This was my first month of keeping a housework diary; it's pretty rough and not as detailed compared to later months; it also contains more opinion writing than I do now on my daily posts, but I had to start somewhere to figure out what works and what doesn't:
What I Did Today 4/1/20
- Two loads of laundry: sheets & towels
- Dusted bedroom & polished furniture
- Changed bed sheets & fluffed bed pillows in dryer
- Vacuumed the bedroom, bathroom, hallway, entrance, and kitchen
- Vacuumed the dryer lint trap & filters on the air purifier
- Made meals & ice
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Wrote out the weekly grocery list with cost estimate
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Exercise
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media posts & online puzzles
- Relaxed with my husband
There are some things that have to be done every day, and some things that only have to be done once a week; it’s all about time management which is where having a schedule comes in handy.
I created my own schedule and have set days for doing certain tasks;
I do bathrooms one day a week, the bedroom one day a week, and the other rooms (living/office) one day a week;
that way I have a couple days to do other things, whether it be seasonal housework or yardwork or just enjoying my hobbies without the pressure of having to get certain tasks done because they will get done on their scheduled days;
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are my busier days, and Tuesday and Thursday are my less busy days, so that Saturday and Sunday are my easiest days of all when my husband is off from work.
Granted, the schedule is in flux with the current situation, but even when I change the days I still do the same routine so that everything gets done each week.
Cleaning Today Makes Tomorrow Better
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What I Did Today 4/2/20
Weekly:
- Cleaned Cat Dishes
- Cleaned Bathrooms
- Disinfected all door handles & light switches
- Dusted Living Room & Office
- Vacuumed entire house
- Put groceries away
- Fluffed couch pillows in dryer
- Mopped kitchen & bathrooms
- Changed towels in kitchen & bathrooms (twice a week)
- Collected garbage from wastebaskets & took garbage out
Monthly:
- Added vinegar to toilet tanks
- Learn about it here: https://amarcoplumbing.com/vinegar-clean-toilet-tank/
- Kitchen Sink Scrub (twice a month)
- Soak sink strainers & dish brushes in bleach water (twice a month)
- Soak food scrap container in bleach water (twice a month)
- Random/As Needed:
- Put winter items in outbuilding storage
- Organized office closet
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice; refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/1/20:
I see a lot of posts about feelings of hopelessness and depression; I can relate.
It’s not that I wake up and can’t wait to clean my home; it’s more that I want to relax in a clean home and when I’m done with my work I feel accomplished in what I’ve done.
Feeling accomplished, in any task no matter the size, is a better feeling than depression, and I write from decades of battling depression; doing nothing begets feelings of nothingness, but it can be altered by doing something productive that creates something better.
It’s a matter of perspective and even I had problems at first with feeling accomplished with housework compared to bringing home a paycheck. I know I can do more than housework, I know I’m capable of a lot, but I like taking it easy at home now and I enjoy the ease of life instead of the stress I always had to force myself to accept for the sake of being like everyone around me.
I can’t control certain things about my current situation and it depresses me fairly often (and it has nothing to do with the virus issue), but what I can control is the tidiness and cleanliness of my home, and making my husband happy in the home; so I focus on that as best I can and keep positive faith that we’re working towards something better and we’ll get there.
I can also control what goes into my mind, so I make sure to watch movies I enjoy and anything that makes me feel better or laugh; my husband and I love to make jokes when we watch just about anything; we’re our own Mystery Science Theater 3000.
I encourage anyone who feels helpless or hopeless to start writing down your daily doings and accomplishments, and look at them and build upon them; it’s okay to have momentary setbacks, but don’t let them stop you and don’t lose your sense of humor; life does go on and it makes us stronger -- and cleaning today always makes tomorrow better.
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What I Did Today 4/3/20
Weekly:
- Make bacon
- How I do it: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/the-easiest-way-to-cook-bacon/
Random/As Needed:
- Laundry: one load of clothes
- Food prep & organization
- Hand-grind coffee: one mason jar full
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/2/20:
Today marks the end of my husband’s first one-day-work-week; he’s staying busy with online certification classes, which is something he’s wanted to do but didn’t have much time for; so, as non-ideal as the situation is, it’s created an opportunity and I’m glad he’s taking advantage of it.
The governor of our state has extended the shutdown until May, which doesn’t make me happy, but I know it could be worse and I know we have a lot even if a regular work schedule isn’t one of the things we have right now; we still have all our creature comforts, our health, our cats, our rural privacy, and a clean house to relax in.
Cleaning Today Makes Tomorrow Better
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What I Did Today 4/4/20
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Exercise -- kettlebell swings
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- treated ourselves to an afternoon meal out at Frugals & watched ‘The Howling’ (1981)
What I Did Today 4/3/20:
Saturdays and Sundays are my lightest housework days, and I plan it that way on purpose since those are my husband’s days off; I don’t believe in doing housework while he relaxes; I believe it’s best when we both relax together, so I make sure to take care of the big stuff during the week when he’s gone at work, or when he’s busy in the office with online courses during the week while his work is temporarily suspended due to state orders.
We have cats, not kids, so there’s nothing to be done for kids on the weekend. We also live in a rural area and our cats like using the outside for their bathroom, which is why I never have to list ‘clean the litterbox’ as part of my housework; it not only saves me work, but also saves us money since we don’t have to buy litter.
The weather is still cold here, although not snowy, but we do get weather reports that call for snow, and it’s definitely cold enough to snow, even though it doesn’t happen at our elevation; yardwork happens when the weather is good, and right now it’s still the hit-and-miss time of year; so, whenever the sun does show up, we’ll worry about the yardwork then; my husband did get some outside projects done today and I’ve gotten some yard clean-up done in the past couple months, but there’s always more to do.
