Keeping Up With the Housekeeping

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Keeping up with Housekeeping

If keeping an orderly house is something that has been forever elusive, following Aunt Glenna's house cleaning guide may be the answer you're looking for…

Aunt Glenna, the undisputed champion of running an organized household, raised two children, presently has two grandchildren, and a large assortment of relatives and friends constantly dropping in on her home at any given moment and never once been caught unprepared! The house is always spic and span and meals ready at the drop of a hat (we'll cover that one in another article). Not only that, it appears to be done effortlessly. How the heck does she do that?

To many of us "Generation X-ers," this is an intangible skill indeed. Sometimes because we've never been taught, and other times because juggling career and family just seems to leave too little time. We get caught in a cycle of "pile-ups." Piles of laundry, piles of dishes, piles of toys… It's downright overwhelming!

Hand in hand with that goes the dread… "I hope nobody knocks on the door right now" and "How am I going to get this cleaned up before the company comes?"

One key factor I observed in watching Aunt Glenna in action, was that she always took the five minutes needed to deal with the little mess and thus avoided the "pile-up." That explained the lack of messes, but how did she keep her house so clean too?

Once again, the answer was in the "keep-up" instead of the "pile-up." Here's the Aunt Glenna routine:

Daily

1. Make bed
2. Give the bathroom a two-minute once over

Using a paper towel and a spray bottle consisting of ½ part rubbing alcohol and ½ part white vinegar (don't add water), wipe windows, sink, and toilet seat.
Tip: keep a hand towel close by to wipe up water drops (towel is changed daily).

3. Do dishes in the morning and night

(OK... so far I can handle it... by the way Aunt Glenna comes in at under 15 minutes on the daily routine.)

Weekly

Pick one day a week to:

1. Dust
2. Vacuum (traffic areas more if needed)
3. Wash floors
4. Change bedding

Other Tips

Laundry should be done as soon as you have a load, even if it's every day.

(uh oh, I guess I could use some major improvement here...)

Fold clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer.
If they need ironing, iron as they come out of dryer.

(iron?)

Every three months totally go through a room.

Clean out all the drawers, give everything a good vacuuming and good polishing.
Take the bed comforters to the cleaners.
Turn the mattress, and vacuum under bed.

Go through mail immediately.

File papers, dispose of everything that needs to be, and write checks for bills and file to send later.

Clean out the fridge before buying groceries.

May this help you as much as it's helped me :)

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