30 Day Cleaning Challenge--Day 10

• Who can find a virtuous woman?  her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household
• She eateth not the bread of idleness

Today's task for the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge at Money Saving Mom is to deep clean the living room.  

These are her suggestions:

• Set the timer for 20 minutes and pick up and put away all items that are out of place. (Bonus: find 7 items to get rid of.)
• Dust the furniture, wall-hangings, and knick-knacks.
• Wipe down the baseboards.
• Vacuum/sweep the room. (Bonus: use an attachment on the vacuum to vacuum around the baseboards and vacuum the furniture.)
• Clean fingerprints on the windows.
• Bonus: Spot-clean the carpets and walls.
• You’re done!

Sorry no before-and-after pictures  today, Wednesdays are usually spent out of the house, and today is no exception, so when I saw that the task for today was "deep cleaning" I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it.  But when I went into the living room to look around, I realized something.  Last week one of the daily tasks was to"surface clean" the living room and kitchen. Even though my main focus that day was the kitchen, I took the time to pick up and put away things that didn't belong--like shoes and books and hair clips--straightened everything else and dusted.

Since then, my family has co-operated in keeping it pretty well picked up every day. We always have a couple of books laying around, we take off our shoes sometimes when we're sitting there watching tv, but something about having it all cleaned up has inspired everyone to pick up behind themselves for the most part.

So this is what I did today:

Picked up and threw away some trash--a couple of tissues and a paper towel that I'd been using on top of a coaster; straightened our current stack of books, a magazine and one of my calendar organizers; fluffed and straightened a couple of pillows and refolded one of our throws. That's it. 

We have a hardwood floor in the living room, so when someone sweeps or swiffers, they usually get the baseboards that are not behind furniture.  The windows are behind a love-seat, so no one really touches them.  Right now I'm in a minimalist stage and I have no knick-knacks on the tables in there (I swing back and forth on this sometimes!) (Can you believe I'm the same person with that disaster of a bedroom yesterday?) It could probably use a dusting, it really doesn't need much else. If there had been time, I would have cleaned out behind the doors in the tv stand, and I made a mental note that I need a pretty basket or something similar to keep the remote(s) in. 

Quite a contrast from yesterday, right!

Until next time...

To see other posts in this series, click on Clean in 30

The Day the Squirrel Came For Dinner

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She is like the merchant's ships, she bringeth her food from afar
• She ... giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens

I don't know if this qualifies as a giving to her household or not, but as I was visiting with my parents this morning, we noticed a visitor outside, trying to get to one of the bird feeders.

The wind was blowing, and shepherd's hook was rocking a little, so she/he didn't seem too sure of themselves, and just froze.

My mom grabbed her camera and we managed to get a few shots...

Until she/he decided it was time...

...to GO FOR IT.

Wild swinging ensued, and having been the victims of bird feeders emptied and even destroyed by squirrels in the past, we did the only thing we could---rattle the door handle, at which time she/he left--without even leaving a tip!

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Garden Tuesday at Sidewalk Shoes

A Virtuous Woman Cleans the Bedroom

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household
• She eateth not the bread of idleness

Disclaimer:  A Virtuous Woman tells the truth, even it isn't pretty.  And this ain't pretty. 



Although I haven't been participating every day, I've been following everyone else's adventures for the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge at Money Saving Mom. 

Last week, one of the days that I just pretended I didn't see the post was the day we were supposed to "surface clean the bedroom" in 15-20 minutes. 

They have not seen my surfaces. 

Actually, I haven't seen my surfaces in a while.

I have been doing better about making the bed lately, after falling off the 21-day Making New Habits Bandwagon. But I deluded myself on my last post on Saturday that the bedroom, of all places, while not clean, was looking better. 

But this week, when the "surface clean your bedrooms" task came around, I knew I had to bite the bullet and Just Do It.

It's bad, ladies.  Very, very bad. If you have small children, you may want to ask them to leave the room. 

Mother, please don't look. 

 My husband's side of the bed. 

That pile of gold stuff is our winter bedding, piled on a chair.  We took off the winter bedding (only "winter" because, although lightweight, the comforter is warm. Too warm for Louisiana except in cold weather.) But before I could pack it away, it turned cold again.  Then warm again.  Then cold again.  So we've been alternating according to the weather. But it just contributes to the overall disarray, although this is really just the least of it, as you'll see. 