We also watched the John Wayne classic McLintock! today; a favorite that always makes us laugh.
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What I Did Today 4/5/20
Monthly:
- Vinegar rinse coffee maker reservoir
As Needed:
- Restocked cat food & updated Chewy autoship order
Weekly:
- Enter the week’s receipts into bookkeeping ledger & start new monthly ledger for April
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- enjoyed our weekly pancake day, watched cheezy movies, and laughed at 90 Day Fiance
What I Did Today 4/4/20:
Sundays are my easiest days of all since it’s the end of the week; then when Monday comes around, I pick up the pace again. That’s probably what I like most about staying home now is getting to create my own work schedule and not having to break a sweat getting stuff done, unless I want to break a sweat.
This week the weather report is showing no signs of snow or rain, which means there’s a possibility the sun might show up, but we’ll see; it’s a challenge for me to stay motivated and active under constant cloudy skies, so just getting my daily regular work done feels like an accomplishment; even though it doesn’t look like much, it does make a difference for the better, and it’s better to do a little every day than to do nothing every day.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/6/20
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: towels & clothes
- Ironing: one shirt
Weekly:
- Restocked kitchen freezer from freezer chest food storage
- Removed expired foods from fridge & restocked meats that need thawing
- Vacuumed entire house
- Emptied living room waste basket
- Refilled bird feeders
- Changed out kitchen & bathroom towels
Daily:
- Exercise -- walking outside
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/5/20:
Even though ‘washed dishes & wiped counters’ is listed once, I do them multiple times a day.
We don’t have a dishwasher and I don’t like having a full day of dishes to wash at the end of the day especially since we have a small kitchen; so I wash dishes throughout the day, 3 to 4 times a day, in small increments; and I wipe down all the counters each time I’m done.
I let the dishes air dry because spots on the glasses are the least of my problems; I put the night dishes away in the morning, and I put dishes washed during the day away when they’re dry.
In total I spend less than an hour a day washing dishes, but I still prefer to not save it all until the end of the night; doing a little at a time is more productive than procrastinating to avoid doing something that has to be done anyway.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/7/20
As Needed:
- Emptied bathroom waste basket
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/6/20:
One of the best things about staying home as a housewife is not having to do anything strenuous when my body is being strenuous on me.
I’ve suffered with severe menstrual cramps since my teen years; my dad even took me to the hospital once just to rule out an appendicitis, the pain was so bad. I sometimes think I was the fool for forcing myself to work and go through so much discomfort in life for the sake of doing what I thought I had to do; no friends in my life ever had cramps like I’ve had, so it made me think I must be overreacting and just need to suck it up, which is what they projected on to me, when the reality is they didn’t have my body and had no clue what I was going through.
I have to take NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) to deal with the pain; I can pop acetaminophen all day and it won’t do anything for me; on the plus side, my tolerance for pain is quite high, and for a time I avoided pain pills thinking the pills were worse for me than the pain, but I’ve gotten wiser as I’ve aged and learned to not put my body through the pain or the high blood pressure any more.
Today was a light housework day so I enjoyed old creature flicks on TCM while doing puzzles, resting, and taking care of my daily housework; even on my busier days when I have more work to get done it’s not the end of the world if I put it off another day so my body isn’t under undue strain; the same can’t be said in the working world, as I’ve learned from experience.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/8/20
Weekly:
- Dusted bedroom & polished furniture
- Changed bed sheets & fluffed bed pillows in dryer
- Vacuumed the bedroom (with baking soda), bathroom, hallway, entrance, kitchen & living room
- Vacuumed the dryer lint trap & air purifier filters
- Watered house plants
Monthly:
- Emptied & cleaned Berkey water filter
As Needed:
- Refilled mayo & mustard squeeze bottles
- Three loads of laundry: bed sheets, microfiber towels w/Berkey water filter mat & regular towels
- Emptied bathroom waste basket
- Took out household garbage
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/7/20:
Today was a productive day and the third day in a row with all-day sunshine; however, my husband washed the truck, so if it rains tomorrow, I won’t be surprised.
A year ago this month my husband was hired by the company he works at, and that was when I was able to start my regular housework routine that I have continued all year; with 52 weeks in a year, that means I’ve washed & changed the bed sheets 52 times, and I’ve cleaned the toilets/bathrooms 52 times since I do both tasks once a week; I vacuum three times a week, so that’s 156 vacuumings this past year, either the whole house or parts of the house. Doing something once a week or a few times a week may not sound like much but give it a year; it adds up to make a difference for the better!
The trade-off for my consistent housework is not just having a clean home but also getting better at the work I do, which is an important goal in any job; if I don’t get better at what I do every day, then I’m failing myself and I don’t want that.
The Aristotle quote says ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.’ This quote was on a wall when I went to court reporting school and it stuck with me; it’s probably one of the reasons why I’m not scared of cleaning toilets like when I was younger, because I know I can do anything I put my mind to and that I can get better at it the more I do it because that’s how I conquered stenography -- and I’ve totally gotten better at cleaning the bathrooms, both physically and mentally; it’s not my most favorite thing in the world, but the end result is wonderful.
