Below is the second month of my 'What I Did Today' housework diary; I transitioned away from opinion writing during this month and kept the post about what I accomplished in my home each day; even though I write down lots of little things I get done, I don't write down every little thing I do:
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What I Did Today 5/1/20
- As Needed:
- Emptied wastebaskets
- Vacuumed entire house, with baking soda in living room
- Refreshed couch pillows in dryer
- Ironed new napkin sets (28) & finished sewing one set (4)
- Wrote out weekly grocery list with cost estimate
Weekly:
- Changed out towels in kitchen & bathroom
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 ‘Best of the Best’
What I Did Today 4/30/20:
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't
resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow
naturally forward in whatever way they like. ~Lao Tzu
I had planned on cleaning the bathrooms today, but my uterus
had other plans for me; such is reality.
I managed to get the minimum amount of cleaning done to make
home better, and the bathrooms will still be there on Monday.
That’s one reason why I enjoy being a housewife now; I no
longer have to hide my misery and physical discomfort around clients,
coworkers, or customers, and I can change my home schedule as need be to
accommodate that which I cannot control.
That’s also why I make sure to stay on top of housework on
my good days, so that when bad days hit it doesn’t impact my home too much, and
I can do the minimum in a short amount of time and have a clean house to rest
in while I recuperate.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 5/2/20
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: clothes tops & clothes bottoms
- Emptied bathroom wastebasket
- Took out household garbage
Weekly:
- Put groceries away & removed expired produce
- Cooked bacon
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, watched ‘Invasion USA’, ‘Screamers’, and ‘Club Paradise’
What I Did Today 5/1/20:
Our life is frittered
away by detail. Simplify, simplify. ~Henry David Thoreau
On Simplifying Housework: Creating a regular routine is what
makes housework simpler and easier for me; the more I do something, the easier
it is to do; doing a routine in the same order makes the tasks easier too, such
as my cleaning routine in the bathrooms; and the more often I clean something,
the easier it is to clean.
Letting dirt build up for weeks at a time means there is
more dirt to clean and that requires more elbow grease, but cleaning the dirt
once a day, or every other day, or once a week, makes cleaning easier; it all
depends on the amount of dirt and it’s different for every home, and it can
vary by the season too; living in a snowy or wet region, from my experience,
means that wintertime often brings with it more dirt on the floors, especially
if it’s in a rural area with more gravel outside than cement.
The same goes for laundry; letting laundry pile up for a
week or more means there will be more laundry to wash at once, versus doing a
load every day; I average about 9 loads a week and do it as needed throughout
the week once the hamper is full, which is easier for me, and I prefer to make
life easier than harder because life is hard enough at times.
Housework is also easier and simpler when there is less
stuff to clean in general; I like having décor in the house, but not so much
décor that dusting demands more of my time; I want a clean home, but it doesn’t
mean I want to spend every waking moment cleaning it.
Now that I’ve adjusted to living in 1,000 square feet (with
outbuildings for storage) I don’t know if I’ll ever want to live in a large
house again; big homes can be overwhelming, and the bigger a home is it often
requires more stuff, and more stuff requires more cleaning, as I’ve learned
from past experiences when I owned a bigger home and more stuff.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better -- and the less there
is to clean the easier life is!
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What I Did Today 5/3/20
As Needed:
- Restocked fridge freezer with food from freezer chest
Weekly:
- Refilled bird feeders
Monthly:
- Started new monthly bookkeeping ledger for May
- Added weekly receipts to bookkeeping ledger
- Cleaned coffee maker reservoir with vinegar rinse
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 -- enjoyed pancake breakfast, watched ‘Hard Target’ and ’90 Day Fiance + Pillow Talk’
What I Did Today 5/2/20:
You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will
forever control you. ~Dave Ramsey
The first Sunday of every month starts the same in my home;
I do a vinegar rinse on the coffee maker reservoir, and I start a new
bookkeeping ledger for the month.
I used to fear adding up the receipts and tracking the
money, because more money was spent than was coming in, and it usually left a
knot in my stomach; but that was then and this is now.
Now I enjoy entering the receipts each week and I look
forward to the bank statement each month to reconcile my ledger against the
statement; I no longer get a knot in my stomach, but I still get anxiety over
the financial unknowns of life, and I keep the anxiety in check by breathing
and making sure we stay on track with our financial goals one day at a time.
Bookkeeping is an integral part of housework, in my opinion,
and it’s just like housework in that the hardest part is starting when you
don’t know where to start or what to do.
