"Have a place for everything and everything in its place." ... copied
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My favorite Youtuber? Kathryn at Do It On a Dime. (And here.)
She's adorable. Energetic.
Inspiring.
Full of cool housekeeping hacks and hints.
And I never have to fast-forward her due to bunny trail talk. シ
But in her latest video? Oh dear. She shared 5 house cleaning Power Tips, yet she forgot the most important one! This --
Immediately clean up after yourself. Teach your children to do the same.
I mean, hey. On her bathroom vanity was toothpaste and a toothbrush, a hair dryer, comb, hair products, etc. Her kids' vanity was similar (tho' neater, actually), along with scattered tiny paper cups. Kathryn has a cool dressing table, but her make-up laid all over the top. Toys were strewn across the family room upstairs.
The video showed Kathryn walking upstairs and down, picking up everyone's stuff, putting it away, before she could wipe things down.
The easiest way to keep from feeling overwhelmed at home? Put things where they belong immediately after using them.
It takes only a couple minutes, but oh, the hours and sanity saved when chaos piles no longer taunt us. When we can quickly find (or clean) what we need to.
Done fixing your hair? Place hair products inside that basket you bought for them.
Finished using the kitchen mixing bowl? Rinse it off, place it in the dishwasher. Don't have a dishwasher? Fill your sink with sudsy water before you create a meal. Add dishes, utensils as you go.
The kids' toys are scattered in the family room? Have them put things away before bedtime. Make a game of it.
Putting Away only appears to require extra time. But it's deceptive because hey, it saves hours on the weekends, hours freeing us to do more enjoyable, adventurous activities.
And actually, it's a matter of respect. Personal respect cares that we live in a straightened, stress-free home. And parental respect never just thinks, "Oh,
And no, I'm not talking perfection here. Heaven forbid. I'm speaking of a new calmness which is available for anyone willing to Put Things Away into practice.
Two-year-olds can be taught to clean up after themselves(!) and oh, what a Life change when, early, children learn to respect themselves, their parents, their home. Habits like those become treasures for a lifetime.
"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." ... James 3:17
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Ways I'm making my house at least look like it's cleaning itself--
Our back entryway has a dark brown rug, for our bathroom I bought dark blue bath towels and we have a dark red couch. (See the theme there?) ツ
We have a glass top over our dining room tablecloth. Rather then laundering the tablecloth often, I simply wipe the glass each day.
If something spills over on the stovetop, I immediately clean it rather than wait till it hardens when I must scrub, instead.
Each week I get rid of ten things which I "do not find to be beautiful or useful."
I spend a couple weeks tossing knick-knacks into the dishwasher with regular loads until they're all clean.
I keep a bottle of white shoe polish in the bathroom to touch up the white woodwork.
Our micro-fiber couch is easily cleaned using rubbing alcohol on a white cloth.
We use those desk chair hard plastic floor mats over our carpet in high traffic areas.
My Daily Master Task List reminds me of what needs to be done and keeps me from having huge messes resulting from neglect.
And since this is only a blog post, I'll stop here and leave you with this link, in case you'd like additional ideas. I love the way she says customizing your housecleaning to fit your family is the key.
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"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15
4 comments:
Great advice Debra. I can never understand it when I watch these household tips and cleaning videos. Almost always they have those messes you describe to clean up. I have always put everything away in the bathroom as I used it and swiped the counter and sink clean after finishing my hair. No need to clean anything except the weekly major cleaning. Same in the kitchen. When messes are taken care of right away they don't grow into disasters. And hey, I like the white shoe polish tip for the baseboards. Thanks!
Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Blessings,
Betsy
I like the white shoe polish idea!
Ditto on the white shoe polish tip! Such a great idea. I have never understood why people don't pick up after themselves! I figure you have to face it sooner or later, so do the right thing and be done with it!
Another thing that interests me is the different opinions on whether outside shoes should be worn inside a home. I was brought up by parents who never wore outside shoes in the house. We all had a pair of "inside shoes" or we could wear socks or slippers. My parents didn't have much money and they wanted to try to keep the carpets and flooring as long as possible.
We're all different and often the way we choose to live is a reflection of how we were raised.
Betsy-- I know, right? :) If only we'd all pick up after ourselves then we'd all never see a huge mess again. heh.
Rebecca--glad you like the shoe polish idea! It really is a quick fix.
Pam--so true about the way we all grew up in this instance about shoes, especially. My family didn't remove their shoes while I grew up, so for many years after I married, I didn't, either. But then we moved to New York where everyone is taught to remove their shoes when they visit others' homes, so we began doing that also. Still do to this day. :)
Thanks, Everyone! Blessings, Debra
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