For anyone who thinks they can’t get better at housework, or they don’t want to get better at it, the truth is you can get better the more you apply yourself and believe in your abilities to excel at whatever you work hard at doing. There’s nothing wrong with cleaning toilets or the home you live in, but it is unhygienic to not clean your home and have to live in filth. I may have to live with outdated wood paneling longer than I’d like, but I refuse to live in a dirty home. Tomorrow is bathroom day, and I bet the toilets are more scared of me than I am of them.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/9/20
Weekly:
- Cleaned Cat Dishes
- Cleaned Bathrooms
- Refreshed bathmats & toilet tank toppers in dryer
- Disinfected all door handles & light switches
- Vacuumed entire house
- Fluffed couch pillows & blanket in dryer
- Steam mopped kitchen & bathrooms
- Changed towels in kitchen & bathrooms
- Collected garbage from household wastebaskets
- Took out recycling
- Soak food scrap container & sink strainers in bleach water
- Wrote out shopping list with cost estimates
As Needed:
- Cleaned up cat vomit & spot cleaned carpet
- Organized office closet
- One load of laundry: clothes
- Yardwork: removed dandelions from lawn & removed old leaves/weeds from plant strip
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/8/20:
Cleaning with OdoBan & Cats:
Whenever I fluff or refresh anything in the dryer, I always spray it down with the OdoBan disinfectant first; since I only change out bathroom towels twice a week, I refresh them in the dryer after each use during the few days between changing them out; I also do that with my pajamas between washings, and the top blanket of our bed every day; the top blanket is more for the cats so if they end up on it their hair stays on that blanket without messing up other blankets.
I’m hesitant to put bathmats in the washing machine, because even when I’ve bought ones that say they’re safe for the machine, they’ve come out ruined; I went through two from Costco like that and was very annoyed since the label said they were safe to wash; so instead of washing, now I spray them with disinfectant after each use and refresh them in the dryer once a week.
The OdoBan disinfectant is a mildewstat which inhibits the growth of mildew; I spray down the shower curtain after every use and I’ve noticed the corners that would usually get spots haven’t gotten dark spots on them; I also wipe the tub dry after each use (or my husband does if he’s the last one to use it) and this helps mold/mildew spots from appearing, so that when I clean it once a week it doesn’t require much effort; it’s easier to do a little each time instead of saving it for once a week.
I use the OdoBan disinfectant to wash the tub, followed by a handheld steamer; I use the disinfectant on all surfaces in the bathrooms along with a steamer, and then I dry everything with a microfiber towel; I always clean the toilet first to get that over with, then move to the sink/counter, and finish with the tub in the main bathroom; I use different rags for each area of the bathroom too; the smaller bathroom doesn’t have a tub, so I do that bathroom last and get the big one over with first.
I use some of my homemade table runners as toppers on top of the toilet tanks to make them look more pleasing; they’re great for catching dust and I refresh them every week with the bathmats; I put them in the washing machine when I have other table runners to wash, which I’ll do in the coming weeks.
I also use a steam mop for all the hard floors, which isn’t much in our small house; since we have hard water, the manual said to use distilled water, so I make sure to only use distilled water in the steam mop; unfortunately I’ve been finding what looks to be small traces of urine on the mop and my guess is it’s from my oldest cat (16 years); so, I’ve moved the mop into the office closet for storage when not in use to solve the problem; now I’m waiting to see if I’ll continue to find traces of urine in the same spot, and if so I’ll take it as a sign to put a litter tray in there for him; we’ve never updated the carpets in this house so it’s not the end of the world, and the OdoBan is great for spraying on carpets after spot cleaning stains as well as cleaning hard surfaces like steam mops.
Life is always better when the bathrooms are clean, and even though they don’t stay clean it’s okay, because they’ll get cleaned again next week; tomorrow will be a light housework day and I’m hoping that we’ll get 5 days in a row of all-day sunshine.
Learn more about OdoBan here:
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/10/20
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: delicates
- Put weekly groceries away
- Took out recycling
- Hand-grind coffee: one mason jar full
- Replaced wax tarts in burners
- Ukulele practice
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Exercise -- walking outside
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- finally watched ‘Escape from New York’ for the first time with him
What I Did Today 4/9/20:
My husband does the grocery shopping while I stay home now, which is fine with me because I’d just as soon stay home, so I get the lowdown on the ‘forbidden zone’ from him.
As it stands, the grocery stores had everything on our list, and Costco no longer limits eggs to one at a time, but now they put a limit on vinegar to one at a time, so go figure that one out; luckily two gallons of vinegar lasts us approximately two months since the last time we bought some was in mid-February, so we’re set for another two months.
For people who aren’t leaving their homes, how can they know what’s going on out there? Every state is managing this ‘unprecedented’ time differently, so to assume what is happening in one state is happening in all states is totally incorrect. I have family in Arizona, and what’s going on there isn’t the same as what’s happening where I live in Washington State.
If anything, this is a great way to learn what states are worth living in based on how the state government is handling the situation. We’re seeing this as one more reason to get out of this state, which we will eventually; this may slow down the process of home renovations for a while, and the anarchist in me is not loving the state sanctions that keep my husband from working, but he’s not fired and work will be there when this is over; this isn’t the end of the world.
This is a test and a challenge, and it’s going to be fascinating to see what comes of it after it’s over; will states or media outlets be sued by businesses or individuals? Unprecedented times call for unprecedented lawsuits. Anything is possible and I like to think positively that it will happen.
It’s only the end of the world if people think it’s the end of the world, and I don’t think it is; but if it is the end of the world, at least my home will be clean and well-stocked with food.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/11/20
Weekly:
- Bookkeeping -- added weekly receipts to monthly ledger & filed in budget binder
Monthly:
- Accounting Reconciliation -- reviewed March bank statement against monthly ledger & filed in budget binder
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: clothes
- Replenished pancake batter mix
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Exercise -- walking outside
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- treated ourselves to burgers at Frugals and watched ‘Searching’
What I Did Today 4/10/20:
It took me about 30 minutes to do the monthly accounting reconciliation, and probably 10 minutes to add this week’s receipts to the ledger.