I recommend starting with keeping all receipts and writing
them down in a ledger, either in a notebook or in a spreadsheet application
like Excel or Google Docs, etc.; all transactions in a bank statement, credit
card statement, etc., must be written in the ledger too; this was the advice
given to me by a retired CPA, so I took it and ran with it and it’s helped us
more than if I had never done it.
It’s harder to analyze spending habits when there is nothing
to look at, that’s why all the data (receipts) must be entered somewhere in
order to look at the data and analyze where the money is going in order to
change spending habits and gain control over one’s money.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better -- and so does knowing
where the money goes!
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What I Did Today 5/4/20
Weekly:
- Watered houseplants
- Cleaned Cat Dishes
- Cleaned Bathrooms
- Disinfected all door handles & light switches
- Vacuumed entire house except bedroom
- Mopped kitchen & bathrooms
- Changed towels in kitchen & bathrooms
- Emptied household wastebaskets
Monthly:
- Added vinegar to toilet tanks: Learn about it here: https://amarcoplumbing.com/vinegar-clean-toilet-tank/
As Needed:
- Three loads of laundry: clothes, towels & microfiber cloths
- Kitchen Sink Scrub
- Soak sink strainers & dish brushes in bleach water
- Soak food scrap container in bleach water
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 old ‘Miami Vice’ and ‘Knight Rider’ episodes
What I Did Today 5/3/20:
Zen is not some kind
of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. ~Shunryu Suzuki
The Zen of Housework: I used to think that meditation was
all about sitting and breathing, but after I read ‘Wherever You Go, There You
Are’ by Jon Kabat-Zinn, I learned that there are many ways to meditate because
meditation is a state of mind, not just a physical state; therefore, I treat
housework as a form of Zen meditation.
When I clean, I keep my mind focused on what I’m doing by
looking at what I’m cleaning; I concentrate on what I do so that the end result
is what I want; I don’t let my mind wander or get distracted or imagine life is
something other than what it is; I stay in the moment and embrace cleaning my
home.
When I was younger I would get frustrated with cleaning,
because my mind wasn’t focused in the moment; I would think of things I’d
rather do than clean, which only made me want to not be in the present moment
and made me anxious for getting done, and I could never get done fast enough.
I always enjoy being done with housework, but now I make the
most of my routines by being aware of what I’m doing and find enjoyment in what
I’m doing; and when I’m done I enjoy the ultimate state of Zen in a clean
house.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 5/5/20
Weekly:
- Dusted bedroom & polished furniture
- Changed bed sheets & refreshed bed pillows in dryer
- Vacuumed the bedroom (with baking soda), entrance, kitchen, and hallway
- Vacuumed air purifier filters
Monthly:
- Washed bedding layers
As Needed:
- Four loads of laundry: bedding layers, sheets, bed cover, steam mop pads
- Refilled OdoBan spray bottles
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 ‘A Fistful of Dollars’
What I Did Today 5/4/20:
Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole
soul into it to the exclusion of all else. ~ Swami Vivekananda
On Being Just a Housewife: I get worn out just from reading
or listening to women describe all their roles: mother, wife, their job, their
volunteer work, their clubs, their hobbies, etc.
Having worked with mothers and supervised some, my
experience was that working mothers were half-ass good at their jobs and only
half-ass dedicated, because if something came up with their kids they were out
of there; so it always makes me wonder when women fulfill so many roles in one
day how good are they at any of their roles.
As a childless woman, I was often the one who covered for
the mothers who couldn’t cover their work because of their children; and
honestly, based on my own experiences, if mothers can’t dedicate themselves to
work, they shouldn’t work until their kids are out of the house, because an
employee who can’t be counted on is a terrible employee; sure, I made more
money, but I also learned to not care for mothers who work based on what I
experienced.
Once I got married, I wanted to focus on being just the wife
and homemaker; not the wife, homemaker, and part-time worker, because I didn’t
want to half-ass my role as wife and homemaker; my husband deserves more than
that; he put up with me as his working girlfriend for almost 20 years before we
got married; so it was time for something new once we got married and that
meant me dedicating myself to my new role without thinking I had to also commit
to a career or employment.
I like having one role as housewife and so does my husband;
our home life is much calmer and more stable than it was when we both worked;
sometimes I think I need to do more and be more, but then I remind myself that
I have done more and been more, and it didn’t always make me happier, just
busier.
