{ Let's clean the house }

When I was a newlywed and had little ones, the thought of cleaning the house was usually something that would frustrate me.

I didn't have time, I had my hands full and I found that trying to clean while the toddlers ran under foot, was a waste, and so it annoyed me and the more I thought of it, the more I used to feel overwhelmed to the point that I would tackle the cleaning with a bitter heart and mind.

That whole demeanor radiated through everything that I did.  I'll be honest, I hated it, hated the mundane tasks and cringed when I thought about washing one more plate, making one more bed and so on.

Today?

I rejoice when I know that I have a full day for homemaking, without any interruptions.  Yesterday was one of those for me, so I grabbed the camera and took you along through my day.

Hope you enjoy :)

I can't be the only one that has noticed the mornings are starting to get darker again.  It's becoming a little harder waking up at 6am, especially when there is not a single light in sight.

Mondays are my bed linen changing days, so I strip the bed early morning, spray down the mattress topper, mattress and pillows with my homemade Febreeze mixture and let it air out for a few hours.

In the meantime I wash and set out to dry all the linens.    I'll be enjoying the wash line as long as I can, actually I think I've used my dryer maybe once this whole summer and it was during a rain storm and I needed Curt's and Jasmine's work clothes washed.

I would love to show you a shiny clean sink, first thing in the morning, but this is reality.  There are days that I go to bed with my kitchen spotless and then there are days that I load the washer after dinner and there are still dishes laying around.  So I pop them in the sink with hot water and soap and let them soak overnight.

I know, I know, not exactly what all the homemaking books tell you and truth be told if my great grandmother was here, she would no doubt let me know quite quickly that this is NOT the proper way to do things.

I can almost hear her voice and see her smile while she shook her head "Sandra, Sandra, you know better."

But I can't lie to you and I believe in being completely honest and transparent, and so here you go, a view of my Monday morning sink.  It's quite alright though, I popped on a documentary on the laptop and in no time the kitchen was set straight.

We've always lived in areas with hard water and the dishwasher is one of those appliances that is supposed to make my life easier, but at times makes it harder when I'm pulling out dishes that haven't been washed properly.  A few years ago I started using vinegar as my rinse aid, and it's done me a world of goodness, it really helps.

I love having a big pantry but it's in a constant state of disarray.  Why do kids just grab things and leave it all a mess?

My Polka Dot plants needed to be transplanted, and I've been putting it off.  Actually, I knew I had to do it but kept forgetting, there, that's more like it.

Since I had time yesterday, I took them outside and quickly got them situated in new pots.  They are thriving, growing in leaps and bounds and looking gorgeous.  It's so much fun learning about new plants, seeing the different colors on the flowers and learning all about their wants and needs.

I've been keeping my eye on these two cantaloupe and waiting for them to be ready to harvest.  I am still pinching myself at the thought that I grew these from seed.

I have gone back and forth on this living room color.  We didn't pick it, it was already here when we moved in.  I've debated painting it either white or a darker green, like a sage maybe, but I've also been thinking that it would be a lot cheaper to just accept it, and work with it and around it.

So I've thrown on some cheapy slipcovers on the ugly couches (I really dislike them but they are still in good condition and it makes no sense to be vain and go out and buy new ones, all in the name of keeping up with the joneses).

I'll keep working on this room, but for now, it's coming along and I'm slowly starting to like it.

One of the areas on my house that doesn't get as much attention as the rest, but definitely needs it, is the linen closet.  I don't know ladies, but I find that I will go in there, clean and tidy and soon enough it is a disaster.  I am going to assign the guilt to my kids because even though one is 20 and the other 16, they can't seem to grab ONE thing without tumbling everything else about.

I spent quite a bit of time in there, took everything off the shelves and wiped them clean, then got everything back in again, neat and tidy.

One way that I keep things organized, is by keeping the bed sets together.  I grab the fitted sheet, top sheet and matching pillowcases, fold them, then slip them inside one of the pillowcases from the set.  When I go to change a bed, I just pick out the set I want and know that everything is in there.

I don't have to go searching for the matching pillowcases or the sheets etc.  On the top shelf are the bedding sets and the bottom shelf holds the comforters and blankets.

After the house is clean, it's usually around the time I need to get dinner started or at least prepped, especially if I'm picking up Jasmine right in the middle of dinner time.

One tradition we have never done without and absolutely make sure that it happens, every single day, is having dinner at the table.

We live in a day and age where people tend to grab a plate and sit in the living room, or go to their bedrooms, no one eats at the same time, everyone eats here and there and so on.  Curt and I have always made sure that dinner time is family time, no matter what is happening.

It's important to connect, to sit down and talk about our day.  It's like clockwork, we sit, we dish up, we start eating and within a few minutes my husband will go around the table and ask each one how their day was, and then we ask him about his day.

If you were to sit at our table you would no doubt be included in all sorts of topics, it could be physics, gardening, video games, movies, news or whatever else.  I'm glad that my kids get involved and contribute to the conversations because honestly, I feel that nowadays most kids are raised by the internet and highly influenced by outside voices.

Curt and I are determined to be the loudest voice in their heads and hearts, no matter what.





Once dinner is done and the kitchen is clean and dishes taken care of, I start putting the rest of the house to bed.  This house is so big and I really don't need to be in every room, so I tend to clean and put to bed the part of the house that I know we won't be in the rest of the night.

Dining table is clean, curtains are closed and I usually light a candle for about 30 mins or so.

As the day drew to an end, my body ached but my heart was so happy with everything that I had achieved, and for the fact that at least for yesterday, I was fully immersed in my homemaking, taking my time, doing what needed done and what I liked doing, without any interruptions.

I'm going to finalize this post, get it published and then watch some TV.  I really enjoy Who do You think You are, especially the UK edition, so I've been binging those while working around the house.

It has made the niggly little itch start again for me to continue with my own family tree, and so I've contacted family members and have requested information from both my dad and mom's side.  I'm excited to find out more and learn where I came from.

I will have to share all that with you when I have more information and am further along in my genealogy journey.

Right, I need a motrin for this hormonal headache I have brewing, it also didn't help that I got completely soaked today while running to the hospital to pick up some meds.  Oh goodness!!!

Have a blessed night :)