I used to let the receipts pile up, but after doing a 3-month catch-up one time I’ve made myself stay on top of it by adding receipts to the ledger once a week; that way when the bank statement shows up it doesn’t take long to reconcile the statement against the ledger.
The importance of the reconciliation is that it shows me if I missed anything in our receipts; it’s also a fun puzzle to figure out, and I always feel like I accomplished something when the bank statement is full of checkmarks next to each transaction and my Excel ledger is full of highlighted entries that have been reconciled against the statement; and it feels really great when there are no surprises on the statement.
I do not recommend that women remain ignorant of the finances in a home; just because I don’t make the money doesn’t mean I’m free and clear of having a say or making financial decisions; I’m not my husband’s child, I am his wife and I have a legal right to be an active participant in managing the finances, as all wives in America do these days.
Managing the books is an integral part of housework and homemaking; and it’s my job to make sure there is money for food, supplies, utilities, and rent; not only is it my job, but I like knowing where the money goes each month.
Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power -- and balancing the books today makes tomorrow better!
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What I Did Today 4/12/20
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: towels w/ dish mats
- Ukulele practice
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Exercise -- walking outside
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- enjoyed our weekly pancake breakfast & laughed our way through 90 Day Fiance
What I Did Today 4/11/20:
I’ve spent the last couple months working up a song for my two-year anniversary on Monday; I started with the lyrics, then thought up a tune in my head, usually while doing dishes; then I figured out some simple country chords on my ukulele that matched the tune in my head, which is what my uke practice has been; I finally got it all ready tonight to present to my husband tomorrow; it’s been a fun challenge to create a gift that’s original, heartfelt, and doesn’t collect dust.
Even though tomorrow is a special day in our home, I’m not using it as an excuse to ignore housework; my daily work always has to get done to keep home functioning at its best, and the routine keeps me functioning at my best too; if I put one of my daily tasks off until the next day, it will throw the next day off and I don’t want that, so I make sure to always get the daily work done at a minimum.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/13/20
Weekly:
- Changed out kitchen & bathroom towels
- Cooked bacon
- Dusted living room
- Vacuumed entire house
As Needed:
Took out recycling
- Prepped & bagged cheese for freezer storage: https://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/17723
Monthly:
- Cleaned off the 5-week dry erase board schedule & set it up for the next 5 weeks
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Exercise -- kettlebell swings, squats, & counter push-ups
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- enjoyed our 2-year anniversary at home & performed my song gift for him
What I Did Today 4/12/20:
Thanks to the shutdown in our state, my husband got to spend our 2-year anniversary at home today; had it been business as usual, he would have been at work; so, for all the months of the year this could have happened, I’m glad it was this month and we got to be home together today, and that the sun was out for the 8th day in a row!
All housework got done as usual and it’s so much more enjoyable to do it when there is sun shining in the windows; even though getting the cheese into the freezer could have waited another day, I’m glad I did it today so that it’s done with; now we’re set on lunch cheese for another four months, thanks to our Food Saver.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/14/20
Weekly:
- Refilled bird feeders & feed containers
- Moved meats from freezer into fridge for thawing
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: clothes & whites
- Cleaned toothpaste splatter off bathroom mirror
- Changed out kitchen sponge
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Exercise -- walking outside
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies -- new home economics blog post, 1500+ words
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/13/20:
I find that it’s easier to clean toothpaste splatter off the mirror once a day or every couple days (some days there isn’t any splatter) instead of letting it build up all week; the longer a stain sits, the more elbow grease it takes to get it off.
When I wipe off the mirror I also wipe down the faucet handle so that it’s shiny, and I wipe away any spots that make their way onto the walls since it’s such a small bathroom; I keep a microfiber towel hanging on the vanity door that’s just for cleaning so that it’s where I need it when I need it, and I change it out once a week when I do the weekly cleaning.
The same goes for stains in the fridge; the longer a stain sits in the cold fridge air, the harder it gets and the harder it is to clean; it takes less time to wipe up a fresh spill/stain than a hard stain, and then there isn’t a stain that has to be looked at every time I open the fridge.
I know that it’s not always fun cleaning up someone else’s mess and I’ve done my share, both when I lived in a temporary roommate situation when I first moved to Montana, and more recently when I worked as a housekeeper and people intentionally saved their messes just for me; both situations taught me that cleaning a mess when it’s fresh is easier to clean than when it sits waiting to be cleaned.