I don’t aspire to run around like a chicken with my head cut
off, unsure of what day it is, unsure of what’s going on in my home, and unsure
of where anything is at because I’m not home long enough to take care of my
home; more power to the women who do it, especially to the women who do it well
because there are always exceptions, but it’s not the life for me.
Just a housewife? I’m not ‘just’ anything
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What I Did Today 5/6/20
As Needed:
- Three loads of laundry: clothes, delicates, towels
- Food prep: made hard boiled eggs & pancake mix
- Baked cookies
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 5/5/20:
The greater the
difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. ~ Epicurus
If women think being a housewife is easy, then why don’t
more women do it? Because it’s not that easy; but it’s easy to think it’s easy.
I’m not saying that being a housewife has the same
challenges as being a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher; but having survived
court reporting school and a number of years in the field, the reality is that
when the job comes with training it’s a lot easier to do the job than doing a
job I was never trained to do.
I have a mother, but she never taught me to take care of a
house, or clean a bathroom, or make dinner for the family; and I never took
home ec class because it wasn’t required nor did it interest me; so I was never
trained in being a homemaker or a housewife; I’m more at home behind a steno
machine than in my own kitchen, and I doubt I’m the only woman who feels more
at ease in a work environment than a home environment.
I don’t blame the education system, but I do hold my mom
accountable for not making sure I could take care of a home before leaving home
and assuming the schools would teach me; however, blaming her for her
shortcomings doesn’t make me a better housewife; I had to get over being
overlooked in my younger years in order to become a better housewife and
homemaker than I was ever taught to be; therein lies my difficulty and that’s
one of the things I enjoy about being a housewife, it challenges me to get over
what I couldn’t control in the past and take control of my home by making home
life better than I ever knew it could be.
If housework doesn’t challenge you, you’re doing it wrong
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What I Did Today 5/7/20
As Needed:
- Took out household garbage
- Changed out towels in bathroom & kitchen
- Yardwork: raked plant beds; removed old bark/tree debris
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 5/6/20:
I left the woods
for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had
several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one.
~Henry David Thoreau
I take comfort in knowing that my life can change; granted,
it doesn’t always change the way I want it to change, but that’s the reality of
life for centuries; no matter what other forces control my life, I still am
able to change my life.
I wasn’t always a housewife, and I like that I’ve done many
other things before becoming a housewife; the more experiences I have in life,
the more I learn from life, and I’ve learned that life changes as a person
changes.
When I hear people talk of doing something they dreamed of
since they were a kid, I wonder if they know that they’re an adult now. When I
was a kid I dreamed of being Annie and being adopted by Daddy Warbucks; I’m
glad I’m an adult now and don’t have that dream any longer, because I’ve
changed.
I didn’t dream of being a court reporter as a kid; I wanted
to be a writer which court reporting is writing and I didn’t know that was the
writing I would do, but I did it and learned a lot from it; mostly that I’d
rather be at home than out in the world where problems abound.
As much as my husband and I want to leave where we live
right now, I know some day I’ll miss it and we’ll be glad we got through it
together; sometimes I fear things will only get worse if we leave, but I’d
rather face that great unknown than stay where we don’t want to be; knock on
wood paneling nothing happens to us before we get out of here.
In the meantime, I’ll make the most of our time in the woods
of the Olympic Peninsula by doing housework and making home life better every
day; it’s nice to know that I’m a better housewife now than when we moved here,
so that’s a positive; and considering we weren’t even married six years ago
that just goes to show how life can change for the better when you least expect
it.
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What I Did Today 5/8/20
Monthly:
- Accounting Reconciliation: reviewed April bank statement against monthly ledger & filed in budget binder
Weekly:
- Emptied household wastebaskets
- Took out recycling: paper, plastic, glass
- Vacuumed entire house except living room
- Vacuumed dryer lint trap
- Write weekly grocery lists
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: clothes & blankets
- Vacuumed truck
- Refilled dish & hand soap pumps
- Cleaned up cat vomit
- Made cookies
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 5/7/20:
Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
~Sean Patrick Flanery
I never thanked myself for sitting around and being
miserable, or whining about problems beyond my control; because it doesn’t
create anything worth thanking.
I used to be a news hound and thought the more I read the
news the more I could find the truth through the lies; and what did it get me?
Nothing substantial, only wasted time on the internet; and I can waste plenty
of time on the internet without reading the news, thank you very much.