My side.  Not any better.  

This is where you may want to avert your eyes....

Yes, this is real.

And it is all my stuff. 

Every stinking last bit of it.

Except the basket of towels waiting to be folded. Think just that one thing would make much difference?

The box is a "donate" box that I started months ago and never finished.  The black trash bag is left from the last time I decided to clean and organize. An anthropologist would have a field day with all of this, wouldn't

they?

So. As ugly as it is, this was my truth.  I could make a thousand excuses, but in the end, it is what it is.

But once it gets that bad, where do you begin?  

Pick one thing, and do it.  

I picked making the bed.  It's the biggest thing in the room, and when the bed is made, it already gives a feeling of order to the room, even if the rest of it is a disaster.  

Once you have a place to start, go the next place. 

I actually cleaned and straightened the dressing table yesterday, you just couldn't see it past all of the stuff piled in the rocker in the earlier picture, but I did tweak a bit today, and emptied the trash can that you can't see behind the rocker.

Then I tackled the next biggest area--around and in front of my chest-of-drawers.  I picked up shoes and put them away; sorted clothes for washing, mending, giving away and throwing away;  packed away winter clothes as well as the winter bedding; started a laundry basket full of things that didn't belong in the bedroom; added to the box of to-be-donated items; threw away trash, and just generally sorted and cleaned.  

 Last was the top of the chest, which was an adventure all it's own. Sorting, cleaning, throwing away and putting away. 

Don't look at the carpet, that's the last thing I have to do, and it's gonna take some extra effort--I do my hair at the dressing table, and the last time I vacuumed this area, hair tangled around the beater brush and broke the vacuum. So I have to use a brush or a static sheet or something similar to get the hair up before I vacuum now.   

This closet originally had sliding doors, which we took off when we carpeted the room years ago, then when we tried to put them back they dragged on the carpet and we never replaced them.  The closets in this house are shallow, but wide, and not having doors actually makes it easier to get to the things hanging on the ends.  So this is the best this area gets.

Basket of clothes to be folded and put away tonight, trash to be hauled out, donate box to be loaded, and bag full of old sheets to be put in the rag box in the shed. 

Next week's bedroom day--my husband's side of the room and whatever else I can find!

 And now--nourish and hydrate!

This post is linked to:

30-Day House Cleaning Challenge at Money Saving Mom

Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom

Titus Tuesday at Time-Warp Wife

Tuesday To Do at The Blackberry Vine

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Until next time...





To see other posts in this series, click on Clean in 30

A Virtuous Woman Cleans

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household
• She eateth not the bread of idleness

This has been a real roller-coaster of a week month year. I've been all over the place spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  Despite my best (sporadic) efforts, overall I have not been looking too well to the ways of my household! 

I got up Monday morning, though, feeling chipper and ready to roll.  This is the status update I posted on the Virtuous Woman facebook page : 

Good morning ladies! What plans do you have for your day? I'm hoping to have a "catch up" day for laundry and some housework. Need to run a few errands in there somewhere, as well as doing some reading and spending some time in prayer. I hope to be doing a series of posts soon on different ways of organizing our time, our to-do list, etc. How about you? Do you use an actual written list, a mental check list? Do you do certain things on certain days, or just sort of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of thing. What works for you?

Then that morning I read about the new Clean in 30 Challenge at Money Saving Mom.  The idea is to do one or two (fairly)small extra tasks a day for the 30 days of April.  Then at the end of the month, your whole house will be clean. Sounds like a winner to me, so I decided to give it a try. 


The first day, the task was to "surface clean" the living room and kitchen.  Suggestions were:

• Set the timer for 15 minutes and pick up and put away everything that’s out of place. Bonus project: Find 7 things to get rid of.
• Next, wash the dishes in the kitchen (if there are any), wipe down the countertops and surfaces in the kitchen.
• Finally, vacuum the living room.

This took me way longer than 15 minutes. Here was my status update that evening:

Okay, ladies, here's what I've done so far for my "catch-up" day--dressed to shoes, including hair & make-up; made the bed, including throw pillows; started on the laundry; straightened and dusted the living room; put away clean dishes, cleaned the drainboard, washed dishes, wiped down the stove and ALL the counter tops and backsplashes--this included moving things around and really evaluating where I store some things. Some things don't have a home, so they tend to just be laid down anywhere, or stuck someplace just to have someplace to put it. PS-I think I may have hoarder tendancies. I have too much stuff!

