little girls --March '06, Dec '07 and Jan '10
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
mary
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 17 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 691
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 9:58am | IP Logged
|
|
|
does the meyer's brand smell good to you all? i have purchased a few products with different odors and they give my kids and me a headache. is it just us?
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
mary theresa
Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 08 2006
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 766
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 11:29am | IP Logged
|
|
|
That's funny, Mary, cuz when I was pregnant the Mrs. Meyers brand of laundry detergent made me retch. I had to wash everything in our house, sheets, towels, clothes like twice over in some other detergent to make me stop gagging.
I haven't gone near Mrs. Meyers products (the detergent still smells awful to me! )since then -- but honeysuckle smells so good in real life, so maybe I'll give the cleaning products a try. I'd love to have the house smell like honeysuckle.
__________________
Mary Theresa
mother to 3 little girls --March '06, Dec '07 and Jan '10
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Sarah
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 17 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1624
|
| Posted: March 15 2007 at 11:38am | IP Logged
|
|
|
mary wrote:
| does the meyer's brand smell good to you all? i have purchased a few products with different odors and they give my kids and me a headache. is it just us? |
|
|
Mary,
Tea Tree oil gives me a headache. I don't know why. I want to like it but I get so sick. Sad.
I wonder if the stuff you used had tea tree oil in it?
__________________
Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Spring cleaning?