However, when I clean my home and balance the books, it
gives me something to be thankful for -- having a home and money in the bank;
we don’t have a big home or a lot of money, but our home is clean and we
continue to get better with our finances the more we work at it.
Performing my housewife duties also gives my husband
something to be thankful for -- me!
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 5/9/20
Weekly:
- Put away groceries & organized household supplies
- Took out household garbage
- Took out recycling: paper
- Cleaned out old produce & added to compost pile
- Vacuumed living room with baking soda & office
- Refilled bird feeders & bird feed containers
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: whites
- Yardwork: de-dandelioned the lawn
- Cleaned up cat urine
- Organized DVD storage cases
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 -- went out for burgers at Frugals, stocked up at Walmart, watched 'Quigley Down Under’
What I Did Today 5/8/20:
It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes
unhappy marriages. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
I received an early birthday present from my husband today:
the complete Hart to Hart series! Now we get to watch all the shows together
from start to finish without commercial interruptions or missing scenes, as is
common now when re-runs are aired.
We both enjoy movies and television productions; the fact
that I knew the names of directors and not just actors was something that
caught his interest 21 years ago when we met; so we can sit and watch just
about anything together, whether we take it seriously or make jokes the whole
way through which is what we always end up doing; making each other laugh never
gets old to us.
The problem with a lot of romantic movies is they are too
sappy without enough action; but Hart to Hart is perfect for us because it has
the right amount of marital romance combined with 1980s TV action, along with
plenty of good one-liners and enough ‘darlings’ to turn any episode into a
drinking game; it’s also perfect for us because we share the same first names
as the Harts.
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What I Did Today 5/10/20
Weekly:
- Added weekly receipts to May ledger
As Needed:
- Three loads of laundry: towels, clothes tops, clothes bottoms
- Yardwork: raked plant beds
- Vacuumed living room & office
- Spot cleaned cat urine
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 5/9/20:
I never write it down, but opening the property gate for my
husband is a regular task I do; he bought me a kick bike a few years ago and
it’s a great way to cover the distance of our long driveway, approximately
1/10th of a mile; lately I’ve been riding past deer on our property or on the
other side of the fence, today I saw a young spike staring at me as I passed
by.
I don’t greet my husband at home in a dress and make-up, but
I do open the gate for him and I open the front door so he can walk in and set
his things down with ease; my job isn’t to play dress-up, my job is to make his
home life easier since he has the hard job of working outside the home; I think
all my years of working helped me learn how nice it is to come home to a calm
home that’s in order, so I do my best to give him that every day.
Photo: Driveway view, July 2018; Ravenwood, Olympic
Peninsula, Washington State
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What I Did Today 5/11/20
Weekly:
- Cooked bacon
As Needed:
- Food Prep: boiled eggs; put ground beef in freezer bags & stored in chest freezer; moved items from freezer to fridge
- Vacuumed office & mud room
- Rearranged litter box & mud room
- Cleaned litter scoops & bathroom mirror
- Moved DVD cases to storage in outbuilding
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
- Opened driveway gate
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- started watching ‘Hart to Hart’ pilot
What I Did Today 5/10/20:
The greatest art is to shape the quality of the day. ~Henry
David Thoreau
The quality of my home depends on me, and adding quality to
my home by taking care of it totally shapes the quality of the day.
When each day is done I take satisfaction in knowing that my
home is better than it was when I woke up by accomplishing various tasks on my
to-do lists.
Tomorrow is another day to do it again and get better at
what I do.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 5/12/20
Monthly:
- Cleaned Berkey water filter
Weekly:
- Dusted bedroom & polished furniture
- Changed bed sheets; refreshed blankets & bed pillows in dryer
- Vacuumed entire house (bedroom with baking soda)
- Vacuumed air purifier filters & dryer lint trap
As Needed:
- Four loads of laundry: sheets, clothes, microfiber cloths, delicates
- Took out recycling: metal
- Made cookies & miscellaneous food prep
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
- Opened driveway gate
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched ‘The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County’
What I Did Today 5/11/20:
When I was a teenager my mom was given a doorknob hanger
that said ‘Housework makes you ugly’ and she kept it in the bathroom in plain
view; as an adult I can say in reflection that that was one of the worst things
to see every day.
Not only does it not motivate a person to clean, but it
makes them think they’re ugly for doing it; I’ve had mental challenges at times
to block that doorknob hanger from my memory while cleaning my home and
especially when I was paid to clean other people’s residences; that’s part of
the reason why I make sassy memes that motivate me to clean and take pride in
housework.