I’d rather take 30 seconds to clean a fresh mess than let it get worse, especially in my own home since I’m the one who suffers the consequences by having to look at it and work harder to remove it.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/15/20
Weekly:
- Dusted bedroom & polished furniture
- Changed bed sheets & fluffed bed pillows in dryer
- Vacuumed the bedroom (with baking soda), bathroom, hallway, entrance, kitchen & living room
- Vacuumed the dryer lint trap & air purifier filters
- Took out household garbage
As Needed:
- Food prep; sliced cheese
- Two loads of laundry: sheets & towels
- Cleaned windows in bedroom & entrance, mirrors in hallway & entrance
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Exercise -- kettlebell swings, squats, counter push-ups
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched the season premiere of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’
What I Did Today 4/14/20:
On vacuuming with baking soda: I keep two tumbler glasses in the bedroom each filled about one-third with baking soda; one is on my side of the room and the other is on my husband’s side; once a week I empty the glasses by sprinkling the baking soda all over the carpet before vacuuming; then I refill the glasses and they sit in the bedroom for the week to help absorb any odors; what’s funny is I don’t do it anywhere else in the house, so I think I’ll start the same system in the living room since it can’t hurt and we have more than enough baking soda since we buy it in bulk.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
----------------------
What I Did Today 4/16/20
Weekly:
- Cleaned Bathrooms
- Refreshed bathmats & toilet tank toppers in dryer
- Disinfected all door handles & light switches
- Vacuumed living room, kitchen, hallway, entrance, bathrooms & office
- Refreshed couch pillows in dryer
- Steam mopped kitchen & bathrooms
- Changed towels in kitchen & bathrooms
- Collected garbage from household wastebaskets
- Wrote out weekly shopping list with cost estimates
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: microfiber cloths
- Refilled coconut oil jar
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched ‘Dolls’
What I Did Today 4/15/20:
On Using Wastebasket Liners: I started using wastebasket liners instead of reusing plastic grocery bags after I worked as a housekeeper at a luxury retirement facility; mainly because the liners look nicer than the plastic grocery bags, and I figured why not add some luxury to my own home.
I have three wastebaskets in my house and I remove the liners once a week, even if there isn’t much garbage in them because it just looks better; I keep extra liners in each wastebasket so when I pull one out, there is a small wad of extras on the bottom and I grab a new one to line the wastebasket; when the extras get down to one or two, I just add more to the basket instead of grabbing one at a time; if you ever stay at a hotel or somewhere with a housekeeping staff, you might notice extras in the wastebasket.
Costco sells wastebasket liners for a reasonable price, but Home Depot sells them too and other places; I think it’s worth the cost for an extra touch of luxury since it takes a long time to go through 500 bags; with 3 wastebaskets in the house, that’s 166 bags per wastebasket, and changing the wastebaskets one time a week with 52 weeks in a year means the bags will last 3.2 years; sometimes I change the bags more than once a week depending on how much is in them (or what’s in them) but always once a week at a minimum.
Since the bags are clear, I like to use them for storing seasonal items when not in use to keep the dust off, then the dust just gets on the bag and not the items; I keep my winter & summer sheets in liners since they’re stored away on a shelf half the year; I also like to put donations in the liners because it looks nicer than a big garbage bag of donations, and the people who go through the donations can see what’s inside before opening them.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 4/17/20
Weekly:
- Watered houseplants
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: clothes
- Put groceries away & tossed old food
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Exercise -- kettlebell swings, squats, counter push-ups
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched ‘Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone’
What I Did Today 4/16/20:
Today I received notice that I have been excused from jury duty in my county for the next 12 months; it doesn’t hurt to live nowhere near a bus stop, have one vehicle and no driver’s license. I can drive, I just opted not to renew my license this last time around since a state i.d. is cheaper and I like not driving.
I’m not opposed to jury duty in general, in fact I’d like to sit on a jury, but I’m not in favor of it when it’s such an inconvenience to get there; nor am I likely to be selected since I’ve worked in Washington State courts, and the courts in this state are a total mess, unlike my house.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
----------------------
What I Did Today 4/18/20
As Needed:
- Put groceries & supplies away
- Unpacked Chewy order & put pet food away
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Exercise -- walking outside & kettlebell swings
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- discussed future plans, enjoyed burgers from Frugals, stopped at Walmart for groceries/supplies & watched movies
What I Did Today 4/17/20:
Went to Wal-Mart today in Port Angeles; lots of supplies are out of stock online but I’m able to find them in the store; it’s a hoot seeing so many people in masks and we don’t wear any at all since it’s not mandated and we’re not concerned; if people are that scared of getting sick, then they can be the ones to wear the masks; at some point this fear will end; just like after 9/11 and any time an unidentified bag was left somewhere people panicked, but they don’t anymore; this too shall pass.
What’s funny to me is how many cleaning supplies weren’t in stock, when normally there’s never a shortage; honestly, if people had been more proactive about cleaning and personal hygiene to begin with, maybe there wouldn’t be this fear now and a shortage of supplies; people in this region do not take hygiene very seriously nor basic cleanliness in places of business, so I’m not all that surprised at this overreaction since this whole area and its inhabitants are long overdue for a good thorough scrubbing.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better -- and makes people healthier!
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What I Did Today 4/19/20
Weekly:
- Added weekly receipts to bookkeeping ledger
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: delicates
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Exercise -- walking outside
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- enjoyed our weekly pancake breakfast, and laughed through 90 Day Fiance with our weekly salmon dinner
What I Did Today 4/18/20:
Our weekly salmon dinner is nothing fancy, but fairly economical since we buy the frozen Trident salmon burgers at Costco for $15.99 for a pack of 12; one pack lasts approximately four weeks, which breaks down to $3.99 for our weekly fish meal; I eat a bun with mine, and that breaks down to 88-cents per bun; so less than $5, not including condiments, for our weekly salmon dinners.
Even though we live in the Pacific Northwest on the Olympic Peninsula surrounded by water on three sides, there is no such thing as a $5 salmon dinner for two anywhere that I’ve ever seen.