Way longer than 15-20 minutes, but I got it all done. The next day, the task was to clean the bathroom. Well. I just wasn't in a clean-the-bathroom mood that morning, so I kept putting it off and finally didn't do it at all.The next day the task was to surface clean the bedroom. Oh.My.Goodness. We're talking way beyond 20 minutes here! (Did I mention that I've been, shall we say, behind on housework lately? So NOT "looking well to the ways" of my household!) Once again, not done. By now I was thoroughly discouraged about the #Cleanin30 challenge--it just didn't seem to be doable from the state my house was in.

Somehow I just zoned out and skipped Thursday all together. I did manage to "bring my food from afar" (grocery shop), and cook a good dinner, but that's about it.  

That leads to yesterday. Yesterday I started off slow. Bad night the night before. Ugh.

But when I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, I looked around, and it took only a few minutes to spray the toilet with cleanser, and while that was working, to put things away and wipe the vanity.  Then I burshed the toilet down and I was through before I knew it. 

While I was in the bedroom getting dressed, I made the bed, and folded and put away a basket of clean clothes that was sitting there.  Then I picked up the pile of dirty clothes from the floor, carried them to the laundry room, and put them on to wash.  Since I was there, I picked up the clean hanging clothes from the laundry room and brought them back to the bedroom to put away in the closet.   The bedroom isn't clean, but any means, but it certainly looks better, not to mention getting my laundry caught up. 

Back in the front of the house, I started dinner, washed up the few dishes that were dirty, and surface cleaned the dining room. 

Not one thing took more than a few minutes to do.  And next week, although I may not follow the Clean in 30 steps exactly, each area of the house should get just a little better than it was before. 

So the moral of this story, as I shared on facebook, is this:

Looking well to the ways of our household may be different for each of us. We have different houses, different families, different schedules, different priorities, and we may be in different seasons of life. And even though I didn't do the #Cleanin30 challenge exactly the way everyone else did, doesn't mean I haven't aleady caught the principle--just a few minutes a day, applied consistently, can make a big difference in the long run.

Until next time...
This post is linked to:

Make Your Home Sing at Mom's the Word
Thirty Day House Cleaning Project at Money Saving Mom

To see other posts in this series, click on Clean in 30

Now THAT's What I Call a Mobile Home

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness

One day this week I was on my way out to my little small town rural church, traversing a highway that I drive so often I can almost do it on auto-pilot, when I spotted some blue flashing lights in the distance and what looked like a large obstruction in the road.

What was it? An accident? Must have involved a log truck or an 18-wheeler.  No, not an accident, maybe some kind of construction?

Nope--just a house.

In the middle of the road.

 So I pulled over onto the shoulder.   

 And then I pulled over some more.  Off the shoulder, onto the grass.

  

 As you can see, it's a real fixer-upper.

But you know what's cool?  Somebody sees some potential in it. 

Just like the Lord sees potential in us.  Even when we feel old.  Old and worn out and tired.

I look in the mirror sometimes and think "Who's that middle aged lady looking at me?  She looks really old.  Old and worn out and tired."

But He sees me the way I feel in my insides.  Cause in my insides I feel I lot younger.  And cuter. Not always, mind you, but a lot of times!  

Lately I think I've been living my life kind of like I drive that familiar highway--on auto-pilot.  I told ya'll about my struggles to get up, get dressed, do my everyday routines.  As I've been recovering from my recent injury, I've had a lot of time to think, and to pray, and to read, and to talk to some wise advisers.

I was literally, physically down that ill-fated day--and as I mentioned before, sat in the middle of the floor and cried like a baby over the physical pain, but also the mental and emotional and spiritual angst that I had also fallen into.  But I got back up physically, and I'm working on the other.  

I was thinking about those verses listed at the top of this post--about a virtuous woman being more valuable than rubies; and also about opening her mouth with wisdom and kindness.  Sometimes we show more kindness to others than we do to ourselves.  

I'm not trying look or act like a twenty-something, or heaven forbid, a teenage--just like the owner of this house is probably not going to make it over into a sleek, modern house--but there are still some good bones there, and it can be rehab-ed into something beautiful and functional. 

My routines are those bones I need in place to keep the structure stable--but after that--the skies the limit!