Housework doesn’t make me ugly; housework makes me awesome;
housework makes my husband happy; housework makes my home clean and enjoyable
to be in; but most of all, housework makes me better than my mother.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better -- and me better, too!
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What I Did Today 5/13/20
As Needed:
- Took out recycling: plastic
- Grind coffee beans: one mason jar
- Changed out kitchen sponge
- Worked on napkin sewing project; 2 sets complete (8 napkins)
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
- Opened driveway gate
- Emptied litter box
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched latest episode of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’; finished pilot of ‘Hart to Hart’ and watched first episode
What I Did Today 5/12/20:
I had planned to clean bathrooms today, but when I woke up I
didn’t feel any drive to do it, so I didn’t.
The past couple weeks I’ve changed some of my cleaning
routine days; I changed bedroom day from Wednesday to Tuesday, and my goal was
to make Thursday the new bathroom day instead of Friday; cramps threw my
schedule off last week and the bathrooms haven’t been cleaned since last
Monday; but since I want Thursday to be the new day and they’re not in bad shape,
I let the bathrooms go until tomorrow.
So I enjoyed taking today easy in a clean home since
yesterday was very productive; I believe every housewife should have easy days
as part of her schedule so it allows time to rest between busy days.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
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What I Did Today 5/14/20
Weekly:
- Cleaned cat dishes
- Cleaned bathrooms; refreshed bath mats & toilet toppers in dryer
- Disinfected all door handles & light switches
- Dusted living room, office, entrance & hallway
- Vacuumed entire house (living room with baking soda)
- Mopped kitchen & bathrooms
- Changed towels in kitchen & bathrooms
- Refreshed couch pillows in dryer
- Emptied household wastebaskets & took out household garbage
- Refilled bird feeders
- Scrub kitchen sink & sink strainers
- Soak dish brushes in bleach water
- Soak food scrap container in bleach water
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: towels with dish mats
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
- Opened driveway gate
- Emptied litter box
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- watched episode 2 of ‘Hart to Hart’
What I Did Today 5/13/20:
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams fears. ~Henry
David Thoreau (modified by me)
I’ve lived my dreams, and you know what I learned? It was
easy to attain and live my dreams because it was what I wanted.
So, what if a person has to live a life they didn’t dream
of, or live in a place they don’t want to live, or do things they don’t want to
do? That’s where I’m at now and it’s somewhere I never thought I’d be after
achieving my dreams.
I don’t live in my dream house; I live in a ‘rural rambler’
as I like to call it, a modified mobile home that is no longer mobile, with
outdated wood-paneling, old beige carpets, and not enough natural light due in
part to overcast skies; I can’t stand to take pictures inside because of all
the dark brown wood paneling that looks awful in photos; outdated ugliness
aside, it’s a sturdy house that got us through Snowmageddon 2019 and lots of
rainy days; it’s most likely somebody else’s dream house, but not mine.
Even though it’s not my dream house, that doesn’t stop me
from making it better by cleaning it and keeping it in order, which I didn’t do
as much of when we first moved out here and now I do a lot of it; this place is
a fixer upper and it’s getting fixed up, slowly but surely; that’s part of our
financial challenge on top of saving money because we are living in our biggest
asset that will bring us more money once it’s sold, but it needs improvements
before that can happen, and the improvements take time and money and sometimes
arguing between us as to what will be best in the long run.
The funny thing to me is that court reporting school was
easy compared to living through this stage of my life, because I wanted to go
to court reporting school and I wanted that career and I achieved both, that’s
why I say dreams are easy; people used to tell me that court reporting school
is the hardest thing; if only they knew what real life could be like; as
challenging as my court reporting dream was, it was nothing compared to living
through whatever I’m living through now; now I’m surviving my fears but also
conquering them one day at a time, and it will only make me better for whatever
comes next in life.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better -- especially in my
house!
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/15/20
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: clothes tops, clothes bottoms
- Completed napkin project: finished sewing the last 16 & pressed all 28
- Made cookies
- Wrote weekly grocery list
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
- Opened driveway gate
- Emptied litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband
What I Did Today 5/14/20:
We haven’t used paper napkins in 7 or 8 years; we still use
paper towels, mostly for absorbing bacon grease, but I bought a six-pack three
or four months ago and we’re only halfway through the pack.
