Where did the time go....

Weekend tally:
1. 14 loads of laundry - 12 of which are hanging in appropriate closets or folded in appropriate dressers, 1 of which is folded in a basket to be put away (here is where most of the laundry usually gets stuck), and 1 of which is presently in the dryer for round 2 (takes about 1 1/2 full drying cycles to get them dried to perfection...yes, I'm desperately in need of a new washer and dryer).
2.  3 loads of dishes and a 4th started this morning before work
3. 4 rounds of vacuuming tackeled but this is a task that never is complete when you have children...and a husband who snacks in every room of the house BUT the kitchen and never notices the Hansel & Grettle like trail of crumbs he leaves everywhere he goes.

Still not yet completed:
1. Bathrooms
2. Windows & baseboards
3.  Kitchen counter tops
4. Delivery of purged items to Goodwill (those are blocking my kitchen walkway intentionally so they'll be toted off...that or they'll just been maneuvered off to the side so we can get in and out like most other obstructions in the kitchen usually are)

As I finally gave my public notice of the great intention to clean the 1st floor of the house in 48 hours alas I can say I've had minimal success...I didn't win this one, not by a long shot...but I had success. Friday was a wash since I spent the time shopping for supplies with great intention of putting them all to good use. Saturday...also a wash since I spent the better part of the day writing and talking about what I was going to do. Saturday evening went to dinner with a group of fabulous women. One of them overheard my ambitious cleanse and purge plans (not having started anything at that point) and pointed out that I appeared to still be...dare I say it...."PROCRASTINATING"...and you know what??? I absolutely was.

Sunday morning came and I attacked with vengence. Before any good cleanse can commence, total destruction has to take place. WOW did I have the perfect crew for that part of the process (refer to those innocent images from Day 1 of this blog) but add a husband in the mix. By 9 AM the entire ground floor of the house was an absolute wreck! So much worse than the day before but this is what happens each year about this time. Between tax season and these darned basketball brackets getting good help isn't easy.  Around 9:15 AM my husband disappeared into the garage where he went to clean his car out....CLEAN HIS CAR OUT!!! Little good that did to touch the disaster on the inside of the house but at least I was one crumb dropper down...only 3 to go. 2 of the 3 actually understood the goal for the day was to clean the house...the 3rd one was too busy eating dog food from the dogs bowl in the kitchen to notice the rest of us (it's all natural food so don't freak out on me...and no, I didn't stop her, only moved the bowl out of reach...sad what happens by the time you get to child#3 isn't it???). Dirt be damned...here I come!

I began this cleaning journey with mop in one hand and vinegar in the other...Not because mopping makes sense as the first course of business, but because 'The Interrogator' had a list of her own. You see, no one advised me that Sunday was 'Commando' day at my house. The Interrogator isn't quite potty trained...ok if we're being honest, she's not trained at all thus we ended up starting the day with the mop. Vinegar, for those of you who aren't familiar, is the cure all for many home cleaning woes (pee on floor ESPECIALLY...dogs, humans no matter). When someone suggested I use it around the house all I could say was 'Why would I use something I eat on a salad on my floors and surfaces'...then I thought why not? I mean if it's good for the body it's got to be good for other things. In my research I learned that vinegars are made from the fermentation of alcohol products, such as red wine, rice wine and apple cider. The finished product is actually an acidic liquid that can be used as everything from a salad dressing to a hard wood cleanser. Stick with the white kind as it has no color thus it cannot stain. It is a GREAT disinfectant and deodorizer for surfaces but DO NOT use on marble or tile with grout. When mixed 1 part water 1 part vinegar you can clean bathtubs & showers, toilet (poor undiluted vinegar in the toilet to get rid of toilet ring). It's also good to get rid of soap scum and hard water stains. I've been told to use vinegar as a fabric softener (haven't tried this one just yet). Its supposed to be great for families with sensitive skin. The instruction for use with laundry is to add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle in place of store bought fabric softener. The added benefit to laundry use is that vinegar breaks down detergent residue that doesn't always get completely rinsed from clothes before they are dried. Enough about vinegar... today that vinegar was for the pee pool on my kitchen floor and before long it, and the smell, were things of the past.

In our kitchen adventures I learned something valuable. My husband does not know the difference in a nice clean crisp white monogrammed handtowel/wash cloth and a basic nasty kitchen rag! I cannot criticize else risk getting no more help putting the laundry away...he meant well. After arming each participant with a rag of their own we decided to work on the inside of the microwave and then to tackle the dishes. First comes role call: Destructo...check, The Interrogator...check, mom...check... Dad, lost somewhere in the garage....WHERE THE HECK WAS THE BABY??? Ahhh...climbed into the dogs cage and playing quietly...why disturb her...don't give a second thought to what it would look like to an outsider and move on. Open all dishwashers to asses the damage...all full to the gills but not washed...see, we have a septic tank at our house. My husband has a great fear of 'overloading' it by running our appliances all at once so his solution is to just not run them at all.  Actually, I think he has a great fear of water in general...probably stems from the pseudo-flood we had at our prior house in the basement after a hard rain but who knows....this will NOT slow me down. With 2 kids and myself staged to press the 'On' button on the count of 3 here we go....all 3 dishwashers at once...not only that but I threw in a load of laundry to boot. Septic tank be damned!