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Spiritual Sundays

It's All a Matter of Balance

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

I shared with ya'll on my last post that I had been falling down on the job about my habits.  I had a bad week; it was rainy and dreary; someone who I thought was a friend hurt me--or at least hurt my feelings; I was depressed; ya-da, ya-da, ya-da.

Some of it was physical, some emotional, some spiritual.

Then something happened the next week that really knocked me for loop--literally.  I was bringing groceries up the carport steps and into the house, and somehow as I stepped into the kitchen I was falling--luckily forward onto the floor and not backward onto the concrete. It felt like it was in slow-motion--a slow, inevitable fall that ended suddenly as I hit the floor. 

I was hurt--not just feelings, this time, but literal, physical hurt.  I landed first on my left knee, which hurt like the dickens.  I knocked into a chair with my right shoulder.  I apparently pulled a muscle or something in my right calf.  I found myself sprawled in the middle of the floor, crying aloud, surrounded by spilled bags of groceries, including an omelet of sorts, as smashed eggs began to ooze from the carton and spread slowly across the floor. 

I slowly managed to turn over and sit upright, and sat there--on the floor, surrounded by the spilled contents of my bags--and balled like a baby. I was in pain, but some of the crying was pent up frustration from the physical, emotional, and spiritual storms that I had been weathering. 

I finally managed to pull myself together, and tried to get up off the floor, only to realize that my instinctive, roll-over-onto-all-fours-and-get-on-up move wasn't working, 'cause my knee HURT too much to put weight on it.  Not to mention that other calf that felt like it was knotted up in a charlie horse. 

Just for a minute I panicked.  Then I thought of the phone call I might have to make, "Help, I've fallen, and I can't get up!"

Not me!  Not this ol' gal!

Then I panicked again when I couldn't find my cell phone in my purse--it was hiding among the spilled groceries--but luckily not in the raw eggs spreading slowly across the floor.

So how did I get up?  I scooted across the floor on my rear, managed to reach up enough with my cell phone to unlatch the storm door, and stuck my legs out the door and down the steps, so I managed to just stand up from a sitting position on the steps. 

Not my finest hour. 

And then I had to clean up the mess!

I've had a couple of weeks to recover and I'm still limping around.  The bruises are finally starting to fade, although I will certainly take your head off right quickly if you try to pat me on the knee. 

I've had a lot of recliner time, trying to keep my legs elevated to keep the bruising down. 

And lots of time for reflection. 

It certainly put somethings back into perspective for me. 

I wish that I was one of those people that let things just roll off of me.  Just like I wish I was one of those  physically limber and agile people who can roll right out of a fall, too. 

But as I was praying one day, asking the Lord to help me not be so sensitive, I stopped in my tracks.  I have prayed in the past for the Lord to help me to be more sensitive, especially when I have inadvertently hurt someone I love.  That very sensitivity to hurt is what makes me more sensitive to the needs of others. 

I lost my balance in the natural, when I fell into the kitchen. You better believe that as painful as my recovery has been, I'm much more careful about where I step--and about making sure I keep my balance. 

Sometimes I lose my balance emotionally and spiritually, too. 

I don't know why my "friend" did what she did, the way that she did it.  It hurt me, it hurt others, as well.  But I'd rather feel the pain than close myself off to love, and friendship, and relationships in the future. 

I just need to be sure that I keep myself in balance. 

Proverbs 27:6 states it this way: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

May I be ever sensitive, Lord.

Until next time...

This post is linked to:
Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things
Spiritual Sundays

Making New Habits: Sometimes You Just Gotta Go With the Flow

• Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

Hey ladies, you may have noticed that I was absent and didn't make my usual post last week in my "Making New Habits" series.

I had a bad, bad week last week. 

There was way too much of this:

and not enough of this:

And on top of that, there was not enough of this:

And there was too much of that:

And to top it off, a personal crises that really knocked me for a loop. 

Not to mean that I didn't get anything done. 

I did. 

Just not always the things I had planned.  But I found a cute ecard that expresses it perfectly:

And I thought I was the only one who did that!

You can read the other parts of this series here:

Establishing New Habits For the New Year

Make New Friends (Habits), But Keep the Old

Making New Habits--Sometimes Success and Failure Go Hand in Hand

Making New Habits and Tweaking the Old

Making New Habits--Sometimes You Just Gotta Go With the Flow

Until next time...