Years ago before I started making fabric napkins we went
through a lot of paper towels, since we preferred those over paper napkins; but
once I learned to sew I started making double-sided fabric napkins and haven’t
gone back to paper napkins, and I hope I never will.
I like to use fat quarters and cut them into quarters; I
pair up fabrics for both sides and use whatever’s cheapest at the stores; the
last time I bought fabric was a couple years ago and I had these napkins pinned
together waiting to be sewn, which I finally finished today.
The fabric napkins never get so worn out that they aren’t
any good; I just want new fabrics to look at and I still have lots of old
fabric napkins that I keep on hand just in case, but they’ll eventually get
tossed or burned.
I always make a couple sets that are more neutral and not too girly for my husband; these are the long-awaited finished sets, now we have 28 new napkins to use for the next year or two, or whenever I feel like sewing more:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/16/20
As Needed:
- Put groceries away & took out old produce for compost pile
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
- Opened driveway gate
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- went out for burgers at Frugals, watched ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ and Episodes 3 & 4 of ‘Hart to Hart’, and enjoyed a long talk about our goals for the coming years
What I Did Today 5/15/20:
I made sure today would be an easy day, because I don’t
believe my birthdays should be filled with doing things I don’t want to do; the
little amount of housework I did do was the regular stuff that takes almost no
time, so I was able to relax and even napped a little.
My husband bought me the complete series of ‘Hart to Hart’
this year and I love that he enjoys watching it as much as I do; it’s a great
show for middle-aged married people without kids, because the Harts are
middle-aged, happily married, and don’t have kids; the writing is witty and
light-hearted, and before a time when every third word was ‘like’.
Robert Wagner was in his late 40s when the show started, and
Stephanie Powers turned 40 during the show’s run, so it’s nice to watch older
actors back in the day before all the cosmetic touch-ups that make so many
actors look awful nowadays; I was one year old when the show came out and have
faint memories of seeing some episodes as a kid, so it’s fun to watch them now
as an adult with my darling husband. It’s hard not to say ‘darling’ after
watching a couple episodes.
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/17/20
As Needed:
- Food Prep: hard boiled eggs
Weekly:
- Added weekly receipts to monthly ledger
- Changed out kitchen & bathroom towels
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
- Cleaned out litter box
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband -- enjoyed pancake breakfast, watched ‘Bloodsport’ and latest episode of ’90 Day Fiance + Pillow Talk’
What I Did Today 5/16/20:
Tonight’s project: After posting this I am going to make a
new Excel workbook for compiling our total monthly income & expenditures
from all the years I’ve made ledgers and tracked income/expenditures; I started
in April of 2017 and 2018 was my first full year, so it’s not that much
information, but it’s enough to let me see the bigger picture of how far we’ve
come in the last few years and the workbook will continue to grow with a new
spreadsheet for each year in the future.
It’s frustrating when not much can be done about making more
income appear, so it eases my anxiety when I see how much better we’re doing
now compared to how awful our spending habits used to be; it also satisfies my
curiosity when I have the exact numbers to know what we used to spend in a
month compared to what we’re spending now in a month; it’s not enough to guess,
it’s better to know, and I love knowing where our money is going and how much
comes in and out.
A business wouldn’t stay in business if they didn’t know how
much comes in and goes out; I believe the same applies to a successful
household and marriage. If I don’t know where the money goes or where it comes
from, then I’m not doing my job as a housewife and there’s no excuse for that
in my book.
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/18/20
As Needed:
- Emptied living room & office wastebasket
- Vacuumed entire house
- Mopped kitchen & bathroom floor
- Two loads of laundry: towels, clothes tops
- Refilled fabric softener sheets basket
- Created new Excel workbook: Yearly Income & Expenditures
- Yardwork: removed old rose stalks & trimmed ferns/removed brown leaves
- Cleaned up cat vomit
- Updated next Chewy.com auto shipment
Weekly:
- Watered houseplants
- Refilled bird feeders
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
- 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
- Cleaned out litter box
- Opened driveway gate
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: watched Episode 5 of Season 1 ‘Hart to Hart’
What I Did Today 5/17/20:
Tonight’s Project: create a housework ledger in Excel.
I’ve been keeping a spiral notebook the past year of my
housework duties, partly out of curiosity to see how much I accomplish over
time, and because it helps me know when I did something last to know when to do
it again, especially tasks that don’t get done a lot but need to be done
quarterly.