Now, you're probably asking yourself what the heck does anyone need 3 dishwashers for??? I too ask myself that question everytime I notice we've filled all 3 up and are pulling out dishes on an as needed basis rather than putting them away so we have an empty dishwasher to fill once again. See, when we purchased the house the prior owners put a lot of time and effort into renovating the kitchen into a major showplace. It is actually the reason I fell in love with the house the first time I set foot inside. What they don't tell you about all of these modern conveniences in kitchens with multiple appliances is that it is just more to clean AND, with 3 dishwashers I'm allowed to prolong the inevitable...in my case the inevitable is putting the dishes away. Something tragic must have happened in my childhood that causes me to develop full on physical symptoms just at the thought of cleaning out the dishwasher...it starts with a headache, the sweats and the shakes to the point where I have to sit down just to stabilize myself... my sister suffers from the same affliction....seriously, she does just ask her husband.

12 PM - Out of the kitchen and into the den, where I spent most of the day. It really should be called the 'Family Closet' since it is the home to all of the wayward laundry that never makes it to the appropriate home in the bedroom closets or dressers. Not today my friends...today all laundry has been banished to its appropriate abode! Around 5 PM last night when I was still folding laundry I had a terrible case of dejavu with a cute little pair of pink polka-dot leggings. I felt like I'd folded these leggings recently....  WAIT...I DID just fold these about 30 minutes ago...and the shirts and pajamas beneath them. I finally realized I had been living in a permanent state of 'Groundhog Day' for the last  few hours of my folding adventures (sorry for those of you who haven't seen the movie as that will make absolutely no sense at all). I literally sat and folded the same few loads of laundry multiple times and only realized what had been happening when I got up for a bathroom break taking my time to look back into the room as I exited. What I witnessed was 'The Interrogator' (obsessed with clothes at the age of 2) pillaging through that freshly folded pile of her brothers clothing to find the perfect pieces to play dress up with. I did get a little tickeld when she placed boxer shorts waistband around her head with leg openings facing up and turn herself into the 'Eater Bundy' (phonetic spelling of what she said).  After a good laugh I can check this one off the list....Laundry done - clothes baskets hidden. I have found that if I leave the clothes in the baskets after they're folded they end up being used just like the dishes...on an as needed basis straight from the basket which ultimately results in them never being put away! Solving that problem today by making baskets disappear until the next time they are needed for unloading the dryer.

7 PM Dining Room - otherwise known as the ground floor toy box! The dining room is a room I felt MUST be a separate room in any house I own. I have absolutely no idea why since we may eat in it 2 days out of the entire year but that is beside the point. It serves multiple purposes for us:
1. Toy Room
2. Craft Room
3. Semi-Office
4. Storage -  becuase of it's location just beside the staircase it ends up becoming home for those things we're too darned lazy to carry up the stairs
5. Catch all for those things we just don't know where to put

Toys make up about 90% of the room anymore. Even with my obsession for plastic storage bins (that way everything has a home right??) everything still ends up everywhere!!! With the resurrection of some long stored storage bins (empty ones), a few rolling carts and a LARGE box labeled 'Goodwill' I started in on this disaster. Storage bins make quick work out of this room and next thing you know I can actually see the floor...GROSS!!! What is that on the floor...hmmm...looks like....yes, it is was a banana. Hmm...haven't bought bananas in about a month...EWWWW what is that under the table??? Ahhh...and there's the peel in a state of rigor mortis. Well, at least someone was eating healthy that day but the rug has seen better days. Item# 76 on the 'To-Do' list...find a new rug!

9:30PM - my body can take no more bending and crawling around on the floor so I dive in to the final round of vacuuming. This time it's under the couches, under the cabinets, under the tables and under the couch cushions...advice, if you haven't been there and you have kids and/or a husband who likes to snack on your couches just don't go there!!! I end the evening with a photo of my vacuum treasures.... nail file, 2 Nintendo DS games, 2 socks, 1 fabric coaster, a few army men and dinosaur figurines, a Ziplock snack baggie, a Matchbox car, a piece to a sippy cup, a Bakugan ball and some orange weapon thingie that goes to a Batman something or another belonging to my son...matter of fact, most of these vacuum delights belong to him....  good old Dyson. Takes a lickin and keeps on kickin!!!

I leave you with a photo of what was on my deck this morning when I left the house as this incident will play a large role in future blogs... it is a grill tool set in precisely the same spot it was in late yesterday afternoon when it was actually being used to prepare our dinner....until next time....