I also like these burgers because they can be cooked in the oven and all the mess stays in the oven; I used to cook them on the stove top in a pan, but I got tired of the grease splatters, so they go in the oven now which has a self-cleaning cycle; I do the self-cleaning cycle every few months depending on how messy it gets, and according to my housework notebook it’s actually due for a quarterly cleaning this month, so I’ll add that to my to-do list this week.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
----------------------
What I Did Today 4/20/20
Weekly:
- Cooked bacon
- Grind coffee beans: one mason jar
- Dusted living room, office & entrance
- Vacuumed entire house
- Changed out kitchen & bathroom towels
- Refilled bird feeders & restocked feed container
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: towels & clothes
- Emptied living room wastebasket
- Restocked kitchen freezer/fridge from chest freezer
- Yardwork: de-dandelioned the lawn & branches pick-up
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles & research, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/19/20:
My husband took down two maple trees on our property today; they were smaller when we moved here six years ago, but now they’re growing too big for where they were planted, the branches had to keep being trimmed back to stop them from hitting the buildings, and the roots were going to start doing some damage; they also made an awful mess every fall.
I’ll miss the trees; watching my husband drag them across the yard in various pieces made me kind of sad because it’s the end of something, but I won’t miss the mess each fall or having to rake the leaves; we want to make the yard easier to maintain, and there are trees all over the place both on our property and the surrounding properties, so losing two trees isn’t the end of the world, but I will miss the wonderful photo ops they gave me and I’m glad I got lots of pictures over the years; photo below taken in October of 2017.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better -- and so does a clean yard!
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What I Did Today 4/21/20
Quarterly:
- Ran self-cleaning cycle on the oven for 3.5 hours
- Cleaned oven storage drawer, stove knobs & one oven rack
As Needed:
- Took out recycling
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Exercise -- kettlebell swings, squats, and counter push-ups
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/20/20:
Thoughts on the word ‘Chore’:
When grown women call housework ‘chores’ it makes me wonder if they ask their husband for an allowance when they’re done with their ‘chores’. I also cringe when adults & medical professionals use the word ‘pee’ like they’re talking to a 3-year-old.
Maybe it’s an age thing and it takes reaching the experienced age of 40 to realize there are better words to use, especially when it comes to sounding like an adult and a professional.
Here are ten choice words I prefer to describe what I do as a full-time housewife:
- Duties
- Goals
- Homemaking
- Housekeeping
- Housework
- Jobs
- Responsibilities
- Routines
- Tasks
- Work
Lexico.com has two definitions of chore, the second being “An unpleasant but necessary task“ and I do not agree with the use of the word ‘unpleasant’. Source: https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/chore
So, in other words, caring for the home where I live and my husband that I love is unpleasant? Then why have a home or a husband if it’s unpleasant to care for them?
While there are some things I do which could easily be thought of as unpleasant, if I think of what I do as unpleasant it will make me less likely to want to do my work or take pride in what I do; so why set myself up with a mental block by thinking that caring for my home is unpleasant?
Taking care of my home and my husband is a duty, a responsibility, and ultimately my right as a tenant/owner of our home, and as my husband’s legally obligated wife.
Words carry weight with me and words matter a great deal to me, and the words a person uses say a lot about the person; that’s why I refuse to use the word ‘chore’ unless I’m using it to describe how much I loathe the word.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
----------------------
What I Did Today 4/22/20
Weekly:
- Dusted bedroom & polished furniture
- Changed bed sheets & refreshed bed pillows in dryer
- Vacuumed the bedroom (with baking soda), bathroom, hallway, entrance, kitchen & air purifier filters
- Took out household garbage & recycling
- Soaked food scrap container, sink strainers & dish brushes in bleach water
- Scrubbed kitchen sink
Quarterly:
- Cleaned oven glass on the inside & wiped out remnants in oven from self-cleaning cycle
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: sheets
- Refilled dish & hand soap pumps in kitchen
- Refilled baking soda container under kitchen sink
- Refilled OxiClean jar in laundry area
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched ‘Psycho II’ for the first time
What I Did Today 4/21/20:
I can’t think of much to write about my day at home; it speaks for itself.
So here’s my Tidy Thoreau meme, inspired by the Thoreau quote: All good things are wild, and free.
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What I Did Today 4/23/20
Weekly:
- Cleaned Cat Dishes
- Cleaned Bathrooms
- Refreshed bathmats & toilet tank toppers in dryer
- Disinfected all door handles & light switches
- Vacuumed entire house, with baking soda in living room
- Refreshed couch pillows in dryer
- Steam mopped kitchen & bathrooms
- Changed towels in kitchen & bathrooms
- Collected garbage from household wastebaskets
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: clothes
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched latest episode of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ and ‘Dementia 13’ for the first time
What I Did Today 4/22/20:
The good news: my husband goes back to work next Monday.
The messed-up news: with the unemployment stimulus for Coronavirus, he made more in two weeks of unemployment than two weeks of working full-time.
I know his paycheck doesn’t determine his worth or his value, and I know his work situation isn’t permanent; I just want the company he works for to pay him what he’s worth instead of making him think he’s worth less by paying him less than industry standard; plus, it doesn’t give one much incentive when you realize you get paid more to stay home than to go to work; talk about messed up.
I’m looking forward to the day him and I can look back and remember the screwed-up things we’ve lived through and laugh; and this will be one more of them.
At least the house is clean and some extra money came in during this screwed-up time; and I don’t give a hoot about the larger picture in American economics since our local rural economy is totally screwed up already; so we might as well make the most out of the ride and laugh it off, because this too shall pass.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better -- and so does having a sense of humor!
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What I Did Today 4/24/20
Weekly:
- Wrote grocery list with cost estimate
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: towels
- Took out recycling
- De-dandelioned the yard & plant beds
- Swept outside
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 4/23/20:
Today was an easy day and next week life gets back to normal in our household.
