Monday 28 December 2015

A Little Summer Cleaning


One of the jobs I like to do once a year is clear out my pantry and get it back to tidy and organised.  A year's worth of other people scrummaging about in there seems to take its toll on my pantry's tidiness.

I've taken everything out and put things together on the bench that seemed similar.  Then I cleaned the shelves and worked on putting everything back in.  Mostly things that are similar are near each other.  And then I had to work with shelf heights, so sometimes my little baskets of bits and pieces have gone on a shelf where they fit best.  Still.  It feels much better.  With some inspiration from The Organised Housewife I suspect a trip to Big W is in my near future, for the sake of gathering up some of the loose things that still have no real home.

There we go - Job 1 from the "things I want to get done around home" is complete.  For the sake of my sieve-like brain some other things I need to get done around here include:

  • Clean the oven (this may take a few goes...)
  • Dust the entire house
  • Vacuum everywhere - a grown-up vac, not a kid version
  • Clean the windows
  • Clean the skirting boards
If I'm very brave I might even have a go at washing the sheer lace curtains.  That would take a great deal of bravery though.  Perhaps it might be the thing to do when I get paid again.  If they shred I'll need to replace them!

On my Big Dream Wish List:  Kitchen make-over.  White cabinets, replace cupboards with drawers where possible, caesar stone bench tops in something lighter - black is NOT my favourite bench top colour.  The oven and fridge are probably in line for replacement, given they are 18yo and 22yo respectively. 

What big cleaning tasks do you put off, and then feel much better when they are done?  And, while I'm asking questions I'd love to know how you go about keeping your house clean on a regular basis.  What system works for you when you're super busy?  This my area of epic failure with full time work.  Epic, I tell you.  We stay uncluttered, but the kids don't do the best version of cleaning things.  Am seriously considering having someone do floors and bathrooms every fortnight as a gift to myself.

2 comments:

Left-Handed Housewife said...

I put off cleaning the laundry room, of all places! It's the size of a closet, so gets cluttered and linty very quickly. But once I've gotten it all spic and span, I'm a very happy girl.

My cleaning strategy lately has been to hire a housecleaner to come in twice a month and I highly recommend you give yourself this gift as well! It's some of the best money I've ever spent. Betty and her daughters do the bathrooms, kitchen and living room, and that's enough to keep me happy. With those things done, I can easily keep the rest of the house fairly tidy.

My goal for 2016 is to give Jack and Will more household chores. They do a few things around the house now, but could do a lot more.

xofrances

Kindness matters said...

This Christmas holiday I'm cleaning my closet and all the drawers in my dresser. Many clothes need a new home so I can have a bit of room for things that I wear on a regular basis. I also desperately need to clean out the chest freezer and defrost it.