Ever since I started these ‘what I did daily’ posts I’ve
copied & pasted them into standard Word documents, but I like the
spreadsheet format more and have been mentally working out a solution as to how
I want to create a spreadsheet workbook and how I want my housework ledger to
appear; Excel has some templates for to-do lists, but I’m not crazy about them
for what I’m wanting.
It may seem like overkill, but the reality is that doing
housework is my main line of work now, and some businesses expect employees to
keep track of their work, and some careers require it; I don’t consider what I
do to be any less important than a career, and I think it’s even more important
than tending to someone else’s business because this is our home where we live
and our biggest asset.
Another reality is that housework doesn’t go away, at least
not in my world and I’m fine with that, but it does get easier the more I know,
and documenting what I do keeps me in the know.
Cleaning today makes tomorrow better
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/19/20
Weekly:
- Dusted bedroom & polished furniture
- Changed bed sheets & refreshed bed pillows in dryer
- Vacuumed the bedroom (with baking soda), entrance, kitchen, and hallway
- Vacuumed air purifier filters & dryer lint trap
As Needed:
- Three loads of laundry: sheets, clothes, delicates
- Cleaned household mirrors
- Created new Excel workbooks: 2019 & 2020 Housework Ledgers
- Food prep: hard boiled eggs, refilled mayo & mustard squeeze bottles, grated cheese
- Refilled litter box
- Took out household garbage
- Swept outside entrance
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
- Cleaned out litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- Opened driveway gate
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: watched ‘Snatch’ and a bad episode of ‘Miami Vice’
What I Did Today 5/18/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/20/20
Weekly:
- Cooked bacon
- Made cookies
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: microfiber cloths
- Refilled cat food containers
- Replaced vacuum bag
- Hand-washed vacuum filters
- Cleaned up salad dressing spill
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
- Cleaned out litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- Opened driveway gate
- 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 5/19/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/21/20
Weekly:
- Cleaned Cat Dishes
- Cleaned Bathrooms
- Disinfected all door handles & light switches
- Dusted living room, office, entrance & hallway
- Vacuumed entire house (living room & office with baking soda)
- Mopped kitchen & bathrooms
- Changed towels in kitchen & bathrooms
- Emptied household wastebaskets
- Took out recycling: metal, plastic, paper, glass
- Kitchen sink scrub
- Soak sink strainers & dish brushes in bleach water
- Soak food scrap container in bleach water
- Refreshed couch pillows & blanket in dryer
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
- Cleaned out litter box
- Opened driveway gate
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: watched episode 7, season 1 of ‘Hart to Hart’; discussed future plans
What I Did Today 5/20/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/22/20
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: towels
- Vacuumed entrance
- Cleaned out freezer
- Restocked freezer from chest freezer
- Replaced wax tarts
- Yardwork: shoveled old bark & tree debris, trimmed ferns, swept walkway
- Organized pantry & entrance storage
Weekly:
- Wrote out weekly grocery lists
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
- Cleaned out litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- Opened driveway gate
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: watched ‘The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday’
What I Did Today 5/21/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/23/20
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: clothes tops, whites
- Removed old produce from fridge & added to compost pile
- Cleaned out & organized entrance storage
- Refilled dish soap pump bottle
- Refilled hand soap pump bottle in half bath
Weekly:
- Put groceries away
- Refilled bird feeders
- Added weekly receipts to monthly ledger
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
- Cleaned out litter box
- Opened driveway gate
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: enjoyed burgers from Frugals, household shopping at Walmart, watched old western movies
What I Did Today 5/22/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/24/20
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: clothes
- Vacuumed entrance, bathroom, hallway & dryer lint trap
- Cleaned out & organized entrance storage
- Emptied bathroom wastebasket
- Took out household trash
- Added receipt to monthly ledger
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
- Cleaned out litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: enjoyed weekly pancake breakfast, watched ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ and ’90 Day Fiance’
What I Did Today 5/23/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/25/20
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: towels
- Stored bulk sugar in jars
- Emptied living room wastebasket
- Made cookies
- Changed out kitchen sponge
Weekly:
- Changed out kitchen & bathroom towels
- Vacuumed living room, entrance, office, hallway, and kitchen
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