I used to save bathrooms and the big cleaning day for Friday, but the past few weeks I moved it to Thursday, the one day a week my husband went into work and I had the place to myself to clean; now I think I’ll stick with it on Thursdays, since I like having Friday as a light day at the end of the week.
I think of a clean house as magic and when someone watches what I do it’s like exposing the secrets, and it takes away the magic; I prefer my husband come home to a clean house instead of seeing me clean the house because housework is like comedy, it’s not pretty, so I prefer to be alone when I do it.
While people have been making jokes about cats being annoyed at their humans staying home, the reality is it’s the housewives who have been annoyed at the working husbands who were in their wives’ working area; I love my husband, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with loving it when he’s at work so I have space to do my work.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
----------------------
What I Did Today 4/25/20
Weekly:
- Put groceries away
- Cleaned out expired produce & added to compost pile
- Added weekly receipts to monthly ledger
- Refilled bird feeders
As Needed:
- Vacuumed entrance, kitchen, & hallway
- Two loads of laundry: clothes tops & clothes bottoms
- Took out recycling: cardboard
- De-dandelioned the yard & plant beds
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- enjoyed burgers from Frugals, stopped at Walmart, watched ‘Needful Things’
What I Did Today 4/24/20:
Thoughts on shopping at Walmart: For many months I had been using Walmart.com for household items because I loathe going into Walmart, but ever since the coronavirus issue we started going to the store because online is always out of stock while the local Walmarts have what we need.
Masks are not required by shoppers at the Walmart in Port Angeles and it seemed like a 50/50 mix today of people in masks and people without masks; there never was a greeter there before, but now there’s a man who tracks people coming in, and there’s an obstruction on the exit side of carts that people can no longer push onto the entrance side where the carts are stored -- genius thinking on Walmart’s part. I can’t imagine the entrance barrier or the 6-foot-shopping-line-trend lasting into the holiday season, but we’ll see; we made some good conversation with another non-mask-wearer while waiting in line at a reasonable distance and we were laughing about how upset mask-wearers get when you don’t wear a mask.
One of the perks of not wearing a mask is how far mask-wearers stay away from me, and as an introvert I love it! Every year during cold & flu season I would get so annoyed that people would stand so close to me in the line at stores, no personal space at all; I don’t need people to stand 6 feet away, but nobody needs to be standing so close that when I turn around they’re in my face and I can feel them cough on me, but now they stay away so shopping isn’t so bad; it’s just ridiculous to see what stores are doing now, especially Walmart since every Walmart I’ve ever been to has more sick people than any other stores I’ve shopped at, and Walmart never cared one snit before about people keeping distance or keeping their germs to themselves, so I don’t think Walmart cares, I think they’re just playing the politically correct game out of fear.
After watching ‘Shaun of the Dead’ the other day, we realized that the people in masks out here are the zombies since the masks aren’t mandated; I think it’s awful for the people with minimum wage jobs who are forced to wear the masks whether they like it or not, since they’re the ones working hard and now have something inhibiting their breathing; and I’m sure it has to suck hose water for residents who are mandated to wear a mask in public in the places where that’s happening; people who can think aren’t zombies, it’s the people who don’t think.
I don’t blame people for wanting to wear a mask, but I question why weren’t they doing it every other year during cold & flu season? Masks have always been available to the public, but I never saw sick people wearing them for the sake of decency and good manners before when they had just as much free choice to do it then as they do now, in this area anyway. It makes no sense when there’s always a flu season, and there are always sick people in Walmart any time of year. Plus, when I see someone overweight in a mask reaching for MSG-treated Doritos, that tells me they’re not concerned about their health, they’re just doing what the news tells them to do, which to me makes them a zombie because they’re not thinking about what they’re doing at all, and that’s the real problem.
This world is full of nonsense, but at least it gives us something to roll our eyes and laugh at while we wait for all of this to blow over.
----------------------
What I Did Today 4/26/20
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: delicates
- Added today’s online purchases to monthly ledger
- Formatted my husband’s updated CV
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- discussed future plans, enjoyed pancakes, watched ’90 Day Fiance’
What I Did Today 4/25/20:
Tomorrow life returns to what it used to be, with my husband going to work and me getting the house to myself; I already have a list of things written on my dry erase board so I don’t forget what I want to accomplish.
A lot of what I do is regular stuff and I’ve been doing it for a year now so I remember most things without making a list anymore, but I still like to make notes on the fridge board when I want to make sure I get something done; it always feels good to erase tasks from the board when I’m done.
I find that it helps me to see the tasks I want to take care of somewhere I look every day, and my fridge is the best place since the kitchen is the first area I take care of every morning; I also keep a notepad next to my laptop so if I think of anything while I’m online I can write it down and not forget.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
----------------------
What I Did Today 4/27/20
As Needed:
- Three loads of laundry: whites, microfiber cloths, cat blankets
- Cleaned washing machine with vinegar & baking soda rinses
- Vacuum-sealed steaks & ground beef; stored in chest freezer
- Refilled mayo & mustard squeeze bottles
- Watered houseplants
- Changed out bathroom & kitchen towels
- Refilled cat food containers & organized cat food storage
- Refilled OdoBan spray bottles & made a new batch
- De-dandelioned the yard & plant beds
- Took out household garbage & paper recycling
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched ’90 Day Fiance Pillow Talk’
What I Did Today 4/26/20:
Wednesday has been my dedicated bedroom day for over a year; the day I wash the sheets, dust & polish the furniture, etc.; so I think it’s time to change it to Tuesday since I’m making Thursday the new bathroom day; then I have a day off in between the two big cleaning days, and still have Friday off; of course an ‘off day’ doesn’t mean I don’t do anything, it just means I don’t have set cleaning routines aside from the daily tasks, which gives me time to take care of anything that pops up as needed and enjoy taking it easy.