- Cleaned out litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: watched ‘Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man’ and ’90 Day Fiance Pillow Talk’
What I Did Today 5/24/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/26/20
Weekly:
- Dusted bedroom & polished furniture
- Changed bed sheets
- Refreshed bed pillows & couch pillows in dryer
- Vacuumed the bedroom (with baking soda), entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and hallway
- Vacuumed air purifier filters & dryer lint trap
- Refilled bird feeders
- Grind coffee beans: 1+ mason jar
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: sheets
- Unpacked Chewy order
- Yardwork: removed wire fencing & wood stakes around old plants
- Took out decluttering garbage & recycling: plastic
- Emptied Litter Genie
- Cleaned bathroom mirror
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
- Opened driveway gate
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Cleaned out litter box
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: watched episode 8, season 1 ‘Hart to Hart’, watched ’90 Day Fiance What Now’ and an episode of ‘Miami Vice’
What I Did Today 5/25/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/27/20
Weekly:
- Watered houseplants
As Needed:
- Two loads of laundry: clothes, microfiber cloths
- Put away Chewy order & organized mud room
- Took out household garbage & Chewy packaging
- Refilled: kitchen hand soap pump, OxiClean container, laundry soap pitcher, OdoBan spray bottles, vinegar bottles
- Food prep: hard boiled eggs, prepped cheese & stored in freezer, made cookies
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
- Opened driveway gate
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Cleaned out litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- 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 5/26/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/28/20
Weekly:
- Cleaned bathrooms; refreshed bathmats & toilet toppers in dryer
- Disinfected all door handles & light switches
- Dusted living room, office, entrance & hallway
- Vacuumed entire house + mud room (living room & office with baking soda)
- Mopped kitchen & bathrooms
- Changed towels in kitchen & bathrooms
- Emptied household wastebaskets
- Scrub kitchen sink
- Soak food scrap container, sink strainers & dish brushes in bleach water
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: towels
- Refreshed couch pillows in dryer
- Swept outside entrance
- Ordered supplies from Walmart
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters/stovetop
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Opened driveway gate
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Cleaned out litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: watched episode 9, season 1 ‘Hart to Hart’
What I Did Today 5/27/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/29/20
Weekly:
- Cooked bacon
- Refilled bird feeders & feed containers
- Wrote out grocery list
As Needed:
- Took out recycling: metal, plastic, glass, paper
- Three loads of laundry: delicates, clothes bottoms, clothes tops
- Yardwork: Emptied planters, took out old flowers to compost pile, hauled debris
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters/stovetop
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Opened driveway gate
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Cleaned out litter box
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: watched episode 10, season 1 ‘Hart to Hart’
What I Did Today 5/28/20:
----------------------
What I Did Today 5/30/20
Weekly:
- Put groceries away
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters/stovetop
- Cleaned convection oven & crumb tray
- Descaled tea kettle
- Prepped coffeemaker & tea kettle for the morning
- Set-up morning dishes & vitamins
- Opened driveway gate
- Pet the cats & put food out
- Cleaned out litter box
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: enjoyed burgers from Frugals, watched ‘Erik the Viking’ and ‘Night of the Creeps’
What I Did Today 5/29/20:
Not much changes on the Olympic Peninsula, and that includes
Frugals where we go for our once-a-week meal out; the good thing is that they
were never impacted by Covid-19 since it’s a drive-through burger stand; they
live up to their name too because they’re cheaper than McDonald’s and tastier.
The photo was taken on a sunny day in May of 2016 and it
looks exactly the same today, except that today was a dismal gray rainy day
made better by burgers & fries with my husband.
What I Did Today
5/31/20
As Needed:
- One load of laundry: clothes
- Food prep: hard boil eggs
Monthly:
- Change calendars
Weekly:
- Added weekly receipts to monthly ledger
- Change out kitchen & bathroom towels
Daily:
- Made the bed
- Made meals & ice
- Refilled Berkey water filter
- Washed dishes & wiped counters/stovetop
- 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
- Cleaned out litter box & vacuumed litter off floor
- Social media, online puzzles, research & writing, watched movies
- Relaxed with my husband: enjoyed weekly pancake breakfast, discussed future plans, watched ’90 Day Fiance & Pillow Talk’
What I Did Today
5/30/20:
Monthly Totals:
- Changed Bed Sheets: 4 times
- Cleaned Bathrooms: 4 times
- Dusted: 7 days
- Laundry: 45 loads, 23 days
- Made the Bed: 31 days
- Mopped: 5 days
- Took out Garbage: 7 times
- Took out Recycling: 7 times
- Vacuumed: 17 days
- Vinegar Rinse Coffee Maker: 1 time
- Washed Dishes: 31 days
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