It took me a while to adjust my mindset to fully realize that I didn’t have to go to a job or take care of anything else other than the house; I don’t even have to go anywhere now since I got rid of my driver’s license, so that’s one less huge pressure in my life; now there’s no reason for me to stress or feel overwhelmed by getting the work done, so long as I make a routine and make sure to take care of certain tasks every day so that they didn’t pile up all week.
I think a housewife is her own worst enemy by not taking care of her work when it needs to get done, or not creating a schedule to get it done; letting work pile up adds stress and frustration, and then more stuff gets piled on because there’s always more housework, and it just adds to everything; so staying on top of it matters a great deal, and doing a little at a time is better than saving a lot for later; something I learned for myself over decades of not wanting to do housework while going to a paying job outside the house, but those days are over with and life is much simpler for me now, and my home is much cleaner too.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
----------------------
What I Did Today 4/28/20
Weekly:
- Dusted & vacuumed entire house
- Vacuumed bedroom with baking soda
- Vacuumed air purifier filters & dryer lint trap
- Polished bedroom furniture
- Changed bed sheets & refreshed bed pillows in dryer
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: sheets & clothes
- Emptied living room wastebasket
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Exercise: kettlebell swings, squats, counter push-ups
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched ‘5 Card Stud’ and ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’
What I Did Today 4/27/20:
On Learning to Take Care of a Home:
I didn’t wake up one day and know how to take care of my home; I think it’s extremely prejudicial when it’s assumed that a woman knows how to clean just because she’s a woman; cleaning is a skill that is taught and learned, and can be improved upon with experience; even though I know what I’m doing now, I’m always learning new things and finding ways to be more efficient.
The hardest part about cleaning, for me, was knowing where to start when I didn’t know where to start; working as a minimum-wage cart-pushing housekeeper taught me a lot, but I don’t expect many people would go that extreme just to learn something new; that’s why I designed cleaning schedules on notebooks in my Zazzle shop to help others who feel lost in their homes or just want something that encourages them to clean rather than demotivate them.
Every home is different and some homes need certain tasks done more regularly, but there should always be a minimum level of cleanliness, and that’s what the schedules are for; more can always be done and cleaning should be adjusted by how much activity happens in a house; my home is roughly 1,000 square feet and consists of two adults and two cats, so it’s not the average home and doesn’t require a lot of work; some homes are bigger with more people and need more cleaning; and the more a person cleans, the easier it is to gauge how often to do it based on the home.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
Personalized Notebook Link: https://www.zazzle.com/z/px1ii?rf=238172181484073171
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What I Did Today 4/29/20
As Needed:
- Yardwork: de-dandelion the lawn; remove old bark & tree droppings from plant beds
- Changed out kitchen sponge
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched ‘No Country for Old Men’
What I Did Today 4/28/20:
On De-Dandelioning the Lawn:
The photo below was taken on April 20th of 2016, and I’m pleased that this year I have made sure no puffballs appear in the lawn; we live on a few acres and dandelions grow all over the place, so keeping the lawn free of them is the only area I worry about since it’s the view I get from the kitchen window; my husband will probably take the torch to the dandelions that grow in other areas of the property.
I prefer to wait until the yellow is showing and the dandelions are open, that way I can walk to each one and take it out, instead of hunting for green stems in a green lawn; my technique has been working well this year and keeps me busy on the days when there isn’t rain; today I only had a few to do and then focused on other tasks in the yard.
Had I been more diligent about it the past few years we would probably have fewer dandelions in the yard due to all the dandelion seeds that would blow around from the puffballs, but at least I’m doing something about it now; even though no one else sees our lawn, I see it, and it always look better when I’m at the kitchen window and don’t see yellow dandelions or puffballs.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better -- and that includes cleaning the yard!
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What I Did Today 4/30/20
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: clothes & towels
- Took out recycling: plastic & glass
- Ground coffee beans: one mason jar
- Sewed button on bed blanket
- Started sewing new napkin sets, 28 total
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched latest episode of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’
What I Did Today 4/29/20:
Today was supposed to be bathroom cleaning day, but my body sent another message when I woke up with cramps, so I figured bathrooms can wait until tomorrow; gray skies didn’t help either but only encouraged a mood of blahdom.
Instead of cleaning I started on a long overdue sewing project, though it isn’t entirely overdue; I like to sew napkins to use at home, and I thought I would sew new ones every year, but they aren’t needed every year; I think the last set I made was a couple years ago and they still work fine, I’m just ready for some new napkins to look at is all; I’ve had the new napkins pinned together and waiting for at least a year, so today I started sewing them together finally.
I like to make double-sided napkins, each side with a different fabric design using two fat quarters, so there are four napkins to each set; I got through the first round of sewing and they’re all turned the right way now; next is ironing them all and sewing two rows around the edges for a nice finished look; the photo below is an old set from a few years ago; not sure when I’ll get the new ones finished, but I’m closer to having them done now than I was at the start of the day.
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Monthly Totals:
- Changed Bed Sheets: 5 times
- Cleaned Bathrooms: 4 times
- Dusted: 8 times
- Laundry: 34 loads, 22 days
- Made the Bed: 30 days
- Mopped: 4 days
- Took out Garbage: 5 times
- Took out Recycling: 9 times
- Vacuumed: 13 days
- Vinegar Rinse Coffee Maker: 1 time
- Washed Dishes: 30 days
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